“The child says: ‘When I am a big boy.’ But what is that? The big boy says, ‘When I grow up.’ And then, grown up, he says: ‘When I get married.’ But to be married, what is that after all? The thought changes to ‘When I’m able to retire.’ And then, when retirement comes, he looks back over the landscape traversed; a cold wind seems to sweep over it;

One is the captain of one’s soul, the master of one’s life. What causes such realization and subsequently causes a shift in one’s behavior? To be real. To accept responsibility for oneself.

We can try to cheat life by wanting to get more than we are willing to give. Sooner or later, however, all such refusals to grow or to give up old attitudes will backfire. Because life cannot be cheated. Wherever we refuse to grow—mentally, emotionally, spiritually—our life experience will be correspondingly shallow and unsatisfying.

Growing up means you realize there is no finish line.

We can close ourselves off from all that life has to offer, and instead feel victimized and inhibited as we cling to old and outworn attitudes. We can try to cheat life by wanting to get more than we are willing to give. Sooner or later, however, all such refusals to grow or to give up old attitudes will backfire. Because life cannot be cheated. Wh