August's Last Day

It's day 243 of documenting 2025.

Well, it's the last day of August.
Somehow, it felt like a long month.
Or is it just me? 😄

Anyways, I put a particular thing to the test...and then God showed me in His word that I should move with His pace, not mine.
If the test fails, no problem.
If it doesn't, it's all good.

In other news, I got a new kind of notebook yesterday...
(You're probably like, who cares?)
Permit me to talk about it in a paragraph, okay?
(Sure, whatever 🙄)

Getting the notebook made me realize how much I like hardcover books.
They're just so convenient when you want to write while standing.
Kinda like a small table under your paper, right?
I wanted to get just one but ended up buying two because they were the last ones in stock.
They're smaller than the regular hardcover notebooks, and cute 🥰
Plus they can fit into my slip-bag, unlike those ones.
Okay, I'm done talking....

Minutes before I started typing, I got a reminder from my Google calendar.
The same reminder I get on the last day of every month since this year started.
It said, "write on wins and lessons of the month".
That's what I've been doing for the past 7 months...and today won't be different.

Man! I need to sit down...
I've been walking around for the past 30 minutes...while typing of course.
Okay, where was I?

Oh yeah....
About to introduce the Highlights for today.
I'm on the note for day 243....same as my writing streak, which is still alive 🔥
By the way, the book is written by an amazing author called Martin Meadows.
Alright, let's get into it!

365 Days With Self-discipline
📌 On the Crime of Aiming Too Low

"I will commit not the terrible crime of aiming too low. I will do the work that a failure will not do. I will always let my reach exceed my grasp."
Quote by Og Mandino

Aiming too low is in essence yet another manifestation of choosing
immediate rewards over bigger rewards in the future.

You set your sights low, which ensures success and gives you some peace of mind from knowing that you’ll probably make it. However, at the same time, you limit your accomplishments.

You get some comfort today at the expense of possible bigger rewards in the future.
The alternative is to set ambitious goals that make you feel uncomfortable because they carry a higher risk of failure.

You suffer some discomfort today,
but in the long run stand to gain more.
Which choice is more aligned with a person who values self-discipline in life?

Please bear in mind that you shouldn’t confuse aiming high with being unreasonable. If you have no idea what is possible and what is not, start slowly with a safe, easily attainable goal, and aim higher only when you understand the odds of making a more ambitious goal become a reality.

As a rule of thumb, if you’ve already been working on a particular area of your life for several months or years, you probably know what is easy to achieve, what is realistic and what might be beyond your reach.

If you’re new to something, it’s unlikely that you can determine that right away without first gaining some experience.

I'm sure you now consider why aiming too low is likened to "a crime".
You literally reduce your potential when you set goals that don't make you stretch yourself.
That's my take.

Moving on....I think it's been a while since we visited the writings of our friend, Marcus Aurelius.
Let's do something about that.

Meditations
📌 Book 5

26. The mind is the ruler of the soul. It should remain unstirred by agitations of the flesh—gentle and violent ones alike.
Not mingling with them, but fencing itself off and keeping those feelings in their place.

When they make their way into your thoughts, through the sympathetic link between mind and body, don’t try to resist the sensation.
The sensation is natural. But don’t let the mind start in with judgments, calling it “good” or "bad.”

27. “To live with the gods.”
And to do that is to show them that your soul accepts what it is given and does what the spirit requires—the spirit God gave each of us to lead and guide us, a fragment of himself.
Which is our mind, our logos.

28. Don’t be irritated at people’s smell or bad breath.
What’s the point?
With that mouth, with those armpits, they’re going to produce that odor.
—But they have a brain!

Can’t they figure it out? Can’t they recognize the problem?
So you have a brain as well. Good for you. Then use your logic to awaken his. 

Show him.
Make him realize it.
If he’ll listen, then you’ll have solved the problem. Without anger.

28a. Neither player-king nor prostitute.

29. You can live here as you expect to live there.
And if they won’t let you, you can depart life now and forfeit nothing.
If the smoke makes me cough, I can leave.

What’s so hard about that?
Until things reach that point, I’m free. No one can keep me from doing what I want. And I want what is proper to rational beings, living together.

These seem pretty understandable, don't they? 🤔
Let's see how they're interpreted:

26. The mind should stay calm, even when the body is in pain or pleasure. 
It’s normal to feel things; but don't label them as “good” or “bad.” 
Judgment is where suffering often begins.

27. To “live with the gods” means to live in alignment with divine reason. 
That happens when you accept your life as it is and follow your inner guide: your mind, your 'logos', a piece of God within you.

28. Getting irritated at people’s natural flaws (like body odor) doesn’t help. 
Instead of judging, use reason to gently awaken theirs; if they’re open. It’s about helping, not reacting.

28a. Avoid both extremes: don’t act like a show-off or a sell-out. 
Stay true to who you are.

29. If you’re not allowed to live with integrity, you’re free to leave; nothing holds you. Until then, no one can stop you from being virtuous and rational. 
That’s the essence of real freedom.

It don't get much better than this 😄
Freedom to live and love and learn.
That's another thing to definitely be thankful for.

Let's round up on that.
Thanks for reading 🎀
And I'll wait till tomorrow before wishing a happy new month.
Don't forget to check out some of my ebooks, especially the new ones. 

See them here.

I'm Duon Ada.
I'm documenting 2025,
And I'll see you tomorrow.
Ciao 💕