Move Forward into the Future
Early in March I received an email with the subject: APS Meeting Thursday, March 10 (March Forward). The email, to me, was a charge to move forward:
Dear APS Members,
It's time to march forward into your future. Whether it's leadership, presentation skills or speech contests, APS is at the head of the parade. Get in step by joining our next meeting!
APS stands for Advanced Public Speakers. It is a Toastmasters club of which I am a member, as well as the club treasurer.
Later that week I received another email. This time the email was asking if I would serve as the Table Topics Master.
If you are not familiar with Toastmasters, the goal of the Table Topics Master is to improve organizational skills, time management skills and facilitation skills by heading the Table Topics portion of a club meeting.
Table Topics, as described by Toastmasters International, is “intended to help members develop their ability to organize their thoughts quickly and respond to an impromptu question or topic.”
Now that you know a little about Toastmasters, I will move forward (pun intended) with the story and the purpose of this email.
Questions and Quotes: A Great Combination
I accepted the role and went about preparing for the meeting. Since I like quotes, especially ones that are inspiring and thought provoking, I searched for quotes related to moving forward. I then used the quotes to construct questions I would ask the members and guests at the meeting.
The session went very well. People enjoyed the challenge of being encouraged to apply the quotations to their lives. Since it went so well, I decided to do the same in this post.
Moving Forward – Quotes to Live By
Here is how this will work. Below you are presented with quotes to encourage you to move forward. After each quote I ask you a question related to the quote. The purpose of the quotes is to help you look beyond the quote. I encourage you to really think about what the quote means. Think about how you can apply the quotation to your life. If there are changes you can make in your life to help you move forward on something, be mindful of that, then do it. Ok. You ready? Let's do this.
Quote: “The past is your lesson. The present is your gift. The future is your motivation.” – Unknown
Question: What lessons from your past are you currently living? How is what you are currently doing going to help you with your future? If you are still living in the past, refer to the next quote.
Quote: “The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.” J.P. Morgan
Question: Let's agree that we have already decided that you are NOT going to stay where you are. The question is, what is the first step you are going to take in order to move from where you are? State the day and time you will take that step, then take it.
Quote: “Life goes on whether you choose to move on and take a chance in the unknown or stay behind, locked in the past, thinking of what could've been.” – Stephanie Smith
Question: What do you do, or what will you do, in order to be certain that as your life nears an end you are not wondering what could have been?
Quote: “Life is not about looking back and wishing that today is the same with the past. Life is about moving on, accepting changes and looking forward to what makes you stronger and more complete — because it’s never been too late to have a life and never too late to change one.” – Unknown
Question: What changes are you willing to accept that you need to make in order to make you stronger?
Quote: “We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.” Carlos Castaneda
Question: In what state are you currently: misery or making yourself stronger? If the former, what is making you that miserable and how long do you plan to stay there?
Quote: “Pause and remember – If you just keep moving forward, everything you need will show up for you at the perfect time.” – Jennifer Young
Question: What are you going to start doing to make this a part of your reality?
Quote: “As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.” – Steve Maraboli
Question: What in your life did you once believe was a devastating loss, but now you realize was the best thing to not happen to you?
Move Forward
I came up with some questions for you, but take the time to come up with some of your own. Really reflect on your life. Consider what you can be doing to move forward, living your life with no regrets, without dwelling on the past, and with the belief that you will become better and stronger. All you need to do is start by taking the first step.
Start the Discussion: When you have been rejected, when you think you are not enough, or you feel lost, what do you do to make sure you move forward? Share in the post in comments, on Facebook or Twitter.