Patience Is Required for Excellence: 02-24-2026

“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” —Leo Tolstoy

1. Patience has a strong friend: perseverance.
2. Patience is about waiting in the right manner.
3. Patience is a virtue because it is an act of waiting.
4. Patience is a power because it waits for the real power.
5. Patience is allowing the ingredients to cure and mature.

The Pause That Refreshes: 02-23-2026

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” —Victor Frankl, (debated, but in tune with his ideas)

1. Pause before thinking.
2. Pause before speaking.
3. Pause before answering.
4. Pause before taking action.
5. To pause is to wait, to wait is to honor God (the source), to honor God is to honor yourself.
6. Waiting is the central characteristic of a well-functioning vessel, and pausing is an act of waiting.

Facing Fears Builds Strength: 02-22-2026

1. Facing fears builds courage.
2. Facing fears builds confidence.
3. Facing fears builds compassion.
4. Facing fears builds competence.
5. Facing fears builds consciousness.

5TP From Idealist to Cynic: 02-21-2026

A pessimist is what an optimist calls a realist.” —Ashley Williams, a character from the video game Mass Effect.

1. Thesis: Idealist/Utopian/Visionary/Dreamer. Believes in perfect and ideal forms. Sees mostly or only the good potential and positive outcomes.
2. Thesis-Incorporating-Antithesis: Optimist/Hopeful Meliorist/Encourager. Mostly positive, believes things can and likely will improve, but realistically admits some flaws and obstacles will occur.
3. Synthesis: Realist/Neutralist/Balancer/Observer. Sees both sides equally, neither strongly affirms nor denies improvement or perfection, focuses with low valence (acceptance, bare attention, cognitive distancing, defusion, detachment, equanimous observation, objectivity, stoicism).
4. Antithesis-Incorporating-Thesis: Pessimist/Cautious Skeptic/Cautioner. Mostly negative, expects things to stay difficult or worsen, but grudgingly admits that some good elements or small wins can occur.
5. Antithesis: Cynic/Nihilist/Defeatist/Detractor. All-negative, believes perfection is impossible, people and society are fundamentally flawed and corrupt; therefore, no real progress is possible.

• For more information on the Five Thinking Positions (5TP), please read Discovery Demands 5TP.

Freewill Is a Delusion: 02-20-2026

1. Freewill is a contradiction in terms.
2. Will is bound, or it is not will.
3. Will is not free, or it is not will.
4. Will is commitment, not debate.
5. Will is governed by whatever nature it is given to.
6. Before choice comes confusion.
7. Clarity provides choice.
8. Choice binds, or it is not choice.
9. Choice is not free, or it is not choice.

Calm Mind Works Best: 02-19-2026

1. A stormy mind is an erratic mind.
2. Only a calm mind can think clearly.
3. Only a calm mind can think accurately.
4. Only a calm mind can view other perspectives fairly.
5. Only a calm mind can hold competing thoughts at the same time without prejudice.

Alone You Can Share the Most: 02-18-2026

1. God is one.
2. The loner is the stronger.
3. All great artists worked alone.
4. Being alone is a gift few can bear.
5. The higher you rise, the fewer there are.
6. We are all singular and alone at birth and death.
7. If you can stand alone, you can stand for the one: God.
8. A wise man is never more alone than with a crowd of people.