Triple Filter Test of Socrates

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance ran up to the great philosopher and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple filter?"

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?" 

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it..."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?" 

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be something I can use to benefit the world?"

"No, not really."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

The man stared at him, and without a word turned around and left, dejected.

10 Ways to Eliminate Anger

10 Ways to Eliminate Anger

For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do you become angry when you get your feelings hurt? What about when you're unhappy or feeling frustrated? Criticism is another common trigger for angry feelings. However, anger isn't something that happens to you. It's something you do to yourself.
Anger isn't a useful emotion. It drains your energy and damages your health. It can ruin relationships and hold you back from new opportunities.
While it's challenging to control external circumstances, you can learn to control your angry reactions and attitudes. Think about how powerful you'd feel if you had this kind of control.
Do you ever find yourself becoming angry over irrelevant issues? Your life could be much more joyful if you eliminate such anger. Make today be the day you start to move toward peace.

Gain more peace in your life with these suggestions:

1. Spend time each day reminding yourself how great life would be without anger. Create a positive image in your mind and keep moving toward that more peaceful existence.

2. Avoid taking everything so seriously. Remind yourself that life is short. Does the issue that's causing your anger matter in the grand scheme of things?

3. Try counting to ten. Your mom probably told you to stop and count to ten at some point in your life, and moms give great advice. This strategy is distracting and gives you the mental space to come up with a better alternative.

4. Take a drink of water. Again, this will distract you from your anger and give you a few minutes to regain your composure. To some extent, many of us are chronically dehydrated. A little water will likely make you feel better.

5. Focus on your breathing. By focusing on your breathing, you're taking the focus off whatever is making you angry. A few slow, deep breaths can have a calming effect.

6. Realize that everyone has an opinion. It's pointless to get angry just because someone doesn't agree with you. How would you feel if others became furious every time you didn't agree with them?

7. Decide to react calmly, regardless of the situation. Having good intentions can make all the difference.

8. Think about something funny. It's much more difficult to be angry while you're laughing. There's something funny in nearly any situation. If you're unable to find something at that moment, remember another time that was humorous.

9. Focus on being patient. Try slowing everything down and calming your anger. Your emotions are much less likely to get out of control if you react more peacefully. Those who are patient have more freedom and options.

10. Think positive thoughts. Anger is based on your interpretation of the situation. Avoid assuming the worst. Positive thoughts result in positive emotions and a happier life.
Anger is a sign of poor self-control and it's an emotion that rarely leads to a positive outcome. When you're angry, you're likely to make unfavorable choices. Poor decisions make life and relationships more challenging than they need to be.

Work on controlling your anger daily. Consider getting professional help if anger is prominent in your life. With a little practice, nearly anyone can learn to control their anger.

Taking Care of Yourself

A cobbler lived in a large village and he was the only cobbler in town, so he was responsible for repairing the boots of everybody else. However, he didn’t have time to repair his own boots. This wasn’t a problem at first, but over time, his boots began to deteriorate and fall apart.

While he worked feverishly on the boots of everyone else, his feet got blisters and he started to limp. His customers started to worry about him, but he reassured them that everything was OK.

However, after a few years, the cobbler’s feet were so injured that he could no longer work and no-one’s boots got repaired. As a consequence, soon the entire town started to limp in pain, all because the cobbler never took the time to repair his own boots.

This simple principle is so often disregarded. If you don’t look after yourself, after a while you’ll be no good to anyone else either. Your best intentions will mean nothing and you’ll be unable to do what you’re meant to do.

This goes for Professionals, Employees, Leaders, Social Workers, Teachers and even Parents.

If you don’t take the time to care for yourself, no-one else will.

Are you taking care of yourself?

Have a good time ahead and kindly take care of your health FIRST, only then you will be able to help others.

Self-care is not self-pamper, it is self-preservation…!!!

60 Quotable Quotes worth reading

1. You cannot change what you refuse to confront.

2. Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can

fall together.

3. Don't think of cost. Think of value.

4. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things

clearly.

5. Too many people buy things they don't need, with money

they don't have, to impress people they don't

know. Read Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

6. No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow

you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who

isn't trying.

7. If a person wants to be a part of your life, they will make

an obvious effort to do so. Think twice before reserving

a space in your heart for people who do not make an

effort to stay.

8. Making one person smile can change the world – maybe

not the whole world, but their world.

9. Saying someone is ugly doesn't make you any prettier.

10. The only normal people you know are the ones you don't

know very well.

11. Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it.

12. The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process

of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are

special too.

13. It's better to be alone than to be in bad company.

14. As we grow up, we realize it becomes less important to

have more friends and more important to have real ones.

15. Making a hundred friends is not a miracle. The miracle is

to make a single friend who will stand by your side even

when hundreds are against you.

16. Giving up doesn't always mean you're weak, sometimes it

means you are strong enough and smart enough to let go

and move on.

17. Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the

same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller,

Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresea, Leonardo da Vinci,

Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, etc…

18. If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse.

19. Don't choose the one who is beautiful to the world; choose

the one who makes your world beautiful.

20. Falling in love is not a choice. To stay in love is.

21. True love isn't about being inseparable; it's about two people

being true to each other even when they are separated.

22. While you're busy looking for the perfect person, you'll

probably miss the imperfect person who could make you

perfectly happy.

23. Never do something permanently foolish just because

you are temporarily upset.

24. You can learn great things from your mistakes when you

aren't busy denying them. Read The 7 Habits of Highly

Effective People.

25. In life, if you don't risk anything, you risk everything.

26. When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the

right things a chance to catch you.

27. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is

preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.

28. There isn't anything noble about being superior to

another person. True nobility is in being superior to

the person you once were.

29. Trying to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.

30. You will never become who you want to be if you

keep blaming everyone else for who you are now.

31. People are more what they hide than what they show.

32. Sometimes people don't notice the things others do for

them until they stop doing them.

33. Don't listen to what people say, watch what they do.

34. Being alone does not mean you are lonely, and being

lonely does not mean you are alone.

35. Love is not about sex or showing off.

It's about being with a person who makes you happy in

a way nobody else can.

36. Anyone can come into your life and say how much

they love you. It takes someone really special to stay

in your life and show how much they love you.

37. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy

suiting. Don't save it for a special occasion; today

is special.

38. Love and appreciate your parents. We are often so

busy growing up, we forget they are also growing old.

39. When you have to start compromising yourself and

your morals for the people around you, it's probably

time to change the people around you.

40. Learn to love yourself first, instead of loving the idea

of other people loving you.

41. When someone tells you, "You've changed," it might simply

be because you've stopped living your life their way.

42. Someone else doesn't have to be wrong for you to be right.

43. Be happy. Be yourself. If others don't like it, then let them be.

Happiness is a choice. Life isn't about pleasing everybody.

44. When you're up, your friends know who you are. When you're

down, you know who your friends are.

45. Don't look for someone who will solve all your problems;

look for someone who will face them with you.

46. If you expect the world to be fair with you because you

are fair, you're fooling yourself. That's like expecting the

lion not to eat you because you didn't eat him.

47. No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each

day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is

desperately fighting for theirs.

48. The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the

grandest intention.

49. Many people are so poor because the only thing they

have is money.

50. Learn to appreciate the things you have before time

forces you appreciate the things you once had.

51. When you choose to see the good in others, you end

up finding the good in yourself.

52. You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown

by staying there.

53. It's better to know and be disappointed than to never

know and always wonder.

54. There are things that we don't want to happen but have

to accept, things we don't want to know but have to learn,

and people we can't live without but have to let go.

55. Happiness is not determined by what's happening around

you, but rather what's happening inside you. Most people

depend on others to gain happiness, but the truth is, it

always comes from within.

56. If you tell the truth, it becomes a part of your past.

If you lie, it becomes a part of your future.

57. What you do every day matters more than what you

do every once in a while. Read The Power of Habit.

58. You can't start the next chapter of your life if you keep

re-reading your last one.

59. Things turn out best for people who make the best out

of the way things turn out.

60. If you don't like something, change it. If you can't

change it, change the way you think about it.

Relationship in detail

Good Partners Behave in 20 Ways

1) They ignore past mistakes

A good partner puts the past in perspective and doesn’t constantly bring up reminders from the past that serve no valuable purpose in the present. Such as something their partner did months or years earlier. Move on!

2) They don’t compare

The partner realizes that each person they date has strengths and weaknesses and refrains from comparing their current partner to their exes – especially unfavorably. Just because an ex was unfaithful does not mean that another partner will be so too.

3) They understand the idea of ‘give and take’

The partner is aware that all relationships need both partners to put in effort. It’s all about balance, about the give and take. If one person does all the taking, the imbalance will lead to problems. The person doing all the giving will end up resentful.

4) They know the importance of time alone

A good partner understands when they need space and a time out. A healthy relationship involves having interests outside the relationship, and spending too much time together can lead to a feeling of suffocation. Again, it’s all about balance.

5) They prioritize communication

The partner places communication as a high priority. Many if not most issues can be worked out if you have the ability to communicate with one another. Being able to talk openly and knowing you will be heard and not ignored or dismissed is vital for the longevity of a relationship.

6) They are straightforward and/or uncomplicated

A good partner doesn’t engage in game playing. They live with integrity and speak up about problems instead of engaging in underhanded tactics such as passive aggressive behavior or withdrawing affection.

7) They are ‘tuned in’

The partner knows their significant other’s ‘love language,’ from acts of service to affection to spending quality time together to verbal expressions to gifts.

8) They are light hearted

A good partner has a good sense of humor, and you can exchange jokes with them and make each other laugh.

9) They are reasonable

The partner has realistic expectations of their significant other. We’re all human and we all make mistakes. A good partner doesn’t have double standards whereby one set of rules applies to them and a different set of rules applies to everyone else.

10) They are self-aware

A good partner understands when they are projecting. Often, we expect others to show strengths that we wish we had. When they don’t, we feel disappointed. Learn to develop these skills in yourself and use your relationship as a way forward to enlightenment and personal growth.

11) They are optimistic

The partner has positive expectations; they expect the relationship to be good and to last and don’t dwell on negatives. Focusing on the bad parts can lead to self fulfilling prophecies.

12) They take responsibility for themselves

A good partner doesn’t expect their significant other to be the only source of happiness in their life. They  realize that we are all responsible for our own happiness. A partner is a wonderful bonus but not a necessity in life.

13) They are not emotionally abusive, manipulative or controlling

A good partner treats their significant other with respect by not criticizing them relentlessly, embarrassing them in front of others or trying to control them.

14) They are generous with their time and/or resources

The partner shows empathy and works with you as a team. It’s not all about them, just like it’s not all about you. You work together, and they understand the concept of strength in numbers and are happy to offer support.

15) They are dependable

A good partner is reliable and responsible, always there for you in a crisis if thy are able to.

16) They are supportive

A good partner encourages you to be the best you can be. They do not feel threatened by your success and they naturally bring out the best in you.

17) They put consistent effort into the relationship

A caring, good partner realizes that relationships take work and don’t chug along for ever without putting any effort in. The honeymoon phase is really just that, a phase!

18) They are honest and trustworthy

The partner is trustworthy, say what they mean and would never cheat on you. If they did meet someone else, they would end the relationship rather than deceive you and hurt you by leading you on.

19) They are able to say “sorry”

A good partner is self aware enough to know when they are in the wrong and have no problem with apologizing.

20) They are your best friend

A good partner offers a wonderful friendship. Friendship can hold a relationship together when the going gets tough. If you are friends, the other problems can always be worked out, since friendship provides a solid foundation for a happy healthy relationship.
Of course, we are all human and can’t be good partners 100% of the time. A good partner, however, will possess most of the qualities listed above and will generally be someone who is happy with who they are and how they live their lives. Once self-acceptance established, there is always more to give to others.