Quote of the Day: 31 December 2025 #QotD

“My brother-in-law bought my small children kazoos for Christmas. I have a new mortal enemy.” -The Fat Electrician
[Happy New Year's Eve!]

Quote of the Day: 30 December 2025 #QotD

“Deliberate practice is hard. It hurts. But it works. More of it equals better performance. Tons of it equals great performance.” -Geoff Colvin
[This is something to keep in mind as you make decisions relating to new years resolutions and goals for self-improvement.]

Quote of the Day: 29 December 2025 #QotD

“Hindsight is confoundedly futile.” -Elihu Nivens, The Puppet Masters
[Looking back is only useful in some situations. Does it help you in this moment to do better than in the past? Then you're probably on firm footing. Is it tearing down your ability to function in the here and now? Then you probably ought to knock it off and get to something more productive.]

Quote of the Day: 28 December 2025 #QotD

“The overarching purposes of the Father’s plan are to provide His spirit children with opportunities to receive a physical body, learn ‘good from evil’ through mortal experience, grow spiritually, and progress eternally.” -David A. Bednar

Quote of the Day: 27 December 2025 #QotD

“Faith isn’t knowledge, Rachel. Faith is a tool. Faith keeps us going until we get the knowledge. Faith keeps us striving until we reach the consequences of our most important decisions.” -Galloran, Chasing the Prophecy
[I am still learning what faith really is, but the best approximation I've come up with so far is that it is a belief that motivates to action. I'm certain there is more to it than that, but that does a good job of getting me a lot of the way there.]

Quote of the Day: 26 December 2025 #QotD

“The behavior of the religious makes a lot more sense once you accept that they actually believe it[.]” -@xwanyex
[Until then you will continually be perplexed by both what they do and what they say.]

Quote of the Day: 25 December 2025 #QotD

“Through the Savior’s willingness to ‘[descend] below all things,’ as requirements of His infinite Atonement, Jesus Christ offered the perfect gift and expression of love and hope. ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’ And our loving Heavenly Father, by allowing His Only Begotten Son to make such a sacrifice, provided us with an ultimate expression of His love as His gift to the rest of His children.” -Henry B. Eyring
[Merry Christmas!]

Quote of the Day: 24 December 2025 #QotD

“Today we are surrounded by man and his creations. Man is inescapable, everywhere on the globe, and nature is a fantasy, a dream of the past, long gone.” -Michael Crichton
[Nature still exists, but we don't need to interact with it to nearly the same extent that we used to. That means we are easy to fool about how deadly nature really is.]

Quote of the Day: 23 December 2025 #QotD

“Healthy relationships aren't based on need.” -Devon Eriksen
[This is true at an interpersonal level as well as up to organizational and international levels.]

Quote of the Day: 22 December 2025 #QotD

“[W]e should spend more time and effort helping things go right than dealing with things that are going wrong.” -Yusuf al-Falah, The Anatomy of Peace
[Improving things is a constant and unending process. We won't ever accomplish perfection, so there's plenty of room for improvement.]

Quote of the Day: 21 December 2025

“In looking to God, we can find peace in difficulty, and our faith can continue to grow even in times of doubt and spiritual challenge.” -D. Todd Christofferson

Quote of the Day: 20 December 2025 #QotD

“[E]merging research suggests that imaginary play promotes self-control, among many other desirable qualities such as creative thinking, confidence, and good communication.” -Ethan Kross
[Play. It's good for you, and it's fun, too.]

Quote of the Day: 19 December 2025 #QotD

“I’m just going to sit here until the world starts making sense, if that’s all right.” -Seneira, Shadowblack
[This seems a good way to end up not doing anything at all.]

Quote of the Day: 18 December 2025 #QotD

“Last night there seemed to be a chance. Anything was possible last night. That was the trouble with last nights. They were always followed by this mornings.” -Brutha (thought), Small Gods
[There are times when everything seems possible and afterward comes the time to implement all the grand plans, and you find that implementation stinks. It's all hard work.]

Quote of the Day: 17 December 2025 #QotD

“[L]asting transformations from good to great follow a general pattern of buildup followed by breakthrough.” -Jim Collins
[Don't expect changes you implement to yield results immediately. It will require a period of adjustment and adaptation.]

Quote of the Day: 16 December 2025 #QotD

“You can have either a sense of humor or a sense of righteous indignation, not both[.]” -@DaleJust2
[It's hard to maintain the air of superiority necessary for the indignation if you're also chuckling about the situation.]

Quote of the Day: 15 December 2025 #QotD

“I do not willingly accept ignorance.” -Golan Trevize, Foundation’s Edge
[This is a good attitude to adopt. You can accept that you are currently ignorant, but it doesn't have to stop there. There are ways to address the lack of knowledge.]

Quote of the Day: 14 December 2025 #QotD

“Jesus Christ, the greatest of all, suffered for us until He bled from every pore, yet He never allowed anger to inflame His heart, nor did aggressive, offensive, or profane words escape His lips, even amid such affliction.” -Ulisses Soares

Quote of the Day: 13 December 2025 #QotD

“Well, remember what you said, because in a day or two, I’ll have a witty and blistering retort! You’ll be devastated then, I promise!” -Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes
[L'esprit d'escalier. It's a real thing. Strong emotions overcome your intellect and leave you with a fraction of your typical wit and ability to engage in repartee.]

Quote of the Day: 12 December 2025 #QotD

“Don’t rush your most important work. Allow it instead to unfold along a sustainable timeline, with variations in intensity, in settings conducive to brilliance.” -Cal Newport
[Allowing things to develop organically can be hard, and at times doesn't fit with the timeline we'd like to experience. However, it's probably a better result when we do allow it to happen.]

Quote of the Day: 11 December 2025 #QotD

“Each of you imagines this book, and its characters, a little differently—each of you puts your own stamp on it, making it yours. I don’t think a story is quite finished until that has happened to it—until the dream in my head has become a reality (even if briefly) in yours.” -Brandon Sanderson
[Every book is actually an innumerable quantity of very similar stories. Each one incomplete until it occupies the mind of the reader. No two people will imagine a story exactly the same way. Even listeners of audio books will think of some things differently than others.]

Quote of the Day: 10 December 2025 #QotD

“There is this, boy. And you should remember it in every situation, not just this one. Learning is never wrong.” -Chade, Assassin’s Apprentice
[This is in contrast with how people may treat you for learning. Especially that which they deem to be forbidden knowledge. Expect denunciation for that.]

Quote of the Day: 9 December 2025 #QotD

“It is very strange that ‘banned books’ has become a marketing gimmick to sell those same books to a clientele convinced they are doing something subversive when they are in fact engaged in the most establishment-compliant act one could possibly do.” -Eric M Hamilton
[A lot of the banned books displays at libraries and bookstores are just advertising the fact that those books are not banned. How could they be if they're right there available for checkout or purchase?]

Quote of the Day: 8 December 2025 #QotD

“He had spent a lot of time thinking about himself, and had come to the conclusion that he was definitely not self-absorbed.” -Scott Meyer
[That seems about right. That is what most people would think, isn't it?]

Quote of the Day: 7 December 2025 #QotD

“Like Naaman resisting the River Jordan or the children of Israel refusing to look at the serpent on the staff, how easy it is for us to dismiss the source of our redemption because the ingredients and the instruments seem embarrassingly plain.” -Jeffrey R. Holland

Quote of the Day: 6 December 2025 #QotD

“If you think of this world as a place intended simply for our happiness, you find it quite intolerable: think of it as a place of training and correction and it’s not so bad.” -C. S. Lewis
[Perspective is everything. And this life is only temporary.]

Quote of the Day: 5 December 2025 #QotD

“Despair has its own calms.” -Jonathan Harker, Dracula
[But they aren't enjoyable or relaxing.]

Quote of the Day: 4 December 2025 #QotD

“The prevailing vision of our era is long overdue for a critical re-examination—or, for many, a first examination.” -Thomas Sowell
[It is always worthwhile to have explored the bases for your thinking. And to abandon any that don't hold up to scrutiny.]

Quote of the Day: 3 December 2025 #QotD

“[T]here are some who exhaust themselves learning and investigating things that, once learned and investigated, do not matter in the slightest to the understanding or the memory.” -Don Quixote, Don Quixote
[I can think of many such people. Both in and out of academia, by the way. Don't think you're safe from this tendency merely because you don't toil in the fields of the mind for your support.]

Quote of the Day: 2 December 2025 #QotD

“Life is crueler than a parking meter.” -Pig, Pearls Before Swine
[Life is dynamic. A parking meter is fairly static. Of course life has harsher lows. But there are far greater highs, and many more of them as well.]

Quote of the Day: 1 December 2025 #QotD

“Destruction is finite, obstruction is infinite[.]” -G. K. Chesterton
[You can get a lot more satisfaction out of mucking things up than by entirely destroying them. Because then you get to come back and do it all again when order has been restored.]

Quote of the Day: 30 November 2025 #QotD

“Healing and forgiveness are each found in their fulness in the atoning love of Jesus Christ.” -Neil L. Andersen

Quote of the Day: 29 November 2025 #QotD

“[I]t is never a good thing when the septic tank guy knocks on the door and says ‘Sir, I’ve got some bad news.’” -Daddybear71
[As I live with a sewer connection, I've never had this exact experience. But, I have received similar news from professionals I'd rather not have heard from. Home ownership is a stream of constant 'bad news'.]

Quote of the Day: 28 November 2025 #QotD

“Parenting is a full-time job, and taking a family vacation is just working remotely.” -Henpecked Hal
[Happy travels to all those who observe the annual visits to family.]

Quote of the Day: 27 November 2025 #QotD

“Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favor, able interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.” -George Washington
[Happy Thanksgiving!]

Quote of the Day: 26 November 2025 #QotD

“Home is where you embrace the present and plan the future.” -Harry Dresden, Peace Talks
[I hope each of you have a place you can consider 'home'. Whether that is somewhere you reside or not.]

Quote of the Day: 25 November 2025 #QotD

“Life’s a curse, kid. Love is the cure.” -Ferius Parfax, Spellslinger
[Embrace those who love you and share your love with those you love freely. Your life will be better for it. I promise.]

Quote of the Day: 24 November 2025 #QotD

“I have to admit that people who expand their consciousness by living instead of by taking chemicals usually come back with much more interesting reports of where they’ve been.” -Ursula K. Le Guin
[This is congruent with my own experiences. Most drug users are people I'd rather avoid, and the exceptions are still outclassed by people who don't do those things.]

Quote of the Day: 23 November 2025 #QotD

“And the glorious news is He offers the same new beginning to you and to me. All of us can have a new beginning through, and because of, Jesus Christ. Even you. New beginnings are at the heart of the Father’s plan for His children. This is the church of new beginnings! This is the church of fresh starts!” -Patrick Kearon

Quote of the Day: 22 November 2025 #QotD

“Sometimes the best thing a man could hope for was to set things right.” -Earl Harbinger, Monster Hunter Alpha
[And, as a man, it is his duty to attempt to accomplish that.]

Quote of the Day: 21 November 2025 #QotD

“America doesn't need more leadership, it needs less followership” -David Burge
[Blindly following someone else's direction has never led to good outcomes. But, what if we try it this time?]

Quote of the Day: 20 November 2025 #QotD

“The best performers set goals that are not about the outcome but about the process of reaching the outcome.” -Geoff Colvin
[There are things that are within your control, and things that are outside of your control. If you focus on things that rely on things you cannot control, you will end up disappointed in proportion to how lucky you are. On the other hand, if you focus on the things within your control, you'll be happier as you realize how successful your efforts have actually been.] 

Quote of the Day: 19 November 2025 #QotD

“We’re simply trying to survive—and the first principle of survival is not to worry about the impossible and concentrate on what’s possible.” -Patricia “Peewee” Reisfeld, Have Space Suit – Will Travel_
[It's a good thing to keep in mind in general. But is especially applicable when in a life-or-death situation.]

Quote of the Day: 18 November 2025 #QotD

“Some people build model ships. Some pop bubble wrap. I’m more into dueling gibbons.” -Jason Walker, Chasing the Prophecy
[Everyone has a hobby of some kind. Just a matter of what it is.]

Quote of the Day: 17 November 2025 #QotD

“It came to me suddenly that evil was, perhaps, necessarily always more impressive than good. It had to make a show! It had to startle and challenge! It was instability attacking stability. And in the end, I thought, stability will always win.” -Mark Easterbrook, The Pale Horse
[I think this is true in the long run, however, in any individual instance evil may overpower good. You still have to strive for the good anyway. It will make a difference for you (your soul, at least.) So, strive on. Endure and triumph.]

Quote of the Day: 16 November 2025 #QotD

“The Lord is truly hastening His work in our time. We should be profoundly grateful for the hastening, which has occurred and is occurring despite these challenging times. We live in a day when the Lord’s followers are privileged to hear His voice and respond with open hearts and minds.” -Quentin L. Cook

Quote of the Day: 15 November 2025 #QotD

“A characteristic of all crises is their predictability, in retrospect. They seem to have a certain inevitability, they seem predestined.” -Michael Crichton
[The key part of this being the word 'retrospect'. In hindsight, almost anything can seem predictable. But there are plenty of things you do not know you are ignorant of. Those things make the world unpredictable.]

Quote of the Day: 14 November 2025

“The majority of the human race cannot or will not see beyond their own desires for more wealth, more pleasure, more status, and less work. They must be restrained even by the most libertarian of civilizations, because without that restraint, there is no civilization, and without civilization, no liberty.” -Devon Eriksen
[Selfishness is part of human nature. It would be foolish to expect most of the population to ignore that pull and vote in such a way that will result in the most good for the most people. We have done that anyway with universal suffrage. I don't know how best to determine who should be eligible to vote, but I do know that what we are doing now is not working well.]

Quote of the Day: 12 November 2025 #QotD

“[M]ost who are trying to put an end to injustice only think of injustices they believe they themselves have suffered. Which means that they are concerned not really with injustice but with themselves. They hide their focus on themselves behind the righteousness of their outward cause.” -Yusuf al-Falah, The Anatomy of Peace
[I probably do this sometimes. But I know I've encountered others who definitely do this.]

Quote of the Day: 12 November 2025 #QotD

“The human need to self-present is powerful. We craft our appearances to influence how people perceive us all the time.” -Ethan Kross
[Oft times we care too much about what other people think about us. Instead, we ought to care what we think of ourselves. And then let others take care of themselves.]