Saving for a rainy day. Fasting as part of a spiritual practice. Dieting in an effort to improve your body. Abstaining from sex as a way of honoring a spiritual tradition or personal promise. Being financially conservative. Establishing a trust fund. Opening a savings account.
Being stingy. Refusing to spend money that needs to be spent. Withholding sex from your partner. Taking care of your own needs exclusively, without regard for the needs of others. Spending a dollar to save a penny. Failing to be a good manager of the blessings you’ve been given.
Allowing events to unfold. Seeing the larger pattern in everyday events. Trusting your luck. Watching for cycles. Believing that “what goes around, comes around.”
Losing money gambling. Refusing to do your part to bring a plan to fruition. Taking a fatalistic approach to life. Fighting the natural course of events.
Sharing in a great celebration. Sharing in a communal sense of achievement and success. Preparing for a party. Working together toward a common goal. Giving or winning awards.
Keeping your nose to the grindstone. Recognizing good work by demanding more work. Failing to share in a group celebration. Allowing sour grapes to poison your moment in the sun. Refusing to do your part.
Hoping for the best. Believing good things happen to good people. Seeing events in the best possible light. Adopting a generous spirit. Seeking guidance from above. Embracing possibility over probability.
Denying unpleasant truths. Denying personal accountability and saying, “Things just happen!” Ignoring signs and omens. Preferring illusion to reality. Spreading pessimism and stinginess of spirit.
Holding your own in extreme circumstances. Helping others carry their burdens. Coming to the aid of the oppressed. Knowing and being honest about your own limits. Recognizing when you are not well-suited for a particular task.
Taking on more work than you know you can handle. Refusing to say “No” when you’re already overloaded. Making a habit of working overtime. Shielding others from facing the consequences of their own poor judgment. Over-extending yourself on a regular basis.
Refusing to make a decision without getting the facts. Exploring both sides of an argument. Arguing passionately for what you believe in. Weighing the issues. Encouraging the open exchange of ideas. Discussing political or religious issues without getting “hot under the collar.”
Rejecting evidence that conflicts with dearly-held beliefs. Arguing with others just for the sake of doing so. Nit-picking. Putting off a decision because you’re afraid to face the consequences. Preventing others from getting the information they need to make good decisions.
Putting a plan into motion. Taking that critical first step. Making good things happen. Going beyond your limits. Blazing new trails. Hitting the ground running. Seeing your plans come to fruition.
Procrastinating. Knowing what to do, but refusing to do it. Launching a project without a clear definition of who should do what. Rejecting an opportunity to try something new. Failing to finish what you start.
Bringing opposites together. Moderating your actions or emotions. Finding middle ground. Reaching compromises. Synthesizing solutions that please everyone involved. Using the old to make something new.
Going to extremes. Disrupting group efforts. Ignoring healthy approaches to life. Becoming an addict. Practicing gluttony. Tearing something or someone apart. Breaking alliances.
Expressing yourself with firmness and authority. Rendering a final decision. Consulting an expert. Calling in advisors and consultants. Coming to a final conclusion. Reaching a beneficial agreement based on sound information.
Insisting on having the last word. Flaunting your intellectual capability. Talking “over the heads” of others. Waffling on an important decision. Constantly changing your mind. Refusing to make choices that are in your own best interest. Wishing in vain you could take back what’s been said.
