Whenever you are dealing with someone or something of unknown value the first one who places a value on it establishes its worth.

Consider, for example, lust versus love. When we lust after someone or something, we think in terms of what they (or it) can do for us. When we love, however, our thoughts are immersed in what we can give to someone else. Giving makes us feel good, so we do it happily. But when we lust, we only want to take. When someone we love is in pain, we feel pain. When someone whom we lust is in pain, we only think in terms of what that loss or inconvenience means to us.

The next time you make a snap judgment about a situation, take a few moments to understand an opposing viewpoint.

When we rise above our temptations and resist them, we exercise self-control. And that's when we experience true freedom and emotional health.

Studies show that when we vocalize an opinion, whether or not we believe it to be true, in time we usually come to support it.

Freedom is the crux of self-respect. It is difficult to feel good about ourselves when we are unnaturally dependent on someone or something.

When someone refuses to listen to you or others, there is one source or entity that he will listen to: Call it God, the universe, a higher power, karmic law, whatever. At any rate, if he feels that the universe is trying to tell him something, then he may listen. He won't listen to you or anyone else, but the universe, that's a different story.