August 10, 2025
When it comes to life, the Thought of the Day and Question of the Day can sometimes pair up like a fine wine and a slightly ridiculous cheese. Today’s Thought is about keeping your focus despite distractions. Today’s Question is about… well… wondering if we, as a society, have collectively misplaced our common sense somewhere between aisle five and the self-checkout. Let’s dive in.
Thought of the Day: You will never be successful if you throw stones at every dog that barks. — Winston Churchill
Churchill was onto something here. If you stop and respond to every critic, troll, or person whose sole mission in life is to point out that you forgot to use a coaster, you’re going to waste your energy on battles that don’t matter.
I’ve learned this the hard way. There’s a deep temptation to clap back when someone barks your way, whether it’s in person, in an email, or in a passive-aggressive comment online. But all you’re really doing is walking away from your own goals to go throw rocks at a distraction.
There’s an important difference between being aware of your surroundings and being derailed by them. Think of it like when you’re driving—sure, you need to notice the guy weaving in the next lane, but you don’t need to pull over and lecture him about turn signals. Keep your eyes on where you’re going.
If this resonates, you might also like my post on choosing the ultimate goal over the immediate one and my reflection on what happens when you stop pulling people out of the river and go upstream.

Question of the Day: Why do we need so many warning labels?
The other day, I was holding my son’s beach ball when I noticed a printed warning: “Use under competent supervision.” Competent. Supervision. For a beach ball.
I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid, my parents didn’t hover over me while I played with inflatable plastic. Sure, I might have whacked myself in the face a few times, but that’s just called “summer.” Now we apparently need to remind people that a beach ball is not an inherently dangerous object unless you’ve somehow decided to fill it with cement.
It makes me wonder—are these warnings because companies think we’ve all lost our minds, or because a few very litigious people once made a bad decision and called a lawyer? Either way, I can’t shake the feeling that if we keep going like this, one day my coffee cup will say “Warning: Hot” and my shoes will say “Warning: May cause tripping.” Oh wait… they already do.
If you enjoyed this, you might get a kick out of my take on bad taste is telling the truth.
Your Turn
Have you ever seen a ridiculous warning label that made you laugh—or made you wonder about the story behind it? Share it in the comments below. And if you enjoy these little moments of reflection and humor, join the daily email so you can start your mornings with a Thought and a Question worth chewing on.