Friendly Fridays

"It's nice to be nice to the nice"  a Joe-ism (my husband has a lot!)

 

"You'll get more with Honey than you do Vinegar" a favorite quote of my dad's...

Is it just me or is the world getting more and more rude, mean and just... not nice?    Stories of on line bullying abound, - have you tried to change lanes on a highway lately or merge ~ Driver road rage has a whole new meaning ???  Does anyone say;  Please and Thank You anymore? ... everyone seems to have a grimace on their faces.  With all the technology of IPhones that supposedly keep us connected 24/7, we're Not "CONNECTED" anymore! 

I would get flustered if I didn't get through the cashier line quickly enough because I had 3 more things on my to do list and would catch myself saying,  "How are you," but not even pausing long enough to hear a response.  I didn't like running through life like this...

So I implemented a personal endeavor: Friendly Friday over a year ago.  On Friday's, I would do something nice for someone, Perhaps I'd send a card, make a call to a friend I hadn't talked to in a while and LISTEN. Bring baked cookies to my office neighbor, go to lunch with a friend (yes, actually stop working and eating at my desk to actually go to lunch!) ...  I would extend to people I didn't know too, like drop off food at the container at the grocer, drop change in a container instead of walking by,  Help someone open those huge heavy doors at a store or simply smile at a stranger. I'd say thank you more often, look someone in the eye when I spoke and paused to be in the moment.  At first  I would write in my gratitude journal the things that I did and smile that no one knew what I was up to... and with each week, the list would increase, then I'd find I wasn't holding out until Friday... a funny thing happened along the way, I was happier, I was more polite, I was more connected.

Oh I get caught in the hamster wheel of life, but I added "Friendly Fridays" on my outlook calendar as a weekly reminder and before too long I'm back to my happy ways. 

Try it...


Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.  ~Leo Buscaglia

 
Kind hearts are the gardens,
Kind thoughts are the roots,
Kind words are the blossoms,
Kind deeds are the fruits.
~19th century rhyme used in primary schools

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. ~Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

BACK TO SCHOOL ... BACK TO BASICS

Ironically my last post was New Year's related.  I have always looked at September as a time to start fresh... back to school, clearing the clutter and chaos of summer's spontaneity to the structure of the classroom and organization of the day.  I'm not saying I don't totally enjoy the flow of summer, but there's something refreshing about fall calling me with the wisps of crisp air of opportunity.

I think the fall is a great time to get back to basics.

1. DeClutter... I had the pleasure of working with Patricia Diesel a professional organizerhttp://keepitsimplenow.com/blog-2/
and one piece of her sage advice is to find a "home" for everything.  Take the time to cleanse spaces, drawers, closets.  Donate to Salvation Army, Local clothing bins.
 
2.  Learn something new.  I've spent the summer reading entertaining novels and magazines.  The mailbox is brimming with community college classes, Poly Tech courses, Career related or pleasure ... Time to pick one. 
 
3.  Open the windows of your home and your mind.  Like the YES MAN movie with Jim Carrey - Say YES more often.  You'll be amazed at what you've been missing with excuses. 
 
4.    Revisit  your goals from your visualization map.  Have you accomplished what you've endeavored for the year?  Refocus on the one's that still hold meaning to you. 
 
5.  Take time to have Gratitude for what you've experienced, gained and have.  Then plan a way to give back before the end of the year. 
 
6. Look at things as a Kindergartener.  The first time they enter the school all bright eyed full of possibility no expectations, no limitations just ready to explore, learn and make new friends.

So while you may be buying binders, pens, and pencils with fancy calculators or laptops... think about what you want to do this school year!

New Year, New Aspirations.  Part II

For those of us who are just not into cutting out magazine pictures to create a visualization board, you can use a "list making" format worksheet like the one I found on Lululemon, a active wear apparel company's website.

http://www.lululemon.com/files/vision_goals_worksheet.pdf

It's pretty forward thinking on founder, Chip Wilson's part since most New Year Resolutions include losing weight or starting an exercise program.  Kudos!

and to creat POWERFUL goals - follow the instructions on this link:

http://www.lululemon.com/community/blog/day-5-how-to-create-powerful-goals/

It's content is applied to Yoga moves, but the formula transcends into any long or short term personal goals you have. 

• Break down large goals into smaller bite sized pieces
• Write in present tense
• Make is measurable
• Use affirmative language
• Be specific
• By when

For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, "It Might Have Been"

John Greenleaf Whittier

 

What are you waiting for... get goal setting.  

New Year - New Year of Aspirations & Goals

New Year - New Year of Aspirations and Goals

One of my favorite Corporate Management Classes taught me how to Create a Visualization Map - A road map for your future. It forced us an individual's to contemplate the question, "What would you do if you knew you'd couldn't fail" It even dared us to think if our 5 year plan included our current employer!!

It was such a rewarding experience. And I continue to do it every year. Admittedly , sometimes even more than 1 x per year. The directions are simple: put visual images that represent your goals for career, personal, friends/family, spirituality, travel, money etc and by starting with you in the center of the poster board paste and attach your deepest wishes for yourself for the coming year. Prominently display it so you see and review every day and let the power of attraction bring it to you - "what you dwell upon comes to you"  Emphasize on selecting colorful meaningful images, with specific results with as much descriptive a possible. Rhonda Byrne's book The Secret also delves into the notion that what we think about with gratitude we bring about.

There must be something to it, because it happens! I went back after that first experience and everything I had posted came true. They say you cannot control the thoughts or influence others and to keep it personal, but having 2 teenage children, I can't help but make my personal dreams for them  apart of MY map. And after all the years of doing it, my kids can't wait to see what I've included for them.  Lo and behold, they've attained them too.  This year I made individual ones for each of them.  They are both at pivitol parts of their young lives and it was consuming my board...My husband, Joe  asked when he saw them "where's mine?"  It is addictive!  Make your dreams come true too!

Grab your scissors and some old magazines, print your own words of inspiration in multi color if you have to, and photographs. Let your mind be free to cut images that speak to you and don't let your fears interject.. It should be fun, not a chore. Here are some examples. Perfection not required. But daily reflection is a must. 

 

Happy New Year - With Gratitude, I'm achieving my wildest dreams!

  Happy 2013