Article By Kevin L. DeWitt
Have you ever thought about how many words do you speak during an average day? Not including text messaging and emails, the average person speaks about 16,000 words each day.
Of course, much of what we say each day can be much less important than we would hope … minor chit-chat, short exchanges at the checkout line, and (hopefully not often) rants and raves.
There are often things we forgot to say, things we wish later we had said, and still other things we wish we had never said at all throughout the day …
Yet the list is pretty short when you think of the essential things we should make sure to say each day. Here are my top 6. I’ll wager you believe the list is fairly simplistic … yet the positive impact these six things can make in your day – and in the days of others - is pretty dramatic: Read More »
Article By Kevin L. DeWitt
An unknown author once wrote, “My goal in life is to be as good as my dog thinks I am.” This person certainly sets a high standard. You see, cynics will claim we love dogs because they cannot speak … or criticize. I believe, however, we love dogs because they represent the best in us: eagerness, inspiration and selflessness.
In fact, we can learn much from dogs in our lives. When we fall short or lose our way, maybe we should turn to our four-legged friends for motivation. They can help us remember four essential qualities that can be so easily lost:
Zest for life
Imagine waking up to a world filled with endless possibilities. Your senses tingle with every motion, scent and sound. You devote each day to indulging your natural curiosities, exploring and playing.
Unrealistic? Perhaps, but consider the alternative. Imagine a life driven by quotas and deadlines, late nights and commutes, iPhones or BlackBerrys and meetings. If that’s you, it might be time to re-examine. Read More »
Opt for self-control, understanding and forgiving.
Article by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits
If we really want to be happy, why do we act like such babies by complaining all the time?
We can claim to be proactive in our life by settings goals and going after what we want. But if we’re always whining and complaining all the time, are we really living effectively?
If you don’t believe me, count how many times you complain about something or other in one day. Whether it’s being stuck in traffic, being bothered by the weather (it’s too hot… no, it’s too cold!), not enough mustard on your sandwich, or whatever it is, there are endless instances where you can find a reason to complain.
But it’s not just outside circumstances that we complain about. We complain about ourselves too. We complain that we don’t have enough time, we don’t have enough money (this one is huge because it’s often “true”), that we’re not smart enough, cool enough, or just enough. Read More »
Finding Laughter, Love and Kindness in Difficult Times
Article By Stephanie Johnson
Once, my fiancée and I lived in a sleepy little house in a sleepy little town. We were surrounded rolling green hills and plains, and there wasn’t much traffic or noise, and wildlife liked to frolic in our yard.
I never worried about things like where my next meal would come from, if I would have a roof over my head, or clean clothes to wear.
Hard times hit, as they sometimes do. We made decisions we thought would put us in better positions, but instead ended up in dire straits. We were living one incident away from complete disaster, with no healthcare and a faltering safety net, in a city full of busy strangers who didn’t have enough time to help us or care enough to answer our questions.
We took minimum wage, part-time jobs, because that was all we could find with our experience and education. We found that, in this day in age, hands-on experience or education means very little unless you have that all-important piece of paper to accompany it. And then, despite working ourselves ragged, we could not pay all of our bills … and then our employers laid us off. We were good, but we were disposable, replaceable, and the companies were going through hard times too.
My fiancée and I were both, understandably, stressed. Almost to the breaking point. Read More »
Article By Judy Mosley
Recently, on the way to a doctor appointment, my children and I were listening to a CD that I had received for Mother’s Day. The whole family has enjoyed this recording, but what struck me on the ride was hearing my four-year-old singing at the top of his lungs!
He didn’t get all the words right, nor was he exactly in tune, but listening to him sing with so much gusto reminded me of how much I have to be grateful for. I could hear his heart and the sound was beautiful.
And then I started thinking that this beautiful moment had no impact on our current financial situation. So I started wondering … “What else can you do for free”? Read More »
