A friend shared the following story with me. She runs every morning. When she runs she takes her Brittany Spaniel with her. Half way into her run she crossed through a large park. She came across two dogs with leashes but no one was near them. She stopped and called to the dogs. One dog came over and made friends with her Brittany. The other watched and then came over. She checked their collars and found a phone number. She called the number. An elderly woman answered. The elderly woman said her husband died a few weeks earlier and she had given the dogs to her daughter. The runner asked for the daughter’s number and continued to speak with the woman for ten minutes. The runner called the woman’s daughter. An hour later there was a reunion of dogs and the elderly woman’s daughter. The runner never completed the distance she wanted to complete, but she made an elderly woman and her daughter happy. Small acts of kindness go a long, long, way.
Better life
A Better Life ~ What Kind of Life are You Creating?
We create our lives moment by moment. We can ask ourselves, ‘What kind of life am I creating?’ Is it a life I will look back upon and be proud? Is it a life I will look back upon with regrets? It’s never too late to change the trajectory of one’s life. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming to create a well lived life. We can look at each sunrise and become the authors of a new life’s chapter. When we take it a chapter (day) at a time, we create the building blocks of the edifice we are creating. At the end of the day, if we reflect on our day we can see the places that need course corrections or places that we want to repeat. Create a magnificent life worthy of you. You are unique, one of a kind, and you have something special to offer to life.
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A Better Life ~ Get Excited About Life
Take time out for a personal checkup. Are you excited about who you are and the future that lies ahead of you? No matter your age, you are capable of moving far beyond of where you are at the moment. Think of it this way, when a plant stops growing it starts dying. You’ve got lots of growing to do. There are so many things to learn, so many places to see, so many potential challenges to test us. The only thing that stops us from growing is are the excuses we’ll make so we can take it easy and let someone else do it. Don’t wave the white flag. There’s an exciting journey waiting for you. All you have to do is jump aboard and enjoy the ride.
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A Better Life ~ Remembering Names
I wasn’t always good at remembering names. Sometimes I would speak with a person and never ask them their name. I was too embarrassed to ask. I decided I would learn how to remember names. I studied different memory strategies and became good at it. I learned people like being called by their name. Our names are personal. It’s who we are. They are assigned to us at birth. A record begins and our names are on it. The simple act of asking someone their name is a sign of respect. It says, I care enough about you to know who you are. When I forget a name I’m no longer embarrassed to say, “I forgot your name.”, This morning I saw someone I hadn’t seen in a while. I remembered his name. I said, “Hi, Juan, how are you?” Juan wasn’t quite sure of my name. He said, “It’s Ray, right?” I nodded. After a brief conversation, we wished each other a great day. Make an effort to remember names. You’ll make lots of new friends and make people feel good when you greet them by name.
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A Better Life ~ Our Shared Experiences
Teardrops and laughter are a shared experience of every human being. To love and be loved are a shared experience of every human being. There are many other experiences we all share. Our shared experiences are reasons to cooperate and act compassionately toward each other. When we build each up we are also building ourselves. We’re all sharing this great ride on planet Earth, why not work with each other, build each other, and celebrate together at day’s end? It will make all the difference.
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A Better Life ~ Wait and See – It’s All Going to Work Out
Yesterday, the high temperature was nearly 100 F (38C) in south Texas. A line of thunderstorms came through in the middle of night bringing much needed rain. A brisk, cooling wind stayed around for most of the morning. Today, the high temperature is 76F (24.4C). What a pleasant difference. The weather provides a good life’s lesson. If we don’t quit, things will change. Chances are, they’ll change for the better. If we let negative thinking take hold we begin catastrophizing assuming the worst possible outcome. It’s better to take a wait and see attitude and continue to grind, holding on to hope that it will all work out. It will. Hang in there.
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A Better Life ~ Want to Feel Great?
When was the last time you walked holding hands with the special person in your life? Skin is the largest organ in our body and when it is touched it sends good and bad touch messages to our brain. When our touches are tender, filled with love like a hug our brain releases a hormone called oxytocin makes us feel good and firms up emotional and social bonds while lowering anxiety and fear (see WebMd). Put holding hands, close dancing, and hugging high on the list with your special person.
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A Better Life ~ Open the Door to Unlimited Possibilities
If you don’t quit, you have a chance to win. If you don’t quit, you open the door to unlimited possibilities. If you’re tenacious and hold on and keep grinding you may change the outcome. Don’t listen to the false voices that tell you to stop and take it easy. They’re not your friends. Your friend is the inner voice that is saying, ‘you can do it, c’mon, give it another try. C’mon, one more day, tomorrow may be the day where it all comes together.’ Unleash your fighting spirit. It’s inside you. It’s the spirit that doesn’t take no for an answer. it’s the spirit that sees the finish line. It’s the spirit that will propel you forward. Never quit. Never give up.
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A Better Life ~ What Do You Value?
A friend told me that people do what they want to do. That gave me something to think about. It made me think about how I spend my time. Where we spend our time identifies what we value. The more time we spend with it, the more we value it. We can say we value something, but the test is how much time do we spend either supporting what we value or with what we value. Ask yourself what you value most in your life. What if it were taken away from you, how would you feel? This simple test will help you determine what you value most. Make a list of the three most important things you value. Determine how much time you spend on each of these three things. Is it time to reallocate time to what is really important to you? You’ll never regret going all in on what is important. For me it has always come down to family, faith, and health. What are your three?
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A Better Life ~Listening, Learning, and Adapting
I know folks who live by the motto, ‘My way or the highway.’ In other words, if they can’t get their way, they get angry. It applies to the TV shows they watch, what they eat, where they go out to dinner. Their lists are endless. They are not able to adapt to the needs of others or to changing circumstances. When we actively listen and are open to trying new experiences, we find that those we are interacting with become more open to trying new experiences with us. When we learn to flow gracefully with life’s circumstances, life becomes more enjoyable. Listening, learning, and adapting are tools to a happier life. Make listening, learning, and adapting a way of life.
