The greatest gift you can give someone is your time. I wholeheartedly believe that and do what I can to be there for anyone that needs me, in anyway I possibly can. When you give someone your time, it’s priceless, and you are giving them a piece of yourself you will never have again. Then again, why would you want to…part of the biggest issue today possibly is everyone’s schedule seems to be so overbooked. They do not have any room to step back, be there for each other, or relax and unwind for themselves. Along the way, you really can’t forget to take care of that other really important person, yourself. Look Out World, She Did It- Our daughter is 17 and has her permit. Just recently she went to take her license road test and failed the parallel parking part of the test. She was devastated and convinced she wouldn’t get her license. A few weeks and a few practice sessions from dad and lots of encouragement, Emily finally got her driver’s license. Just stay off the sidewalk and everyone should be fine!! (Only kidding) Emily is a good driver but when she didn’t get her license on the first try like she thought she would, she began talking herself into the “I’m never going to get it” mentality. The hardest part was calming her down and helping her adjust her thinking back to the “I’ve Got This!!” mindset. Here are some key thoughts: · Focus on loving and helping yourself, your family and others and always be grateful for what you, not others have · Focus on and challenge your own accomplishments every day · Give yourself a pat on the back occasionally, credit your achievements, not just focus on your misfortunes or mistakes · Make a plan/list of achievable goals and stick to them until they are done…even if it takes longer than you expected · Change the way you think about things---try and be more positive…every little bit helps · Believe in yourself · Encourage yourself and others through challenging situations · Tell yourself you’ve got this and influence others · It takes courage to deal with failure and strength to brush yourself off and get back up · Remember each day is a gift Achievement can be your own battle between you and yourself (your self-esteem). When you work towards own goals, not the ones others set out there for you. You have a spouse or a close friend? Work with them to figure, out a game plan that best works for you and your family or individual dynamic. Ultimately however, big or small these are your accomplishments, whether its giving someone your time or completing a job expectation, they are going to take dedication, hard work and even saying no to other things/people (I for one have a really hard time with that one) and believing in yourself-especially when its really difficult (yes, about that, well we can’t all be perfect). That’s just one reason I love doing what I can to make a difference in other’s lives. Why does it always seem to be complimentary or giving to others, even our pets, but not so much when it comes to ourselves? It always seems that we focus on what we didn’t do, what we should’ve done, or should’ve said, instead of any of the positives in our lives. It should be second nature to self-talk as we do to others. Just the other day, I was calling Pretty to take a walk. I was saying “Come on, Baby Girl let’s go, Princess Prettypants”, but looked in the mirror after a night of not sleeping and thought, “Oh wow, how can you go out looking like that” Instead of thinking something like “tired or not you’re beautiful” like my husband says to me all the time. He has been an amazing influence and driving force in my pursuit to continue my education. He’s always encouraging me when I want to display my passion for working with the elderly or veterans. We just finished our ninth year collecting Christmas cards for the local veterans from the area schools, our program called, “Cards for Vets”, which collects cards for veterans Memorial Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, remember to encourage, not discourage, yourself-despite what others may think, feel or say. Spend time doing things for others without expecting things in return, take time for yourself-even when you think you don’t need it, because that’s usually when you need it most. Take time to enjoy life, appreciate the small things because sometimes those small moments or things—really are the big things. -Jeannie
