Tag Archive for: lifestyle

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A 10-Year-Old’s Marching Orders for the Upcoming School Year

father_son

In my opinion, based on my own personal experience, kids function best when they're real clear about exactly what's expected of them in any given situation or under any particular set of circumstances.

Every year since he first began school, in the day or two prior to the beginning of each new school year, I've sat down with my son, who's now ten years old, to "lay down the law", so to speak, about exactly what I expected of him in school and to issue him his "marching orders" for the upcoming school year.

This year won't be any exception. Although my expectations for him haven't changed over the last several years, with a new school year about to begin, I've been thinking about them again in preparation for our annual talk together and thought I'd take a few moments to share them with you.

Here they are:

Expectation #1 - I expect him to behave himself and treat others as he'd like to be treated.

The first and single, most important thing I expect of him in school is to be polite, mind his manners, and treat others as he'd like to be treated.

All three elements of this expectation are very closely related and because he understands *why* they're important, he has no trouble whatsoever living up to them.

Here's why...

One summer day, shortly before he started school, we were driving somewhere (probably a toy store :-)), when, seemingly out of nowhere, he asked me what I knew about this "God thing", as he phrased it.

As simply as I could put it, I shared with him my personal belief...

Essentially...

That One is All and All is One. That one Intelligent Substance manifests itself as what appears to be many elements of the material world.

Simply put...

We're all made from the same Stuff, a Thinking Stuff.

After I finished my simplified explanation of this concept, he sat there quietly for a moment or two, staring out the car window, then he looked at me and said...

"Daddy, that makes sense!"

And, with "ah-ha" written all over his face, he added...

"So that's why you're always telling me to love my neighbor as myself and to treat other people the way I want to be treated, because we're all one, right Daddy?"

At age five...

He got it! 🙂

Expectation #2 - I expect him to do his best.

Unlike many, if not most, parents and teachers, I could care less what his grades in school are...

Really!

You should see the look on people's faces, especially his teachers, when I tell them this. 🙂

So, what do I expect?

Simple...

I expect him to put everything he's got into everything he does and do the best work he can possibly do.

Throughout his writings, Wallace D. Wattles, best known for his classic masterpiece "The Science of Getting Rich", repeatedly stresses the importance of doing all you can do each day and doing each separate act in the most perfect
manner possible.

That's *exactly* what I expect of him!

If, every single day, he does *all* he can do that day and if, every single day, he does each separate thing he does in school in the most *perfect* manner possible, with the purpose of learning...

And that, in the opinion of his teachers and/or the school system, earns him an "A"...

Great!

If it earns him a "B"...

Great!

If it earns him a "C"...

Great!

If it earns him a "D"...

Great!

If it earns him an "F"...

Great...

I really don't care! 🙂

Why?

Because doing everything you can do each day and doing each separate thing you do in the most perfect manner possible with a purpose is the secret to success in anything and if he just learns this one lesson and applies it, he'll be successful in life regardless of what his grades in school are.

Expectation #3 - I expect him to have fun.

Life is meant to be fun, not a bore, and I expect him to have fun in school.

Now...

Please understand...

I don't expect him to be the "class clown" or a "wise guy".

However...

I do expect him to look for ways to make his "work" fun.

If he learns how to make his "work" fun, he'll never have to "work" a day in his entire life.

Well...

There you have them...

My ten-year-old's "marching orders" for the upcoming school year.

In prior school years, because he's been very clear about exactly what I expected of him in school and because he's been very clear about exactly why I expected those things of him, he's never failed to live up to my expectations and make me very proud of him...

I don't expect this school year to be any different. 🙂

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Tony Mase is a serious student of the works of Wallace D. Wattles and the publisher of the "A Powerful Life: The Lost Writings of Wallace D. Wattles" ebook by Wallace D. Wattles...

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"A Powerful Life: The Lost Writings of Wallace D. Wattles"
"How to Get What You Want" by Wallace D. Wattles together with twenty-four other rare books and articles written by Wallace D. Wattles. Click Here => https://www.consultpivotal.com/Apowerful_life.htm

Bloom : Navigating Life and Style

'For me, the word "bloom" encapsulates the idea that anything is possible when you put your mind to it. It's a word that hints at becoming who you are meant to be.' 
 
What makes you happy? What makes you you? What defines your style? 
 
In Bloom, Estee Lalonde shares the moments, people and things that have made her who she is today. She reveals her life lessons, and offers her tips for surviving life and finding you. 
 
Celebrate your bloom story and what makes you unique.
 
 

About Estee Lalonde 
Estee Lalonde is one of the stand-out voices of the digital generation. 
A beauty-and-lifestyle vlogger and social influencer, she has attracted a global audience of millions across her YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat platforms and is known for her friendly, honest and relatable personality. 
Estee Lalonde won InStyle UK's Best Beauty Reviewer Award in 2015 and has partnered up with a number of key global brands, from Burberry and The Body Shop to the United Nations for their Global Goals campaign. 
From a small town in Canada, Estee has lived in the UK for nearly a decade with her boyfriend Aslan and dog Reggie. Both feature across her channels and are also adored by her fans. www.esteelalonde.com @EsteeLalonde www.youtube.com/esteelalonde

Buy from The Book Depository , Amazon 

How Spiritual Principles and Brain Science Can Put an End to Bad Habits and Addictions Forever

 
Little changes can make a big, big difference!  In The Little Book of Big Change, psychologist Amy Johnson shows you how to rewire your brain and overcome your bad habits—once and for all.
No matter what your bad habit is, you have the power to change it. Drawing on a powerful combination of neuroscience and spirituality, this book will show you that you are not your habits. Rather, your habits and addictions are the result of simple brain wiring that is easily reversed. By learning to stop bad habits at the source, you will take charge of your habits and addictions for good.
Anything done repeatedly has the potential to form neural circuitry in the brain. In this light, habits and addictions are impersonal brain wiring problems that result from taking your habitual thinking as truth, and acting on that thinking in the form of doing your habit—over and over. This book offers a number of small changes you can make in your everyday life that will help you stop your bad habit in its tracks.
If you want to understand the science behind your habit, make the decision to end it, and commit to real, lasting change, this book will help you to finally take charge of your life—once and for all.

About the Author

Amy Johnson, PhD, is a life coach, public speaker, and author of two previous books. She works with clients worldwide, helping people see their habits in a way that ends them forever. To find out more, please visit www.dramyjohnson.com.
You can buy the book from Amazon ,  The Book Depository ,  Fishpond.com.au

365 Tiny Love Challenges

Pivotal Books - Tiny Buddhas 365 tiny love challenges



From the founder of the popular online community Tiny Buddha.com comes a daily inspirational guide of simple and creative challenges to help you actively spread love to those around you.

Tiny Buddha's 365 Days of Tiny Love Challenges is a simple guide to help readers pursue happy, connected lives and bring greater love into the world. 

Each week begins with an inspirational message written by members of the TinyBuddha.com online community, followed by seven days of short challenges that focus on self-love, giving and receiving love in relationships and friendships, and spreading love in the world, such as: 

* Write a list of three things you appreciate about yourself and place it somewhere in your home where you'll frequently see it throughout the day 

* Compliment someone who serves you in some way (for example, a waiter, barista, or bus driver) on how well they do their job 

* Keep an eye out for someone who looks sad-a friend, coworker, or even stranger-and say something that might make them laugh or smile. 

By using the book each day throughout the year, readers will learn to develop closer bonds in relationships, let go of anger and bitterness, better understand themselves and their loved ones, and turn strangers into friends.

Lori Deschene is the founder of tinybuddha.com, a community of thousands of people interested in sharing wisdom for a happier life. She is a regular speaker at Wisdom2.0 and a freelance writer whose work has appeared in national magazines. This is her first book.

BUY THE BOOK ...Book Depository,  Amazon.

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Teachers and Tornadoes

Once I got past the awe of witnessing Mother Nature’s astonishing power to wreak devastation in Oklahoma, I was awed by something more positive and uplifting: the instinctive capacity of our species to care about, come to the aid of, and — for those caught in the middle of the calamity — to even sacrifice their own lives for others.

Every day we are surrounded by examples of the dark side of human nature — selfishness, greed, dishonesty and cruelty — which make it hard to resist cynicism. It’s a pity that it often takes a disaster and the heroic actions it evokes to provide compelling contrary evidence, to remind us of the best in human nature.

How can one resist tears hearing of the teachers in Oklahoma who put themselves at risk by shielding children with their own bodies? 

I suspect lots of other adults would have reacted in a similar fashion, but I think teachers really are special.

With the current focus on competence and accountability in education, we tend to undervalue one of the most important qualities of most teachers: their genuine sense of responsibility and affection for the children they teach.

Over and over we’ve seen the powerful instinct of teachers to protect children in school shootings and, more recently, in the horrific tornadoes.

Teachers willingly and without hesitation treated children as their own and put themselves at risk to protect them.

It should be a comfort to parents to know how much teachers really care.

Henry Adams once said, “Teachers affect all eternity. You never know where their influence stops.” He was referring to the way they shape lives by transmitting information and learning skills, but teachers often do so much more. Though only rarely called upon to risk their lives, they regularly touch the lives of students with their commitment and love.

It’s been said that kids don’t care what you know unless they know that you care. Let’s do all we can to commend, congratulate and celebrate teachers who show how much they care.

Remember, character counts.

Michael Josephson
www.whatwillmatter.com

Getting from here to there


When I travel, my daily agenda is always full.

I don't get up late, linger over breakfast, and then start meandering down one country road after another, just to see where they might lead. I'm up early, ready to cram as much into each day as I possibly can. I know exactly where I want to go and, map in hand, I know how to get there.

Come to think of it, that's also how I approach life. I can't just let life happen to me. I need a road map that shows me how to get from where I am now to where I want to be in the future. Of course, if I want to be successful, I can't just leave the roadmap in the glove box. I have to follow it. Diligently.

In our series about travelling through life, we've already talked about travelling light (getting rid of excess emotional baggage and keeping "short accounts") and taking someone with you. Today, my travelling tip is to follow the roadmap. In life, a roadmap is akin to a game plan—a carefully thought-out strategy for achieving success. My game plan probably doesn't look exactly like yours, because my definition of success might be different from yours. But the fact that we might be following slightly different roadmaps doesn't negate the wisdom of using one in the first place. As the saying goes, if you aim at nothing, you're likely to get it.

Regardless of our position and station in life, following the roadmap means:

1. Knowing where you are at this moment. How can you know where you are at this moment? The key word is reflection.

2. Knowing where you want to go. For me, success is knowing my purpose in life, growing to my maximum potential and sowing seeds that benefit others. That's where I want to go.

3. Understanding that life happens between where you are at this moment and where you want to go, and that it's the "between where you are and where you want to go" that causes people to miss life. Some people have what I call "destination disease." They live life thinking, "When I get promoted, I'll be fulfilled" or, "When I get married, I'll be happy" or "If I could just meet that person, I'll be on my way." It's good to plan for the days ahead, but if you're basing all your hopes for fulfilment on some future event, you're actually missing out on the essence of life itself. As John Lennon once wisely observed, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

When it comes to travelling through life, I can't over-emphasize the importance of following the roadmap. But it's also crucial to note that, even if you're following the best map ever made, you'll most likely have to stop and ask for directions from time to time. I'm well aware that this practice is excruciatingly difficult for some of us. And we just might be stubborn and persistent enough to avoid doing it, at least when we're driving somewhere in a car. But in the journey we call life, people who refuse to stop and ask for directions aren't stubborn or persistent; they're foolish.

Unfortunately, an unwillingness to seek advice is all too common among businesspeople today. In The Corporate Steeplechase, New York social psychologist Srully Blotnick says that career men and women in their twenties tend to be ashamed to ask questions, and in their thirties, the desire to be individualistic makes it difficult for them to counsel with colleagues. The value of advice becomes clear only with maturity, he writes.

That's so true. As philosopher John Collins has noted, "To profit from good advice requires more wisdom than to give it." That said, people often make the mistake of following advice without carefully evaluating it first. To avoid this common error, ask yourself the following questions when appraising the validity of any piece of advice:

1. How credible is the source?

2. Am I getting the same advice from different people?

3. Have I made allowances for any biases, pro or con, an advice giver may have?

4. Have I talked with more than one person so I have a basis for judging the advice?

5. Am I in an emotional state to act wisely on this advice?

6. What is the ratio between the potential cost of acting on the advice and the potential benefit that it may hold?

Taking the time to stop and ask for directions might seem like a big hassle when you're busy with the daily stuff of life. And to some, sticking to a roadmap might seem unnecessarily restrictive. But as one traveller to another, I encourage you to make both a priority. Otherwise, you just might end up on a fast road to nowhere.

By Dr. John C. Maxwell 

Heroes

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Learn How to Control Anger in a Relationship

Can you recall what anger in a relationship feels like? Anger is a learned reaction to something negative in a situation, often I would like you to think about what referred to as a trigger. It’s best described as an unbridled horse.

For instance, if you do not take control, it is likely to control you.

I would like you to think about what provokes your anger. Make a list of your specific anger triggers. Now, look at your list and think of additional ways to help deal with stressful situations. This simple exercise will help you to recognize and then admit to your anger.

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New twist on job growth

“In a poor economy, companies should take care of the people who survive layoffs and end up staying in stressful jobs,” says epidemiologist Diana Fernandez. “It is important to focus on strengthening wellness programs to provide good nutrition, ways to deal with job demands, and more opportunities for physical activity that are built into the regular workday without penalty.”

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Organizing Your Improvement

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