Although most of the time I’m a happy, optimistic, forward-thinking and funny person, sometimes I need a little help getting to Friday. The past two weeks have been no exception. But guess what? It’s a new day. I give you little bits of sunshine in the form of exerpts from Messenger of Saint Anthony, a site I just found on a Google search on making it a good day:
Make It a Good Day
Every day we wake up with opportunities, with a plate-full of possibilities; no matter what mood we wake up in, we always have the power to make it a good day for ourselves and others
by Victor M. Parachin
A good day doesn’t just happen. It’s requires mindfulness, intention, deliberation, commitment and a soft heart. No matter what’s going on in your life, no matter how you’re feeling emotionally, physically or mentally, you have the power to make it a good day for others and yourself… Each morning, therefore, when you rise, resolve to…
Kindness at work
Too often the work place feels like a hostile place. Kindness and compassion flowing from just one person can make an enormous difference. Mike Teeley tells of being interviewed by a senior manager with a large insurance company. During the interview, Teeley spoke honestly, saying the main reason he was interested in the position was to keep his family in Boston. “My wife of 26 years had recently died of a heart attack. A job in Boston would help me reduce some of the extreme trauma and pain of the loss for my 16-year-old daughter. It was important to me keep her in her present high school,” he said. “Bruce, the interviewer, listened with empathy. After the 2nd round of interviews, Bruce invited Teeley to take a walk with him. Bruce explained that he also had lost his wife of 20 years. They had three children. Bruce then offered Teeley his business card and home phone number, suggesting that “should I need help or just want someone to talk to, I should feel free to give him a call. Whether I got the job or not, he wanted me to know that he was there if I ever needed help.” Looking back on that interview, Teeley writes, “From that one act of kindness, when he had no idea if we would ever see each other again, he helped our family deal with one of life’s greatest losses. He turned the normally cold business interview process into an act of caring and support for another person in a time of extreme need.”
Encourage people
Mark Twain advised, “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” Similarly, German philosopher Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe wrote, “Treat a man as he appears to be and you make him worse. But treat a man as if he already were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be.” Or think about British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli’s observation, “The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.” Behind those quotes is this understanding: Believing the best in people usually brings out the best in those people. We become their partners in their life evolution and success.
Acknowledge others
Express appreciation to your family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, store clerks and all those who serve you. So many people feel their work is unappreciated and their lives unacknowledged. That understanding may have been in the mind of Saint Paul, who advised, “Encourage one another daily.” (Hebrews 3:10)
Focus on the positive
While we may not have a choice in what comes our way we always have a choice in how we respond to what comes. We can be fearful or courageous, pessimistic or optimistic, despairing or hopeful. The choice is always ours to make. No matter what comes your way, focus on the positive and the beneficial. Remind yourself:
I will be thankful – anyway!
I will be joyful – in spite of!
I will be happy – even though!
I will celebrate – in any event!
I will be glad – anyhow!
[Mer note: If that’s not a reason to meet some gal pals for happy hour, nothing is.]
Help the hurting
When someone you know is hurting and experiencing a hard time, don’t ask if there is anything you can do. Think of something appropriate for the situation and do it. One woman who did that explains, “When my parents died, generous friends and neighbours brought food to my family’s home for all of us to share. My husband died eight years ago. Again, I was blessed with neighbours and friends bringing food and prepared meals. Recently, a friend’s father passed away. I knew I couldn’t attend the funeral because they live thousands of miles away – so I ordered a ham to be delivered to their home. My friend and her family haven’t stopped thanking me.”
Forgive and move on
Anger and resentment make us smaller, limited, confined. Forgiveness is freeing and expansive. When we are able to forgive we are able to move on. Author Jack Canfield offers this advice, “In the world of business, in families, and in personal relationships, we, too, need to come from a place of love and forgiveness – to let go so that we can move on. You need to forgive a business partner who lied to you and hurt your financially. You need to forgive a co-worker who stole credit for your work or gossiped about you behind your back. You need to forgive an ex-spouse who cheated on you, then got nasty during the divorce. You needn’t condone their actions or ever trust them again. But you do need to learn whatever lessons there are, forgive, and move on.”
Serve the less fortunate
Make it your habit to help others who are struggling to make ends meet. When Abraham Lincoln was practicing Law, he often helped people who were less fortunate. Once he sued a pension agent for charging an elderly widow $200 to secure a $400 pension. Outraged by the agent charging a 50 percent fee Lincoln offered to represent the woman free of charge. He also paid for the woman’s hotel room, and gave her money for a train ticket home. Those types of kind acts made Lincoln loved in his day and admired in ours.
Be humble
Those who practice the virtue of humility are unpretentious and modest. They do not think they are better or more important than others. Author Robert Louis Stevenson suggests this way of living, “There is an idea abroad among moral people that they should make their neighbours good. One person I have to make good: myself”. Maintaining humility should be a daily process.
