What are you known for?

Cities are known for certain things, food, culture, and architecture.  Celebrities and politicians are often famous for specific good deeds, or maybe more often, certain indiscretions.  Even years in history are known for what happened during them.  What are you know for?

It is a question often discussed in real time about public figures, but for a lot of us it does not come up until someone leaves this earth.  We tend to discuss legacies only once some passes away.  But we are known for who we are now, and what we do while we are alive!  Our regular daily behavior leads us to have a certain reputation.  Our legacy is being built as we speak.  It can be changed before we die!

How will you be remembered for “the dash” of your life?  What will you be known for during the years between your birth and death?  If you don’t like the answer, get to work on how to change it while you still can!

Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving week!  It is the time we designate each year to give thanks, to be grateful for all that we have.  Shouldn’t we be doing that all the time?  I had a conversation just last week with some friends about the things we take for granted, food and shelter, hot running water, a coat to wear when it cools down.  If you are reading this, you are likely blessed well beyond most people on this planet.  Be thankful for that!  Be thankful for that all year long!

These days there seems to be a lot written about gratitude, and the role that it plays in a positive outlook and happiness.  Expressing your thanks can really improve your overall sense of well-being.  Studies show that grateful people are more agreeable, more open, and less neurotic.  There are many ways to remind ourselves of our blessings and encourage gratitude.  I know people who maintain a gratitude journal.  Another friend recently reached a milestone birthday and created a list equal to his age of things he is thankful for.  Don’t take your blessings for granted, Willie Nelson doesn’t.

"When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around."

-       Willie Nelson

 Be intentional about your gratitude.  You will feel better, I promise.  

Growth & Grace

 

If someone were to ask if you feel like you have grown over time, how would you answer? Are you different than you were six months ago or even a year ago?  Most of us would answer with a resounding, “Yes”! I believe we improve with age, much like wine. Perhaps we become wiser, calmer or even more generous. So why do we look at others and judge, or assume, the person they are today is who they will always be? We do not know who they will become or what they are capable of doing in the future. We also do not know what they may have been in the past. Maybe instead of being skeptical because we do not like what we see, we should have faith knowing they too will learn and grow in time.  

How are you improving overtime? Better yet, how much grace are you showing others going through the same growth process?

Thief of Thoughts

 

How about this thought to start your week….

You would never invite a thief into your house. So why would you allow thoughts that steal your joy to make themselves at home in your mind?

Think about it!