Be alert
Don’t get caught napping. There are always new ideas, new approaches, and new opportunities. It requires an active wide awake mind to catch them. Choose an attitude of alertness. Be ready for what is and what comes next. Be receptive. Remain expectant. Don’t automatically shut out the unfamiliar. Neither fall for every new fad.
Be appreciative
Others have sacrificed for you. Many have gone out on a limb for you. You are the recipient of the efforts of others. Appreciation on your part is always an appropriate attitude. Let others know how grateful you are for what they have done for you. None of us get there on our own. We have all had a helping hand. Think about the last good thing that happened to you. Who was involved? How did you meet them? Who introduced you? Why were they there? My wife is a teacher because her ninth grade teacher saw the potential in her that no one else had seen or encouraged. One person made the difference. One person fanned the flame that resulted in a lifetime of helping countless others reach their potential. Appreciation doesn’t cost a cent, but the dividends keep growing and growing. Adopt an attitude of appreciation. In twenty eight years of teaching imagine how many lives Carol influenced.
Carol in Central Park
Be open
Be a magnet for new ideas. Don’t demean an idea or an approach because it hasn’t been tried before. Who knows? It may be great. If not, so what? What have you lost? At least you know one more thing that doesn’t work. It is an amazing phenomenon; those who are open to new ideas somehow get more new ideas. They become attractors for new ideas. Many say, if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. Just because it isn’t broken doesn’t mean that it can’t be better. Don’t close off the possibilities. “What if,” can be your best friend.
Sep 20
Show up – Don’t be missing in action. Be where you are supposed to be when you are supposed to be there. Life will not send out a search party. You are responsible for you. Life is not a dress rehearsal. Be ready to participate. Have your entire person show up – your body, your mind, your will, your attention. Most of us have experienced the frustration of having someone bodily present, but mentally absent. Don’t let that be you.
