Friday, September 21, 2012

Weekly Wisdom


“Appreciation can make a day - even change a life, your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.” - Margaret Cousins

Every day we have a choice when we wake up. We can feel bad—feel bad about the fact that it is morning and you have to actually get up to go to work or class, about the fact that you may not have gotten everything done that you needed to yesterday so you have to scramble to get things done today, or just about any other excuse you can make for feeling bad when you wake up. However let’s be honest, this is no way to wake up. We all want to have a good day. So let’s wake up feeling good. Feel good that you’re alive, that this is a new day where yesterday really doesn’t matter. Feel good that your alarm went off, that you will soon be seeing your friends, or just about anything else. You have a lot more to feel good about in life, just think about it.

Going further though, Margaret Cousins refers to putting your appreciation into words. You may be changing your life, or at least your day by waking up feeling good; but you can change someone else’s life, or at least their day by sharing your daily appreciations. Maybe it will encourage them to say thank you or you're welcome, speak to someone they haven’t in years, or in an extreme case, cause someone to rethink their life choices. You may not believe a simple voice could change a person’s thinking, but because it is often one word that makes someone feel bad about their day or their life it could also be that one word could make them feel good.

I encourage you to speak for the next week. Speak to a friend, a family member, or better yet an unfamiliar face. The key is to speak and remember that even though you may not be changing someone else’s life, you are choosing to live a better one for yourself.
- Margaret Gruhler

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