AYD - Jan 10, 2014 - Try It, You Will Like It

Word of the day - Enthusiasm.

Now go ahead.  I dare you.
Write it on your hand.
Put a sticky note on your desk, or in your lunch.
E-N-T-H-U-S-I-A-S-M 
I don't care how you do it.... but remind yourself today to show it.  Often.

Think about it.  Who, What, Where, When, Why and How ought to cover it.

With everything you do this day, and the thoughts you are planning for the weekend... add Enthusiasm to your recipe.  Add it to your To Do list.

I will wash the dog with...you guessed it, Enthusiasm.
I will finish that report with ... oh, I know!!!  Enthusiasm.

It is the word of the day.
And most often, without us even knowing,  the most forgotten ingredient to the recipe of a great day.

Good morning,
Greater You.
Greater you, shows someone else the way too.

Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy, and Author to a fantastic day.

AYD - Jan 9, 2014 - The Thankful Get Richer

"Appreciation is a wonderful thing; it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well."
- Francois-Marie Arouet de Voltaire, 1694-1778, Writer and Philosopher

Around me in a day, I am fortunate to have good people I work with.  They have different skills and attributes.  Different strengths or contributions.  And I find myself commenting in other circles about each of them often.

I see great things in my loved ones, and I enjoy telling the tales of their successes, their strengths, and most of all their wonderful impact and influence on me.  Yes, I am my wife and son's biggest fan.

I look back on loved ones lost, or old friends and assorted relationships now gone for a variety of reasons - not all good - and in the distance of emotion and time thinking back to then, I find I am more focussed on the goodness that once was, and these offer me a smile rekindled a little like embers in a fire we let burn down.  There were some good times.

I think of people, and the goodness they represent, past and present, and I feel like I have been enhanced with some of their goodness now hand in hand with mine.  I think of good qualities among those whom have mentored me, befriended me and worked with me along the way .... and I am made better by all the teachings.  I think of examples of expressions of the heart, and I am made more strong in my faiths about love as they confirm for me that I have been right - love is a wonderful thing.

And I owe all of these "acquisitions" - to the greatness that is there - silently being offered for the very reasonable price of just appreciating the excellence in others.

It is a good morning, and this opens the door to a greater day.
Greater you, is a greater opportunity for others to adopt appreciation.

Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy, and Author to my Day.

AYD - Jan 7, 2014 - Less emotion, more thought please.

"We make progress in society only if we stop cursing and complaining about its shortcomings and have the courage to do something about them."
- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Psychiatrist and Author

It is down right easy to complain and moan.  Sometimes it may even be argued that it is necessary.  But when we let it become habit, or we learn to rely on it as our only release, we begin digging a hole.

Think about it.  Inside a hole you see less, and in this case, the better and deeper the hole that gets dug, the less opportunity we have to see if anything on the surface is getting better.  We can only see the walls so our point of view gets more limited than it was initially when our emotions were stoked to being the upset in the first place.

Now... I get it.  Many of us feel that we are only one person so alot of the things around us feel too large and thus intimidating for us to try to make a difference.  And this goes whether it be dealing with our immediate environment - like issues with work, or with a neighbor or  even a salesperson - and right up there to larger issues like government decisions, taxes and world events. 

However, the immediate issue is not the one we are cursing about.  The immediate issue is the haste of our position and how well informed it is.  Many of us complain and curse from the emotion created by the trigger .... headline in a paper, the fact that we don't have a new car, or even the dump of snow last night. 

I ask you.  Do we know all we need to know?  I believe Courage begins with recognizing the moment, and our knowledge of it.  I believe Courage begins with recognizing that there is variables we may not have addressed - to any of the "shortcomings".  I believe Courage begins with asking ourselves and the situation a better question when we get exposed by some method to the "shortcoming". 

So instead of getting distracted by the intimidating size of the picture created when we read "society", I suggest we start with our own little bubble, our day and our immediate exposure setting. 

As you go through today, you will feel and see "shortcomings" of a good variety.  The ones that immediately impact with you - I challenge you to stay balanced.  Address the matter first with the courage to ask a question.  "Do I know all I need to know?"  Follow it up with another good question, "Is this worthy of my excitement?"  And you will ask another... and another.

As you ask yourself questions, you will get the same effect as counting to 10 when angry or giving yourself a timeout when your child is misbehaving.  A few good questions bring on a few good moments of clarity.  We stop cursing, and complaining and we see a pathway to potential solutions right there in the shadow of such an unfair "shortcoming". 

Have the courage to ask your way to a better vantage point.

Good Morning
Great day.

Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy and Author of my day.

AYD - Jan 6, 2014 - Out with the Old ...

"Sometimes old things need to go away.  That way, we have room for the new things that come into our lives."
- Randy K. Milholland, webcomic

My apologies.  But sometimes it needs to be said in such an obvious way in order to grab our attention.

It is that time of year.  Many people make resolutions to get the old habits out and bring in new intentions.  Many people clean a corner of the basement or the garage or the office or the toy room or ... and it goes on and on.

So while we are in that mindset ... lets drop a few more unnecessary things.

Self doubt.  Takes up alot of our emotional capacity.

Procrastination.  All this does is pile stuff up in the corner and cause more actions to be needed in less time later and that leads to a tangles mess of yarn and no starting point...until Next New Year when we resolve to .... ( you get the picture).

Old arguments, old grudges, old relationships, old baggage of pretty much used to be.  If you live in the past, the past lives today. ( quote this Frenchman evermore)  If you sacrificed good decisions for bad and now you dwell on it, it is like feeding a black hole and it is sucking day after day out of your ability to grow from the experience.  And don't put this crap into a recycle bag... that is the point... put it right into a burn pile and have it gone once and for all.

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda.  Worst three sisters I ever dated.

There...that is a start.  Nice short list of 4 major life distractions.  Drop some of these and you will see color in your daily outlook.  You will hear birds sing.  You will win money... okay, so I will drop Drama too.  You get the picture.  Short list.  See progress.  Not overwhelming and easier to maintain focus.

Sometimes old things need to go away, and while you are letting them go, you will feel a whole lot less burdened and much more aware of what right now is offering you.

Good morning, Good cleaning, Greater you.
Greater you, is a great gift for those around you.

Pierre Couturier
Husband in declutter mode, Daddy in silly mode, and Author with a new pen for the day.