Daily Gratitude: Do you know people who live this way? They may not even start doing anything because they are afraid they won’t be good at it. Of course they won’t be good at it if they’ve never tried it before. And the majority of people won’t be good at “it” for quite awhile – until they’ve practiced enough. Maybe we should eliminate the concept of winning and losing. Then we would just do things because we liked them n it would eliminate comparison (a deadly sin). It might also eliminate or at least limit competition and that you might say would be bad. Why? Is competition what gets people to practice and improve? I don’t think so – at least not when you really want to improve. You don’t need to be pitted against another person to improve. Every year when I walk across Tennessee, I am not competing with another human being. I am competing with myself and trying to improve. I don’t need to know who’s way up front winning the race to be learning things. I always “lose” this race by typical competition standards. But….i always win the race by improvement and self discovery standards. Let’s start having more fun learning how to do new things without worrying about how well you do (winning). Be alive and enjoy life as you do whatever brings you pleasure.

Daily Gratitude: I love this. It’s a corollary to the Golden Rule. Can you think of people you miss and why you miss them? What qualities did they have that made you feel something positive – loving , caring, attentive, intelligent, listening, fun, always knowing the right thing to say, etc? If you miss them, it would behoove you to figure out why and then try to emulate them abd these virtues in your every day life. Make a list of their qualities and characteristics. Check off the ones you already have and then focus on the ones that are left and figure out how to develop them in you. Keep working at it because although it’s simple it’s not easy.

Daily Gratitude: How much patience do you have right now? I bet it isn’t a lot. Times of stress seem to decrease the supply of patience we may have previously accrued. Acknowledging this fact is important, not just for your own understanding but also for those who are around you. What if you were to open up to those around you and tell them your patience tank is running on empty? Tell them that they shouldn’t take anything you say personally. Maybe even consider asking them for help. Maybe they could let you know when something you’ve done bothers them. That might allow you the time and examples you need in order to examine your inner self to see what’s missing and what’s needed. Enlist the help of others and it becomes a team project. That requires you to be vulnerable but it also allows you (and the others) to be part of the team. And whether we admit it or not, we all want to be on a team. Otherwise those childhood memories of being last to be picked to join the others wouldn’t be so painful. Opening up to others keeps you both alert and may help keep you from doing something stupid in the future. Build your patience muscles by allowing others inside. Scary huh? But it does help. A lot.