Daily Gratitude: Thanks to John Denver for this. I love the song but love the concept even more. This is all about life. Some of your days are going to be spectacular and some are going to be much less than that. Just accept that fact and find something in each day to be joyous and grateful about. Things didn’t go well at work? Try to be happy you have work and if that doesn’t fit the bill, then watch a little kid somewhere playing away happier than a pig in mud. Or look at a flower. Find a picture or a short video you really like and look at that to help you reset and lift your spirits. You can also think of those less fortunate than you would love to have their day be as “bad” as yours. It’s all about perspective. It really is up to you to make each day a diamond day! Remember too that the creation of diamonds require pressure. Tell someone you meet “Have a diamond day” and see if that sparks a conversation. Try it!

Daily Gratitude: Whenever you feel your courage slipping or the task ahead calls for more than the usual courage you use getting through your day, find an ally. But do it intentionally. Don’t just pick whoever is around to lean on. Make a considered choice. The casual acquaintance is not necessarily the correct person to pick to shore up your courage. You don’t want to have to get to know that person while you’re facing something daunting. So pick someone you know and trust…and who’s willing to assist. Talk with that person and tell them what’s up and why you need their support at this moment. Ask them if they feel they can help. Then ask them what you can do for them. Remember that all worthwhile interactions are two way streets. Never be too vain or egotistical to ask for someone to “have your back”. The power of another by your side will dramatically increase your sense that you can conquer what’s ahead. I don’t know if I could still finish Vol State without Team Terrie but with all of you, I have a much better chance of enduring all that’s ahead of me in the next two weeks. Thank you for being along with me.

Daily Gratitude: It is, unfortunately, human nature to make snap judgments. Why do I say “unfortunately”? Because all too often we stop there. This trait is or was a survival mechanism. It really didn’t matter whether it was a lion or a tiger barreling down at you. What mattered was that some massive and dangerous animal was threatening your life. And, you needed to get out of the way. Nowadays the majority of our judgments continue to be made this way even though there is no life threatening situation. Your brain doesn’t know that. So what do we do? We can accept that and be grateful we have such a mechanism. BUT THEN we have a responsibility to slow down, take a deep breath and examine everything that went into that judgment. You’re not in a hurry or shouldn’t be. You should be challenging your brain’s first impression. And if you don’t understand something (or someone), then you have two jobs ahead of you. First you should discard that initial impression. What do you need it for anyway? It’s not a lion or tiger so just ignore it. Then take the time to analyze and ask questions so that you can understand the situation better. Let’s take something easy. You see a father (or any man) apparently grabbing his son roughly by the arm. Your first impression might be that this is an abusive man/situation. But if you took time to understand it, it might look like this. This is a very hyperactive little boy who runs all over the place, darting here and there. Dan saw him headed straight for the middle of the street and he grabbed the boy to keep him from running into traffic. He wasn’t abusive at all. He was protective. Let’s say you see someone at the office that you don’t know very well. You walk by and want to be friendly but you see a scowl on her face. “Whoa” you say to yourself “I’m not going to talk to that woman. She must be a real __ (you can fill in the blank with what your probable word would be)”. Later, at the water cooler (they don’t even have those anymore I guess- showing my age), you find out that she just had major surgery and had to come back to work early because she needed the money. Your coworkers, who know her pretty well, tell you she’s in a lot of pain and is a wonderful friend and worker. Now you understand the situation better and you can and should alter your original assessment. Take your time. It’s important that your judgments be based on more than just your first impression. After all, I bet there are times when you wouldn’t want someone to judge you based on how you look or what expression is on your face?