Posts from — December 2007

Christmas is about how much you can give not how much you can get.

Encouragement Always.

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. 

Encouragement Always. 

When our alarm clock sounds each morning we have two choices.

Choice #1:  We can lie in bed and grumble about having to get up so early.  We can allow ourselves to be filled with dread about everything we have to do that day.  We can step on the bathroom scale with a negative attitude and think about all the food we ate the day before, knocking ourselves for not finding time to exercise.

Or…

Choice #2:  We can awake with a grateful heart, thankful for the gift of a new day.  We can look at the dawn of each day as an opportunity to begin our life anew.  We can celebrate the fact that every morning we have a chance to start over, to learn from our mistakes and go after what we want.

Which choice will you make?  The morning is the anchor of our day.  That’s why it is so important to begin it with a positive outlook.  The more positive we are, the easier it will be to make the choices we need to live our lives to the fullest.  So before getting out of bed, take a few minutes to contemplate how you can spend the next 24 hours doing the following:

• Basking in the sunshine of hope.
• Swimming in the sea of possibility.
• Drinking the wild air of enthusiasm.

Encouragement Always.

That’s the name of Symone’s, my ten-year old daughter, basketball team.  Last night they played their first game of the season.  They lost by 5 points.  The final score was 15-10.   Win or lose, Symone’s question is the same after each game: “What’s for dinner?”  At first I was annoyed by her question, I thought she should at least take a few moments to lament the loss.  I asked her if she wanted to talk about the game.  She said, “Why talk about it.  It’s over and there is nothing I can do about it now.” 

I am beginning to think Symone is on to something.  Perhaps the best way to move on after a loss is to stop talking about it and move on. 

Encouragement Always.

Did you ever see an unhappy horse?  Did you ever see a bird that had the blues?  One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses.

Encouragement Always.

There is nothing wrong with you.  Everyone makes mistakes.  No one is perfect.

Encouragement Always. 

I included this quote by W. Clement Stone on the first page of my book, Jackie Stanley’s Dictionary of Encouragement:  Give encouragement (the incentive to action) and you will have courage and be encouraged.

Take a few moments to think about something you would like to have, a goal you would like to reach or a change  you would like to make in your life.  Then find someone who wants the same thing.   Send that person an encouraging note.   Don’t know what to write?  Include this simple message:

Be encouraged today… because all things are possible!

Encouragement Always.

You must not lose faith in humanity.  Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.

Encouragement Always.

About two weeks ago I was in a car accident.   I have been driving for almost 27 years and this was my first.  No one was hurt.  My car was damaged beyond repair.   Prior to the accident I drove around with an underlying fear of being in an accident.    Now that I have been in an accident, I realize there was nothing to fear.  Accidents will happen whether I fear them or not.   This experience has taught me that fear does not keep us from crashing.  Fear keeps us from living.

Encouragement Always.

Every tomorrow has two handles.  We can take hold of it by the handle of anxiety, or by the handle of faith.

Encouragement Always.