We really did tweet the SRS budget hearing in social services budget comm. this afternoon, yet somehow the tweets disappeared. Sorry!
Thanks for the Hassle!
Posted On: January 11, 2011
Categorized: Well Being
Tagged: empowerment, thankful
Written by Mandy Smith
I know it isn’t Thanksgiving anymore, but I was just thinking about eye health and it made me realize I take so many things for granted. (I think about eye health a lot since studying to become an Orientation and Mobility Specialist.) Here is a list of every day hassles that I’m thankful for!
Eye doctor appointment… “I have to go to the eye doctor once a year, and he blows that air in my eye, I have to wear glasses and my contacts are so expensive”. Why can’t I just be happy that I have insurance that allows me to go to the eye doctor? Or that my vision is correctable with contacts or glasses.
Getting a parking spot towards the back of the parking lot… Shouldn’t I be thankful instead that I am able to walk to the door from this horrible spot instead of cussing out the jerk who took up two spots?
Elevator too full… Again, shouldn’t I be thankful that I am able to take the stairs. Yes, I may be out of breath when I get to the next floor but I made it.
Two cashiers in the whole store… I should be thankful that I am able to stand in line and wait to pay for my items.
Dinner is late… Why am I not happy just to be able to eat a home cooked meal? Or the fact that I was able to choose what I wanted for dinner.
Slow driver in front of me… I drive my car to work five days a week and I usually have at least one reason why it is a pain. Whether it is the slow driver in front of me, the school bus stopping to pick up kids, or just I’m running late I should still be thankful that I have a car that is reliable and that I have a job!
My mother always giving me advice… I feel like my mom is always telling me how I should live my life. But shouldn’t I just be thankful that she cares? Or that she is still alive to give me that advice?
Monthly loan payment… Shouldn’t I be thankful that I went to college instead of whining about the payment every month?
Shower water doesn’t stay cold… Shouldn’t I be thankful that I have a working shower and that the water is hot for at least a few minutes?
Potty training… My son is learning to use the potty and this can be messy and annoying at times. But shouldn’t I be happy that he is starting to catch on, that he is able to communicate with me to let me know when he needs to go?
And I’m sure I could think of many more. I know I’m still going to complain about some of these things (most likely the slow driver!) but on the other hand I think I’ll appreciate them much more. What “hassles” are you thankful for?
Written by Mandy Smith, RCIL O&M Specialist.
Lately, I’ve felt like things have been really good. I’ve had a few problems here and there but nothing horrible. When I do have a problem, I like to talk to my friends about it and see what they think. This is what I’ve noticed a real friend will do:
Listen! Real friends will listen to the whole story before they open their mouths! They will not judge your first sentence or stop listening when they hear something they don’t like.
Tell Stories! They will give you a story of something similar that happened to them. It won’t be the exact thing that you are going through, but they are trying to comfort you by saying I went through “A” so you can get through “1.”
Give consequences/benefits! They will give you the facts of what will happen if you do what you are thinking about doing, whether it is the consequences or the benefits. They will most likely give you the consequences because you probably already know the benefits of your choice.
Offer other options! They will list other options for you. They are showing you there is more to life than what you know. They will have resources or help you find resources that you didn’t know about.
Allow you to make your choice! They will let you make your decision. True friends will not make a decision for you or even “help” you make your decision. They will give you their thoughts when you asked for them then they’ll sit back and watch.
Not say “I told you so”! Once you’ve made your decision a true friends will never come back and say “I told you so” or “You should have done what I said.” True friends will pick you up, dust you off and give you advice if you ask for it. They will be your friend no matter how many decisions you make that they wouldn’t have made.
This true friend I speak of does exist! I am lucky enough to have a couple! Keep this in mind when you are looking for real friends in your life. And also keep it in mind for the type of friend you want to be!
Fill your bucket
Posted On: December 16, 2010
Categorized: Well Being
Tagged: empowerment, self direction
Bucket being filled
Yesterday we had an all staff holiday party. I really enjoy events such as this because I can talk face-to-face to my co-workers that I don’t see on a daily basis. Yesterday, our Executive Director, Chad Wilkins, and our Direct of Independent Living, Rosie Cooper, did a presentation on the book, How Full is Your Bucket?
The presentation was based on Tom Rath’s book, which is focused on the concept that if you have positive interactions it adds to your “bucket” and negative interactions take away from your “bucket”. I thought this presentation was fabulous! They asked us to write down all of our positive interactions from the previous day on green water drops and all of our negative interactions on yellow ladles (to represent dipping from our bucket). I did and ended up with nine positive and five negatives and a feeling that the day was just an “okay day.” Others had between six positive and no negatives to six negatives and no positives.
I mentioned to the group that I think the time of day the negatives occurred would also determine how you felt about the overall day. If your negative interaction happened first thing in the morning and you had five positives after that, maybe you ended the day feeling great. Whereas, if you had five positive interactions, but as you were going home you had a negative interaction, your day could have seemed horrible.
Chad and Rosie also mentioned that it takes five positive interactions to overcome one negative one. I think this is very important to making sure your “bucket” is full and makes complete sense as a good way to live your life. Please keep this in mind as you are having interactions with people this week and really try to make sure your bucket (and those of the people around you) is full!