Countdown To Your Best Year Ever
Season’s Greetings :). Today, we continue to count down to the New Year.
The doors open early on this event. We are 4 days from 2014, and there’s nothing like a countdown to get you motivated. By starting today, you’ll be ready for the fresh start headed your way.
I highly recommend setting a tone for the New Year with a foundation of appreciation (I share my simple practice at the end of this post).
Appreciation is a skill and an art. Dale Carnegie crafted and shared the art of appreciation in The Dale Carnegie Course. The course is based on his 2 bestsellers, “How To Win Friends and Influence People” and “How To Stop Worrying And Start Living”. Both books are a must read :).
When I worked for Dale Carnegie Training, I had the opportunity to participate in, assist and instruct The Dale Carnegie Course. Among my favorite of Dale Carnegie’s quotes is, “Nothing else so inspires and heartens people as words of appreciation. You an I may soon forget the words of encouragement and appreciation that we utter now, but the person to whom we have spoken them may treasure them and repeat them to themselves over a lifetime.”
Appreciation raises vibration, and it is beneficial for all involved. Whether you are giving or receiving appreciation, your heart beats a little more loudly, you become grounded and everything is right with the world, if just for a short time.
We often talk about wanting to achieve more in the coming year while living in appreciation of what we already have. Most of my problems, and possibly most of yours are what are commonly called ‘First World Problems’. As I prepare to share my daily appreciation practice with you, I think that it is important to set a baseline for appreciation. Click here to ground yourself.
Welcome back! I hope that you enjoyed your video. On to my simple practice:
- You will need an empty jar, slips of paper, stationary and a computer available.
- Each morning, before you begin getting ready for work or getting the kids off to school (perhaps at 0600 hours), take 5 minutes of quiet time in a private space. Write an e-mail or brief note of appreciation to someone who has shown you kindness or set a good example for you now or previously in your life. Mentioning personal traits, along with an example or evidence of that trait make particularly compelling messages.
- On a slip of paper, write the date and the name of the individual, along with three words of appreciation. Place the slip it in jar. If you have name and address, prepare a stamped envelope and get it ready to mail. If you have no way of sending your message via e-mail or post, jot a few notes on a piece of paper, along with the individual’s name. Place the message in a jar and wish that individual well.
- The magic is complete. Your message and your energy are finding their way to physically (or energetically) to the recipients of your appreciation.
- By employing this simple strategy, you are successfully starting each day from a perspective of appreciation. Now and again, give yourself a lift by reviewing the slips of paper in the jar. I would venture to guess that the longer you continue this practice, the more the spirit of appreciation will find its way into your life.
- That’s it for Day 4 of the New Year’s countdown. We’re only left with ready, set and go!
Make it a great week. As always, I welcome your comments!
~ Tess
http://www.tessdenton.com (My books are available here)
http://www.pinterest.com/DRTessDenton/
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Destiny Rising, LLC
Building A Powerful Vision 