Wag More, Bark Less

Originally posted Sep. 13, 2008

Today I attended the funeral of a dear cousin (Elna Law Otteson). She was someone who I was always happy to see. She had such a sweet and warm smile. She made you feel like she was happy to see you also, or maybe even happier to see you than you were to see her. On the way home after the funeral I saw a bumper sticker that has officially become my favorite bumper sticker of all time -until a better one comes along. The bumper sticker was only four words, but those four words say a lot. They described Elna very well and also described something I have been thinking a lot about lately. The four words were “Wag more, Bark Less”. If everybody would live by those four words what a happy world we would live in. It would be the ultimate win win. So as you go about your daily duties complete with trials and troubles, as you interact with coworkers, clients, patients, neighbors, business associates, store clerks and checkers, and above all, enemies and family members, remember these four words and try to “Wag More and Bark Less”. I promise you that your life will be happier and more fulfilling and at your funeral they will talk about you the way they talked about Elna today.

Happiness

Originally written  Feb. 20, 2008

If you want to be happy for the rest of your life always under promise and and over deliver. In every part of your life, your work, your church, your family, and so on.

Try a Quick Change Up

Next time you feel tired in the middle of the day or listless or you are just kind of dragging and you need to get some energy it's a real easy fix.  Just think in your head "I feel energetic, I'm like a child with energy just flowing through me.  I have energy starting from my toes and going up through my head.  I feel the energy, I exude energy, I am energetic."  Try it and see if it doesn't work.  I'm not suggesting that as an alternative to getting enough sleep at night or a proper diet, but those times when you just need a little extra energy, just try it.

Are You Sure?

Hopefully you did like I suggested in yesterday's post.  If you are perfectly happy with you as you are right now, then great, no need to waste time with that exercise, but if not maybe you should take another look.  After you've done it, give yourself a day or two and look at it again.  The truth is you probably didn't go as far as you should.  There are probably some things that you think you'd like to put down, but don't think are possible.  You're probably wrong, but, if you really don't think something is possible, and you don't convince yourself that it is possible, then you're right.  It is a self fulfilling thought.

Once you've made your list, then waited a couple days, read it over very carefully, then tear it up, throw it away and start all over again.  During the time since you made your initial list your brain has been incubating the thoughts and your new list will be much better.

Repost of "Planting and Harvesting"

Originally posted on The World's Best Blog on Feb. 9, 2008

I suppose, even hope, that there may be some who come across this blog outside of my family. I suppose that not everyone who reads this will believe that the Bible is the word of God. Maybe they don’t believe in God. To them and all of you I say that in this case that does not matter, believe in the Bible or not it contains certain universal and natural truths and one of them is found in the book of Galatians, chapter 6 verse 7“…for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Much like yesterday’s biblical proverb this short statement of only 10 words has a deep meaning which has been studied, quoted, analyzed, advised and used by millions for centuries. How deep can this go? The quick obvious thought when you look at the statement on it’s surface is that if you plant happy thoughts you get happy thoughts and vice versa. I would suggest that you look much deeper than just what you plant. What happens to a garden if you don’t plant anything? We all know that fertile ground unplanted fills very quickly with the worst weeds. The human mind is the most fertile ground available. If you don’t plant what you want to grow, weeds will find there way. In the garden seeds for the weeds come in by the wind, through water, dropped off from animals, off our own shoes, and so on. Weeds come to our mind through television, movies, music, magazines, books, peoples’ conversations, jokes, and so on. Just for an exercise put a blank index card or small notebook and pencil in your pocket and for one or two normal days put a tick mark on the card every time the seed of a weed is dropped on your fertile ground. What is a weed? Any comment, word, thought, sound, whatever, that if allowed to grow would make you less good instead of more good, or to put it another way - would take you further away from your ideal you instead of closer to your ideal you. The bottom line, you are “gardening” the most fertile ground in your life every waking moment of every day. What are you planting? What are you not planting? What are you allowing to grow that you wouldn’t let grow if you were aware of it? What can you do about it? Tomorrow I’ll talk about the origination and shaping of your universe.