Does DISCIPLINE Top It All?

I think everyone will agree that for the longest time, we were always shaped and influenced by the discipline-centric approach our parents, teachers and mentors always inculcated in us [as part of our progressive growth].  And as we get into adulthood, we would hear left, right and center, everyone talks PRODUCTIVITY and as a confluence of events, PRODUCTIVITY and DISCIPLINE get tied-up and mapped.  How often do we hear: I FAILED TO BE PRODUCTIVE BECAUSE OF MY DISCIPLINE but Does DISCIPLINE Top It All???

In the end, we would harp and tell ourselves that we want to be DISCIPLINED in WHAT we're working on, WHETHER it's being at work OR as trivial as waking up early OR performing our other daily routines.  So, I did think that to be consistent and productive, the key was DISCIPLINE, DISCIPLINE and DISCIPLINE and simply doing my thing.  In the past, I have to admit that I ended up forcing myself to just keep working HARD by using and pushing my WILLPOWER to deal with intermittent procrastination and frankly, sometimes even laziness WHEN it creeps.  And frankly, that was a despicable situation for me when sometimes I did procrastinate, finding myself getting dragged into my old despicable old habits, WHICH sometimes I realized things were getting worse💥💥💥

End result?  I got stressed no end until it reached a point WHEN it seemed that I DIDN'T enjoy my work [at that time, and that was quite a donkey years ago].  And WHAT followed next was the dominos began to fall one by one.  I started to sleep late, even struggling to wake up come next morning.  And even after I would wake up, I would end up scrolling my Blackberry mails until I feel 'READY' to start my day.  Then the burnout comes in.  Then, I end up telling myself that I'm burned out.  Unfortunately, I started getting confused because I was doing a balancing act handling my concurrent projects.  Even so, I failed to get back on track and by then I realized that I f*cked up❎❎❎

To deal with my dilemma, I thought I needed to find my inner self again and as an aftermath of my soul searching, the lesson I learned is that being DISCIPLINED, consistent OR even productive in our daily work is actually more about LOVING the work than merely working HARD!  And that reinforced my belief that if you LOVE YOUR WORK, you will mostly do the HARD WORK WITH EASE, OR even if you DON'T notice it, by then you already have WORKED HARD ENOUGH.  So, I reckoned that this boils around on loving WHAT we do and that egged me to even plan HOW to make my work FUN by making my favorite coffee blend with a mix of music before I work😌😌😌

Our takeaway:  Let's dice and drill here.  WHAT are the pressing reasons to do WHAT WE LOVE?  Enjoying your career should be a priority over earning a high salary OR a flashy title BUT that may NOT have been the case WHEN you first considered WHAT you wanted to do for a career.  NOW, WHAT do we expect if we will LOVE the work we do?  Topping the list is, we are almost assured that we will feel more FULFILLED.  As the lines between working life and personal life blur, a job is as much about personal fulfillment and growth as it is about a paycheck, right?  YES, I can assure you HOW I felt when I started loving my work then.  I felt MORE productive.  NOT because I worked less then BUT because I started loving WHAT I was doing.  Bottomline here is that the main reason to do WHAT we love is our HAPPINESS.  Finding that place will NOT only provide contentment BUT also make us more motivated and yes, more productive.  Word of caution though.  We're NOT dumping the need for DISCIPLINE, dude!!!

NO Sirrrrs, Life Is NOT A Rehearsal!

NO Sirrrrs, Life Is NOT A Rehearsal!

Each of us is born, spending all our days searching for peace, success, love, happiness, freedom, name it [until one day, we die].  Some people leave a positive legacy behind WHILE others leave a 'NOT SO' positive one.  Some people contribute to the lives of their fellow men WHILE others only take from society.  And some people have a positive impact on the world WHILE others end up creating a negative impact. Oh NO Sirrrrs, Life Is NOT A Rehearsal!!!

WHAT befuddles me is the very huge difference between those two kinds of people BUT frankly, we CAN'T end up defending people WHO end up creating MORE negativity than ever.  Instead, let's admit it that each one of us has a unique gift of a new day, a new chance and even a new responsibility to serve if we are blessed enough to see another sunrise.  YES dude, LIFE IS NOT A REHEARSAL or something later OR better💥💥💥

Instead, each day is the FIRST & LAST ACT of your personal performance in our respective lives.  Some people seem to live with the illusion that life will be better WHEN they are older, wiser, richer, happier, busier, better looking.  NOT SO.  Life is either good OR NOT good now, regardless of your circumstances.  TRUE, you may be richer later BUT WHO is to say you will need OR even want the wealth later WHEN the truth is, you may be wiser later in life BUT WHO is to say you're NOT wise now?  YES, you may be more famous later BUT WHAT does real fame mean???

NOW, let's call a spade a spade.  So many people do chase the illusions of life with that rigorous zeal hoping that somehow, life will be better in some way BUT there CAN'T any guarantees that they will work OR we will be able to enjoy OR benefit from them.  So, let's bask in the shadow of sunshine OR the shade, WHICHEVER you prefer now, be happy now, have fun NOW, love NOW, spend money NOW, save for the rainy days NOW and feel gratitude for the life you have, NOW it's all that is guaranteed.  It DOESN'T really get better [and this depends on HOW each of us chooses to define 'BETTER'] later, just different.  IF you're NOT happy WHERE you are now, it's unlikely you will be even happier WHERE you AREN'T yet or will be because life is NOT about tomorrow OR yesterday because this is all about NOW.  So, if you forgot about the lines, today is NOT the rehearsal.  Today it's SHOWTIME, dude!!!

Our takeaway:  HOW many times we personally someone causing OR doing a fumbling act and retorts that he'll retry the same thing 'NEXT TIME'.  Alas, UNKNOWNST to some of us, frankly in life, there is NO 'NEXT TIME'.  Your time is 'UP' right now and it will NOT repeat tomorrow because come next hour, next day, next time, it will be a totally different time expecting you to perform that will be appropriate enough for that day and time.  So, let's keep in mind that everyone WHO excels in any area of life, and that includes athletes, actors, parents, teachers and even students, they hone their skills, they get prepared to be ready for that NEXT ACT [WHICH IS NOT A REHEARSAL].  So, WHAT'S your life routine for getting better every day?  WHAT was the last book you read, the last seminar you voluntarily attended?  IF it's NEITHER OF THE ABOVE, DON'T be surprised if failure OR disappointment happens next.  Good luck, dude!!!

When was your GREATEST COMEBACK in your life?

 

When was your GREATEST COMEBACK in your life?  Surely you had a handful at the very least.  Yes, I had tons of it and I would always leverage on my GREATEST COMEBACKS.  You might wonder, WHAT makes me leverage on those GREATEST COMEBACKS WHEN many would claim that the PAST IS PAST?  Yes dude, for very insightful reasons, from time to time, we need to go back down memory lane and leverage on our GREATEST COMEBACKS?  BUT you might challenge me that by then, the luster is gone. BUT hey, if you got knocked down in your life [WHETHER it's about your job, your health, your finances OR your relationships with your loved ones], WON'T you agree that that luster will continue to shine for the longest time☝☝☝

SO HOW?  Let's leverage on those COMEBACKS as our inspiration IF and WHEN we get knocked down again.  We never know, right, IF and WHEN lightning will hit us again [as I DON'T buy WHAT they claim that lightning strikes once only].  Here's the thing.  Success AIN'T about avoiding another fall.  Success is about getting back up after life takes the best [or the worst] out of us.  YES very true, sometimes life will hit us hard BIG TIME and lead you to question everything about life💥💥💥

And based on the bruises and multiple knockdowns I had to endure in the past, trust me, WHEN you get hit hard, sometimes you end up questioning everything you thought you knew about yourself.  And YES, it's irrelevant as to how much monies [OR wealth] you've got OR WHAT car you drive OR HOW good-looking you are WHEN wearing a suit.  Life's gonna humble you BUT those KNOCKDOWNS are necessary❗❗❗

YES please, DON'T whack me for bluntly stating that those knockdowns are necessary.  WHO can claim that your resilience and fortitude got reinforced WHEN you had those multiple streaks of successes?  NO sirrrrrrrrs.  You can count all your successes in life BUT you pick up lessons from those KNOCKDOWNS, period.  Very true, I got stories for days about being down and out.  And those times shaped me, prepared me for more ordeals to come [NOT to scare, sometimes, you can get hit with a streak of KNOCKDOWNS too, whew] and I have to admit, the pain you'll go through may seem unprecedented❌❌❌

Oh Oh, I love this poster.  I CAN'T agree less.  Because the GREATEST COMEBACKS in life will likely NOT pertain to cars or material things BUT simply being HAPPY, period.  You can have all the material things in life BUT if you're NOT HAPPY, that's it, that's the worst KNOCKDOWN we can have in our life.  WHY?  Because material things CAN'T buy us that genuine, enduring and lasting HAPPINESS in life.  Living life and breathing life with a deep exhilaration of thankfulness and gratefulness because we walk up again to another bright day ahead.  YES dude, we do live on borrowed time.  WHO thought that so suddenly, the life of famous Taiwanese celebrity Barbie Hsu will be snapped [even WHEN she was in the midst of her Japan holidays?]  YES PLEASE, let us NOT forget those GREATEST COMEBACKs in our life because at the end of the day, we are the ultimate beneficiary💚💛💜

Are You An Interrupter? OR Overlapper?

Are You An Interrupter?  OR Overlapper?

Are You An Interrupter?  OR Overlapper? OR either one from time to time?  So, HOW is it in conversations, do you have that tendency to jump in before the other person is done speaking?  If so, you might be one we'll call as INTERRUPTER, OR in the most diplomatic way, you may be WHAT linguists call as 'COOPERATIVE OVERLAPPER'.  Unfortunately, either way does NOT absolve us for some very minor wrongdoing because like INTERRUPTING, COOPERATIVE OVERLAPPING can be perceived as rude OR dismissive in certain settings or even amongst people📗📙📘

To reference recent researches, COOPERATIVE OVERLAPPING occurs WHEN the listener starts talking along with the speaker, NOT to cut them off BUT rather to validate OR show they're engaged in WHAT the other person is talking about.  This is WHERE a gray area creeps in because when COOPERATIVE OVERLAPPING happens, somehow it encourages the speaker to keep going💥💥💥

Sometimes the cultural aspect creeps in as well just as a recent viral TikTok of a Jewish person WHO defended herself that to interject before the other person is done speaking is actually part of the Jewish style of conversation.  Luckily to most of us, in good conversations, there AREN'T any pauses BUT if there is one, that may be because someone DOESN'T want to be speaking anymore UNLESS they're visibly thinking OR chewing OR something.  BUT to many others, that is NOT the case though😌😌😌

Good enough, for people WHO share the same conversational style, COOPERATIVE OVERLAPPING often has the positive effect of 'greasing rather than gumming up conversations'.  BUT here's the catch.  Amongst those WHO DON'T have such similar conversational styles, it tends to have the opposite effect.  it can fluster the speaker, disrupt the flow of the conversation and may even be viewed as a sign of disrespect❌❌❌

Our takeaway:  There was this reawakening WHEN we got caught with that Covid-19 Pandemic.  Suddenly, Zoom meetings became the norm, the default.  And frankly, many of us were NOT calibrated enough as to HOW to get engaged in those Zoom calls.  BUT that was an outlier because everyday in our life, we got to be consciously aware of the other person's conversational style, lest we end up offending or even ruffling feathers that were seemingly unnecessary.  So, dude, ARE YOU AN INTERRUPTER?  OR OVERLAPPER???

Are You PRODUCTIVE Enough? Or Simply BUSY!@#$%?

NOT too long ago, leisure was seen and perceived to be prestigious enough.  Going out for your tennis, badminton OR zumba schedules after work meant you just ended a long day at work.  Today, that perception has been turned on its head and BUSYNESS has even become as the new status symbol.  With mixed feelings, BUSY people are considered important and impressive and many of us tend to be rewarded BUT Are You PRODUCTIVE Enough?  Or Simply BUSY!@#$%?

There's that anecdote of a new immigrant in the U.S. WHO was busy grappling to learn English fast enough.  So, WHEN he often heard people to be BUSY, he thought BUSY meant GOOD, so he was impressed that there were many GOOD people in America.  Researches were also made and by all counts, nearly eight out of 10 would reply that they were BUSY.  Those researches further bolstered the fact that these times around, our days are becoming increasingly jampacked, literally and figuratively speaking.  And shockingly, researchers often heard "NEVER HAD ENOUGH TIME' for close to 90% as recent as this year.  NOT to blame technology but BUSYNESS has even been likened to the multitasking of a Bluetooth device who seems to be in that multi-tasking cycle no end💧💧💧

Shockingly, recent studies in the United States, France and South Korea showed that people WHO exerted 'high effort' were considered 'MORALLY ADMIRABLE' regardless of their output, whew.  Alas, in the business world, BUSYNESS is NOT a virtue anymore and it is long past time that organizations have stopped lionizing it.  Evaluating employees on HOW busy they are is a terrible way to identify the most creative and productive talent💥💥💥

Ironically, studies showed that WHEN some organizations [fortunately, our company is NOT one of them] tend to overload employees and base their incentives primarily on the amount of time they work, and excessively monitor their activities, productivity and even efficiency really dropped. Exhaustion among employees can even contribute to attrition, so in the end, this misplaced metrics will backfire to the organization❌❌❌

Our takeaway:  Another insightful research did hit me hard WHEN I remember one of their statements that 'SCARCITY, WHY HAVING TOO LITTLE MEANS SO MUCH' and the analogy is with a person whose car has problems and the repairs mean he has to fork out $1,500 [BUT alas, he does not even food on the table, so to speak].  So, WHAT happens next is that he ends up with decisions that are dumber than ever and this analogy carries over to the person constrained with TIME.  The lesson learnt here is that WHEN we have too little of something that is important to us, we tend to become a little dumber, and even less disciplined and we end up with poor choices.  This helps explain, among many other things as to WHY poor people end up with 'greedy loan sharks'  WHEN they should know for a fact that they just end up deeper in that hole.  Final question dude.  ARE YOU PRODUCTIVE ENOUGH?  OR SIMPLY BUSY???

Should Temptations Be Avoided Rather Than Resisted?

For the longest time, our parents, teachers and mentors kept teaching us to RESIST TEMPTATIONS, right?  And to give credit WHERE credit is due, most of us did 'toe the line',  BUT alas, that was the old school of thought.  Fast forward to today, Should Temptations Be Avoided Rather Than Resisted?  I remember sharing this personal info to some of my friends that WHEN 2024 clocked-in, I started a daily early morning walking habit.  My goal ISN'T to be in tip-top shape BUT at least, to be responsible enough with my health and wellness.  And I'm confident that the benefits [from the sun and air] of exercise will do wonders for me and will likely compound over time📗📘📙

Frankly, it can take anywhere between a few weeks to several months to form a new habit [depending on the habit though].  To borrow a technical jargon from scientists, they call this 'self-directed neuroplasticity' because we're intentionally creating a new set of cues, actions, and even rewards for ourselves.  And psychologists claim that WHO can effectively build and break HABITS usually have higher levels of baseline self-control.   The interesting part is HOW these 'SELF-CONTROLLERS' deal with temptations💦💦💦

Along these lines, I came across this quotable quote:  PEOPLE WITH HIGH-LEVEL OF SELF-CONTROL ARE GOOD AT AVOIDING TEMPTATION [AND NOT RESISTING IT].  On the other hand, there are studies which point that people with the highest levels of self-control are actually more likely to be tempted by everything they're trying to resist.  So, perhaps without realizing WHY, they intentionally set up their lives in such a way that they'll avoid things that tempt them❎❎❎

Before I get suspected as a hypocrite, I'll be the first to admit that it's HARD to resist temptations.  Picture the gap between wanting something and having it.  We can imagine a rubber band stretched between you and another thing you want, pulling on you, drawing you toward that thing.  Thing is, we have a HARD time staying in that tension and resisting the pull.  So, we do things [like eating, buying, speaking to release the tension😖😖😖

Our takeaway:  This got me thinking.  Maybe getting the object of our desire ISN'T WHAT we really desire.  Maybe it's the desire itself WHICH we desire.  In other words, maybe it's more pleasurable to want things than to have them.  Think about a good movie you recently watched.  I bet the first few minutes introduced a problem and the rest of the movie was devoted to the tension of a protagonist WHO wants something, then he/she does NOT get it.  So, those good movies follow that formula to keep an audience engaged once the tension dissipates.  So, SHOULD TEMPTATIONS BE AVOIDED RATHER THAN RESISTED?  Absolutely dude, if you can!!!

 

Forcing A Task Upon Yourself

Forcing A Task Upon Yourself

The old school of thought always taught us that forcing yourself to do a TASK that you're procrastinating on doing ISN'T an enduring solution.  It is even argued that forcing yourself ignores the underlying FEAR of FAILURE, which then needs to be addressed if procrastination is to be endured, if at all.  So, should we still be Forcing A Task Upon Yourself📘📙📗

As studies showed, procrastinators usually will choose one marshmallow now rather than two later.  So, experts claim that key is to build the frustration tolerance of procrastinators.  Just for today, I wasn't in the mood to write our thread for today.  So, I procrastinated for a few hours, ending up doing less and instead, I grabbed on those 'pleasant' tasks.  I was finally able to get myself started by asking myself, WHAT do I need to do to get things done?  And then, I tasked myself to save the word document ASAP.  Then, I tasked myself to identify WHAT's the next sentence. At that point , I was hooked in writing our piece for today💦💦💦

Now, the other point at WHICH people tend to be procrastinating is WHEN reaching the 'HARD PART'.  Sounds familiar?  Oh Oh, I've been there, done that quite a few times in the past.  BUT if you ask me, WHAT happened next?  NADA, NICHTS, NOTHING.  Generally, UNLESS you've made progress in a minute, you're UNLIKELY to.  And you're most likely to NOT only give up on that task BUT you will even end up creating ab unpleasant memory of doing such tasks that it increases the tendency to procrastinate💧💧💧

Swinging back to myself, the HARDEST part when writing is to crystallize your thoughts and translate it into compressed statements WHICH later I'll craft into structured sentences.  YES, I'll admit that I do struggle along the way NOT because of compromised focus, NOT because of less drive BUT simply because I failed to hurdle the 'HARD' part.  Ultimately, I did progress after I kept thinking and trying out wordings.  Ultimately, procrastination is most likely to be cured by a factor that is not so obvious on the surface, and that's a person's unflinching deep sense of responsibility and that consistency to commit oneself to be even uncomfortable for the larger long-term benefit❌❌❌

Our takeaway:  People often think , WHEN they're tired OR DON'T feel performing a task, they believe their choices are either, #1 to force oneself to do the task anyway OR #2 let yourself 'off the hook'.  And WHILE there is nothing wrong with either of these choices, those are NOT the only choices at hand.  So, WHAT else can we do?  You can opt to take care of yourself and then COME BACK to the task WHEN you're ready for it.  OR, find a reason to do the task that inspires you to do it, even if you're tired, for example, if you knew that doing a task would save a million lives, you WON'T say that you're tired, right?  OR opt to find a creative approach that has you bringing play to the task WHILE also respective your fatigue for that ask.  So, dude, it's NOT FORCING A TASK UPON YOURSELF but EMBRACING it instead😊😊😊

HOPE Don't Get The Job Done

I was watching the old Netflix movie clip [ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQUIRE] when Denzel Washington, blurted out 'HOPE Don't Get The Job Done' and that one-liner did grab me by my lapels.  And his protagonist retorted, 'IS THAT DELUSION' while his colleague in the law firm commended their senior partner for being GREAT IN THE SEAT, GREAT ON HIS FEET'.  Then,  Denzel fights back to the new lawyer and tells him, "YOU'RE A LOW-FLYING BEE".  This movie clip did reawaken me to legitimate issues that continue to pervade even in the supposed bulwarks of democracy like the U.S. judicial system📗📙📘

Ironically, it is the PLEA BARGAINING practice in many courts globally that was at the very core of Denzel Washington's Netflix movie.  So, how relevant is this movie clip to our daily lives?  So relevant, dude.  Because what this tells us, much as we have our career aspirations even when we are still in school, upon achieving our career aspirations, THE END DOES NOT JUSTIFY THE MEANS💥💥💥

As a personal sharing, at a very raw age when I was just in my elementary schooling, I would hear many times from my grandma that 'LAWYERS WILL GO TO HELL WHEN THEY DIE'.  At that raw age, that DIDN'T make sense to me.  Eventually when I graduated from university, I doggedly pursued for admission in one of my country's premier law schools.  And alas, I got admitted BUT as I was in the crossroads of job offers and the law school, I made a tough decision to shelve my law studies in favor of the tempting juicy offers I was getting❗❗❗

BUT again the path towards success is often strewn with setbacks and rejections, leaving even the most determined upstarts disheartened.  With all humility, I had enough reservoir of motivation from within me BUT I'll be the first to admit that it was NOT uncommon to hit frustration and doubt all rolled into one, particularly WHEN we are faced with a seemingly endless stream of rejections❎❎❎

Our takeaway:  Let us understand that failures and REJECTION are inherent parts of that process in life and it behooves that we understand that it's NOT a reflection of one's worth OR capabilities.  It's normal to feel discouraged by REJECTION BUT every setback provides an opportunity for our personal growth.  YES dude, HOPE [itself] DON'T GET THE JOB DONE❌❌❌

Still Anticipating Outcomes?

As the old school has taught us, there is always an answer to all the problems and difficulties that we do struggle with BUT because the answer is so obvious, we very rarely see it.  WHAT happens WHEN we DON'T see it is that we get locked into thinking about the problem we face, sometimes over and over again.  We then end up anticipating.  Really, Still Anticipating Outcomes?  That's the thing, we end up stuck in that vulnerable process and we end up in doing things WHICH DON'T actually help as such but instead, it just seems to produce more uncertainty, doubt and indecision📗📙📘

Even during those times WHEN we seem to be convinced that we know WHAT is going to happen next, we still DON'T let it go, instead we keep at it and at it like a dog with a particularly juicy bone.  Then, our 'mental jaws' just keep working away at the problem even WHEN we know we CAN'T fix it❌❌❌

if only we can break it and put to a halt our process of thinking about HOW bad a problem is, it DOESN'T actually help us at all.  Psychologists claim instead that the more they did re-run that scenario, the more terrible they felt.  And the more they did play with all the possibilities, desperately trying to 'find our way out', the more LOCKED IN and caught up we become.  Thinking about the problem becomes part of the problem, in fact.  We could even say that it becomes the 'biggest part of the problem' itself.  So, WHEN the problem is our own selves trying vainly to fix our problem, that problem becomes us ourselves in trying to anticipate WHAT happens next and driving ourselves totally cracked as we do so.  So, WHAT's the not-so-secret answer?  It is NOT and NEVER TO ANTICIPATE THE OUTCOME at all💥💥💥

Experts tell us that ANTICIPATING OUTCOMES is the fault, the glitch in the process that unfailingly ruins everything.  So, HOW do we ANTICIPATE OUTCOMES?  Now, if I say that I am NOT going to anticipate the OUTCOME, then it's likely that I already ANTICIPATED THE OUTCOME.   In the end, we could feel trapped in a closed loop of 'ANTICIPATING THAT WE WILL NOT ANTICIPATE' and that whole loop ends up as nothing else but another round of ANTICIPATION.  On the other hand, the other school of thought is that ANTICIPATION gets associated with a sense of well-being and even mental health benefits.  And that the pleasurable release of DOPAMINE in the brain happens WHEN we expect good OUTCOMES in the future💦💦💦

Our takeaway:  WHETHER you end up with POSITIVE or NEGATIVE ANTICIPATION, fact is our mind is wired for ANTICIPATION and better still, we evolve to have an enhanced capacity to form accurate expectations about the future so we could make better predictions instead of ending up with NEGATIVE ANTICIPATIONS❎❎❎

Practicing Gratitude

Earlier today, I dropped by the Shakey's restaurant near our neighborhood and I interacted with an on-duty supervisor WHO seems new to me [at least for that branch].  After giving her a spate of details regarding my inquiries and need for help, she DIDN'T waste time to attend to all my requests as she asked me to be seated.  Before I walked off, I asked for her full name and for transparency sake, I confided to her that I will be sending a customer feedback to their company and I'd like to commend her.  That was one small, minor and petty way of Practicing Gratitude📗📙📘

Zillion times in the past and till to date, YES, I would admit that I do 'walk the talk', pitching and 'preaching' tirelessly the need for us to be PRACTICING GRATITUDE.  WHY?  For a zillion reasons and topping that mile-long list is that it cost ALMOST NOTHING to commend OR appreciate the good deeds of someone.  YES, PRACTICING GRATITUDE can be a 'game changer'.  It can have the far-reaching benefits and effects, from improving our own mental health to boosting our relationships with others.  I remember WHEN I was at the far-flung pineapple farms of Dole Food and our HP server got hit with a hardware problem and the only solution was to have a replacement part sourced out from Manila [which was a good 2 hours by air travel]!!!

WHAT did I do next?  I chartered a private plane and flew the HP engineer all the way down.  After our problem got fixed, come next day, I emailed a commendation to the HP country manager.  Months later, that HP engineer called me to thank me because he was promoted 2 levels up in the HP hierarchy.  YES, living your life with GRATITUDE does help us to notice those LITTLE WINS, like the bus showing up right on time, a stranger holding the door for you [especially if you literally got your hands full], OR the sun shining through your window WHEN you wake up next morning.  Let's think about of these SMALL MOMENTS and let us string them together to create a web of well-being that, over time, strengthens our ability to notice the good✅✅✅

As I am NOT an expert, allow me to refer to the experts' advice that 'BUILDING YOUR CAPACITY FOR GRATITUDE ISN'T DIFFICULT'.  And I CAN'T agree less because as I have done it through the years, it just takes PRACTICE.  And before you know it, you have developed that habit-forming GRATITUDE PRACTICE.  And the more you can bring your attention to that which you feel grateful, the more you'll notice to feel grateful for.  SO HOW?  Start by OBSERVING.  Notice the THANK YOUs you say and note how much of a habitual response is it💚💛💜

Our takeaway:  From a personal perspective, I'll share HOW I feel when PRACTICING GRATITUDE.  Firstly, I intentionally affirm the 'GOOD THINGS' or 'GOOD DEEDS' I experienced OR received.  And secondly, I acknowledge the role of the person[s] WHO were instrumental for me to experience such GOODNESS.  As an afterthought, minutes and hours and even days and months after, I feel good for PRACTISING GRATITUDE and that meant a lot for my mental health as well.  It's a low-hanging fruit for us to reap, dude WHEN we PRACTICE GRATITUDE😃😃😃