“Feeling thankfulness and not expressing it is like wrapping a gift and not giving it!” – William Arthur Ward

Why?

Life is pretty busy. It very rarely proceeds exactly as we’d like it to and as a result, it can be very easy to get grumpy and lose touch with what makes us smile. Worse than that, when something wonderful happens, we can sometimes be too slow to acknowledge and thank who ever it is that makes us feel thankful.

What?

Be thankful always, recognise when someone does or says something that brings joy to your day. If you’re a paper and pen sort of person, start a thankfulness diary to record these special moments.

How?

Be on the look out for little things that make you smile and then thank the person responsible. If there is no person to thank (who do you thank when the little bird singing on the path lights up your morning?) thank God instead. If you’re not sure where you’re at with God, I’d personally thank Him anyway because He knows your heart but if it makes you feel better, thank the universe

“Live out of your imagination, not your history.” – Stephen R Covey

Why?

It’s very easy to tangled up with regrets and the should-of, could-of, would-of syndrome. We all have stuff we’re not proud of and things that have happened that whilst they might not have been our fault, still bother us. That stuff is in the past. It does not have to control what you do and who you are today.

What?

Allow your imagination to run wild for a moment. What are those things that you’d love to do, see or experience? Who do you want to love and be loved by? How do you want to feel? Day dream a little and think about what life could be like. This is you starting to develop your imagination. But it doesn’t stop there. Now, you need to live your imagination.

How?

Instead of being crippled by what has happened in the past, decide from this day forward to take steps towards your dreams. If you would really love to be the person who mixes easily with people and enjoys sparkling conversation, practice being that person. No one today knows that you were quiet and withdrawn as a child. You are not that little one any more. Find one small thing that you can do to live out your imagination and then do it! And when you’ve done it, take one more step. Before you know it, living our of your imagination will be the easiest and most fun thing in the world

If you’ve got more than a minute and would like to know more about living out your imagination, why not check out this great post about doing just that from my lovely friend and Give A Brick fan Ben Lumley over at 6Aliens.com?

Text as per the usual 1 Minute Motivator format to follow a little later (for those of you who prefer to read rather than watch my daft videos ) but welcome to Wednesday and have a great day

Welcome to today’s one minute motivator. You’ve heard it said that the best way to be loved is to love? Well today we’re going to apply this principle to kindness. If the best way to experience kindness is to be kind, that’s exactly what you’re going to do today.

The astute amongst you will notice that this is actually a revision of a post I published back in January. The reason being, I read a lovely post about Acts of Random Kindness today and it reminded me of this post. If you’ve got more than a minute, you can read the post that inspired this revision here.

In the meantime, be on the lookout today for someone you can be kind to. It might be something as simple as holding the door open for a stranger coming through behind you. What if you pass an older neighbour struggling to get shopping into their car? Offer to lend a hand. When you go and get yourself a refreshment in work, ask your colleague if they’re thirsty too.

There are so many different ways you can be kind to another person today so use your imagination and remember to come back and tell us what you did.

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don’t!
If you’d like to win, but you think you can’t,
It’s almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost;
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow’s will;
It’s all in the state of mind!

If you think you’re outclassed, you are;
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself
Before you ‘ll ever win the prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the person who thinks he can!

- Author unknown

“Just Do It!” Nike

Why?

There’s a reason why certain multi-million pound advertising campaigns hit a chord. Think about your reaction to “Just Do It!” What does it make you think of? How does it make you feel? See, priceless Whatever your dreams, aspirations, hopes or even vaguely laid plans, you hear “Just Do It!” and right away it gets you going. Or is that just me?

What?

No more excuses, no more promises to yourself that tomorrow will be a better day, today is the day and the time is right now. Take action. Just do it!

How?

What’s your biggest aspiration right now? Identify three things that you can do today to move yourself three steps closer to your dream. But having identified what you can do, just do it!

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Rather than complaining that we live in a society that doesn’t care, make a difference today by living the life that would make better society a reality.

Why?

Do you ever have aspirations to make a difference? Do you want to change the world? You read something or hear something and it stirs your heart, fires you up and makes you chase a dream. But what do you do when the fire cools? It would be unrealistic to expert the motivation and passion to remain unquenched wouldn’t it?

What?

Instead of trying to focus on the world and all you think needs to be done to make it better, look at your world. What can you do right now to make a difference in your world? Then take time to think about the world at large. What can you do that, when added to the change implemented by other like minded souls, will make a difference?

How?

There’s no easy stock answer to this one. Make a list of the changes you’d like to see in the world. And alongside this, make a list of things you personally can do to make these changes become a reality. Remember to delegate where necessary and always, always, talk about what you’re doing. The more people working together to effect change, the quicker the impact.

“The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.” ~ Dale Carnegie

Why?

Having talked previously about the value of living in peace without being a doormat, it would seem clear that we’re not keen on confrontation. However, confronting someone over behaviour that you don’t agree with is different to arguing for the sake of it. You’ve met the person who just seems to disagree for the sake of disagreeing? It’s not cool to be that person

What?

Have the courage of your convictions. Speak up where you see injustice. But pick your battles. You don’t have to win all the battles in life in order to win the war. You can let some stuff go in order to avoid an argument. The trick is knowing when to speak up and when to hold your tongue.

How?

On a practical note, it’s always best to take a deep breath, take time to think about what, if anything, you need to say. Treat others as you would like to be treated and always, always keep a civil tongue in your head

“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.” ~ Napoleon Hill

Why?

Do you have dreams of greatness? Big dreams? Grand plans? Massive aspirations? Brilliant. All the experts tell us that we must think big in order to achieve anything. But who are these experts? And what if all you can do today is get up and do seemingly mundane things? If you feel like your life is pretty ordinary, today’s one minute motivator is very especially for you

What?

It doesn’t matter how insignificant you expect your day to be, you will be important to somebody today. If you’re a parent, think about all the small things you do with your children. How would happy would they be if you didn’t do them? As a member of somebody’s staff, you too will have certain tasks that you need to undertake. You might not like it but these things are important in their own special way. Find the small things and do them with finesse.

How?

This quote reminded me of a blog post I read a couple of days ago. When you’re done here, if you have a little more than a minute, I highly recommend you go ahead and read that post. The writer talks about the importance of doing everything in such a way that the results will shine. I like that! Whatever small things you do today, do them brilliantly. The easiest way to ensure you do this is by being attentive to whatever it is you’re doing. Us girls like to multi-task but for true greatness, these small things are better tackled one by one.

“People are your greatest resource. If you can’t get along with people, you’re screwed. It doesn’t matter how smart or creative you are.” Mark Davidson

Why

You don’t need anyone to tell you why it’s important to be able to get along with people. Even if you like to style yourself as being wildly independent, deep down you still have the need to get along with folk. We all need to be loved and ‘getting along with people’ is just a small scale version of that. Getting along with people is different to ‘telling them what they want to hear’. It is possible to get along with people whilst disagreeing. It’s called conversation

What

Make a conscious decision today to get along with and value the people in your life. Take time to listen and don’t jump to conclusions.

How

Start with just one or two people. If you’re a serial grump around other humans, you may find this easier if you start with someone you love. Look for opportunities to speak kindness and encouragement into that other person’s life. Remember too, it’s not all about words. Your body language will speak volumes. Maintain eye contact and smile.