It's Good 2B Good

SMILE - AND PASS IT ON!

I recently embarked on a campaign to get people to smile more. I realized that smiling is the kind act that takes the least amount of effort and, yet, can have the most profound impact on another. So, I followed the lead of Jerilynne Knight of Onemillionacts.com who wrote about blowing bubbles at red lights to get other drivers to smile. I loved it.

So, I went out and bought a small bottle of those bubbles you stick the wand in and blow through for a buck at the local drugstore. I've been having a blast. It 's great seeing the smiles of people next to you and it really makes the time go faster. (Doesn't it usually seem like forever when you're stuck at a red light)?

Well, yesterday I actually had a conversation with the woman in the car next to me. It was great! It went something like this:

Woman: Hey, you really know how to have fun at red lights! (smiling)
Me: I'm on a campaign to try to get people to smile more.
Woman: It's working!
Me: It beats just sitting waiting for the light to turn green.
Woman: If I had some I'd be joining you!

Which gave me a great idea: I'm going to have a couple of spare bottles in the car with me. The next time someone shares a comment with me I'll give them a bottle and tell them to pass it on.

Think of the possibilites: Instead of getting impatient and frustrated at red lights people can be smiling and having fun getting other people to smile. Maybe we can even cut down on road rage ( I can dream, can't I?)

Caution: If you decide to join me, please pay attention to the lights and make sure you're ready to go when the light turns green. It would be counterproductive to annoy the drivers behind you if you weren't paying attention to the road - that's top priority!

5 TIPS TO INSPIRE YOU TO DO MORE ACTS OF KINDNESS

Everyone seems to be feeling lots of stress these days, between the economy, the swine flu, and anything else you'd like to throw in. It's when times are tough that we all need to be a little kinder to each other. Especially to strangers. When you're kind to a stranger you send a strong underlying message that says," There really are nice people, despite what you see on the news every night." and "I see you. You exist. You matter." A simple kind act can lift someone's spirits in powerful ways. I have read several stories of people who were on their way to committing suicide, but a random act of kindness by a total stranger made them change their minds.

Here are 5 tips to help you do more acts of kindness:

1. Decide what you need most, and give it someone else. ( Examples: compassion, confidence, courage, loving attention, patience). You will be amazed at how that particular trait will grow stronger in you as a result of giving it away.

2. Studies show that helping another person leads to increased happiness. Pick up any book on happiness at your local bookstore and you will see a section in that book on the connection between being kind and being happy.

3. Studies show that helping another person leads to improved physical and emotional health. In fact, one study showed people who helped others had fewer episodes of the flu. (That's something the media should be broadcasting!)

4. Studies show that helping another person leads to greater self-esteem. If you are on the shy side try smiling and saying hello to 3 people you don't know today. Watch what happens.

5. Studies show that helping another person leads to longer life. Older people who do volunteer work tend to live longer than those who don't.

I hope these 5 tips help motivate you to do more acts of kindness. I would love to hear about any positive results, so send me feedback.

THANK YOU, SUSAN BOYLE!

Thank you, Susan Boyle, for reminding us, and for helping us teach our children that judging people for the way they appear on the outside can prevent us from discovering the gifts they contain on the inside.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ALLOW INTO YOUR BRAIN!

So many people are paying attention to what they put into their mouths, and for good reason. More and more people are finding out the unfortunate consequences of eating food that tastes good, but isn't necessarily good for their bodies. The more they carefully select what goes into their mouths, the more improvement they see in their health.

So, why doesn't the same principle exist when it comes to what we allow into our brains? I've been paying attention lately to all the shows on TV that not only contain graphic violence, but are centered around it. There have been police shows, detective shows and lawyer shows on as far back as I can remember. But, in the past few years the shows have become more intense and focus on grisly murders and delve into the minds of criminals. And the scenes have become increasingly more gory and graphic and permeated with terrifying images.

Well, all those images have to be having an impact on our brains. I don't believe they go in and immediately disappear. If they did companies wouldn't be spending millions of dollars to advertise their products in ten, thirty and sixty second blocks of time. They know that those images that flash on the screen get in our brains and influence us when it comes to spending our hard-earned money.

So, I choose not to watch the shows that center around crime, violence, blood, guts and gore. But it is unbelievable to me how much of that stuff gets into my brain just by channel surfing. Whether it's seeing snippets of movies, commercials for movies, or commercials for upcoming episodes of TV shows I feel like my brain is being bombarded by violent images.

And if mine is, so is yours if you watch TV. How is your brain being affected? Are you paying attention?
I recommend you take some time to observe the effects all that violence is having on your brain. Are you becoming desensitized to it? If so, is that a good thing?

Television is such a powerful medium and has the potential to teach, to inspire, to motivate. It's a shame that for the most part it seems to be demoralizing, depressing, and desensitizing us.

Here is one indicator of the impact these shows are having on kids. On a recent episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition a little girl  was asked what she wanted to be when she grows up. Her answer: Crime Scene Investigator. And that became the theme of her new bedroom.

Be careful what you allow into your brain and the brains of your children!

FEELING A MONEY PINCH? GIVE GENEROUSLY!

There is an interesting principal I learned about several years ago that has made a difference in my life. Whatever you feel you are lacking, give to someone else. It seems so paradoxical. But it really works.
I used it quite a few times to help me with my fear of flying, which I developed after being at the epicenter of a large (6.8) earthquake. For years I was so afraid to fly I drove from Phoenix to L.A. to visit friends and family after I moved.
Well, after my father had a stroke I had to go back more often and had to be able to fly again. So, after working with different people and various techniques I was able to get back on a plane. But, I wasn't in a place of complete calm and relaxation. Let's just say I could sit without clinging to the armrests.
So, after a few "tense" flights I heard this amazing principal mentioned above and decided to give it a try. As soon as I got my stuff settled I would go up to a flight attendant and say,"I used to be a nervous flyer. If you know of anyone who is having a hard time please let me know and I'd be happy to try and help."

Wow! I could hardly believe what a difference it made. Even if no one asked for help, just offering to help helped me become more calm and made the flights way better than before.

But, this principal doesn't just apply to flying. It applies to everything. And a lot of people can really use it and benefit from it today with the difficulies we are all facing due to the economy and the financial situation.
If we are afraid of losing money, the best thing we can do to alleviate our fear is give. When we give to others we are saying to the world, " I am not lacking. I have enough to give." That becomes our truth and our truth becomes reality. The world resonates with the messages we give it. Giving doesn't have to be in actual money; we can give our time, our stuff (who doesn't have too much stuff?) or our skills and expertise.

Let's dispel all this fear floating around and make a commitment to give something every day (even if it is only a coin in a donation box). Try it for a week. Then let's compare notes. I'd love to hear your comments. Have fun, be creative, and watch the fear fade away!

IT'S GOOD 2B GOOD!

WEAR A SWEATER TODAY

Today would have been Mr. Rogers' 80th birthday and in his honor we are being asked to wear a sweater and to do a random act of kindness. Mr. Rogers taught many of us about being nice - in fact, for many of us he was the first nice man in our lives. He was nice to us and he encouraged us to be nice to others.

So, to honor a nice man and to continue his legacy of kindness wear a sweater and do an act of kindness.

For more info click here:

GOOD NEWS - LET'S SPREAD IT!

Have you heard about what happened to Brian Williams and NBC Nightly News? People had been complaining to him about how the news was depressing to watch. So, last Wednesday night he asked viewers to send him good news stories. He was inundated with thousands of e-mails. He said they couldn't possibly cover all the stories of acts of kindness people wrote in about.
Since Friday he's been closing the news with a good news story.
And, boy, do we need to hear about all the good people are doing. So, I would like to propose a plan:

Let's flood the other major news networks with requests to do the same thing: End each newscast with a story about somebody (or a group of people) making a difference. Maybe if enough people respond they will do it also.

I truly believe (and I've seen it reported) that when times are bad, people do more good. Why don't the news network report that? Maybe they need to feel like their ratings will go up before they make a change like this. So, let's show them that's the case. Let's let them know they will get more viewers if they add good news stories. Wouldn't you be more likely to watch the news if it was more uplifting?

If you want to read the full article about Brian Williams and NBC Nightly News, click here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29556042/
And, by the way, you can still submit a good news story at their website.

IT'S GOOD 2B GOOD!

The Academy Awards and The Power of Words

I watched the Academy Awards last night even though I hadn't seen any of the nominated movies (I'm not a big movie goer), but having grown up in Los Angeles it becomes an ingrained habit to watch. And, I have to admit, it's always entertaining, some years more than others.
Well, I'm really glad I watched this year because they added something new that was amazing: the brief tributes paid to all the nominees for Best Supporting Actor and Actress and Best Actor and Actress.

I carefully watched the faces of the nominees as the beautiful and kind words were spoken; their faces were glowing. Some of them looked as if they were close to tears. I was truly touched by the power of these tributes since many people act as if only winning matters. But to acknowledge the contribution each of the nominees has made is a powerful confirmation of the gifts they have made to the movie industry as well as to the general public.

I teach kids about the power of words in my program. They begin to understand that they have immense power in the choices they make to use positive or negative words. They learn that they can have a devastating impact on others' lives or a transformative impact. It's up to them to decide.

I hope this new addition to the Academy Awards ceremony continues. It was inspiring to me and hopefully to a lot of others.

And if you have the opportunity today to lift someone up with your words, please take advantage of it.
It will make a difference!

IT'S GOOD 2B GOOD!

GOOD NEWS - Just What I've Been Waiting For

I am so excited! I've always been frustrated by the focus of TV news (and news in general, for that matter) on the negative. Crime, violence, crashes, etc. dominate our news coverage. I've always wanted to see positive news and wondered for many years why I never saw positive news as a focus. Well, now I don't have to feel frustrated anymore. I just discovered a fantastic website: Good News Network. Every day you can read stories of inspiration about strangers helping strangers, good news about the environment, economy, science, health, even good news about celebrities. What a great way to start your day!

I am very excited to share with you the website and encourage you to visit and tell all your friends about it.

http://goodnewsnetwork.org

THE BIGGEST LOSER: LOSE WEIGHT BY WORKING OUT, EATING HEALTHY AND DOING GOOD

Watching NBC's The Biggest Loser is a great way to get motivated to lose weight. I am happy to see so many people starting to see that obesity or excessive weight is not only dangerous to one's health, but can be overcome with hard work and determination to exercise regularly and eat healthy food.

What most people don't know is that there is an additional way to avoid obesity: do good. Research has found that one of the many health benefits of helping others is less of a tendency to overeat. This is fascinating. People who help others on a regular basis don't overeat as much as those who don't help others.

I wonder why this is so. My theory is that helping others provides such a strong sense of meaning and value in one's life that there is not as strong of a need to find meaning and value in food. Many people who overeat (and are therefore overweight) are substituting food for other things such as the need to feel valued. When you spend time helping others the need for overeating diminshes significantly because the need to feel valued is being met.

Three years ago I weighed 55 pounds more than I do today. I lost 55 pounds in a year and a half and have kept it off for one year now. I saw from personal experience that eating can become a substitute for other things. Although there were other factors, once I began focusing on volunteering and doing more random acts of kindness my efforts to lose weight became easier.

So, if you are in the process of trying to lose weight, in addition to your workouts and healthy eating, add random actis of kindness or volunteering to your life. It will make a difference.
IT'S GOOD 2B GOOD!