Ever stepped on a sharp object? How did you react? It created a memory one will not forget in a hurry. Maybe you were sewing back a button that popped off a shirt and the needle pricked you. Everyday situations but the little object had a large impact on you.
As a young person, my next-door neighbor’s daughter was learning to drive and almost hit me – I had to jump out of the direction of the car in their driveway and my heel dug into a cactus plant and for weeks, I could not wear any shoes till I could get out all the cactus pines. Till today, I do not mess with cacti or any of its relatives.
Affirmations! Small but powerful words to get a message across, that leaves a lasting memory. My first two paragraphs lend support to the concept that sometimes little things have a deep impact on us. Bee stings, ant bites, mosquitoes buzzing in your ears --- we feel these and react in different ways.
Affirmations are a very inexpensive way of giving flowers to friends, relatives, family members or even complete strangers. They leave a positive mark behind. I recently created an Affirmation Board at work, and it has become an object of conversation. Some people appreciate the kind words left behind. Others realize that a lot of what they do daily is appreciated, by their co-workers. Giving people their flowers while alive is a good way of keeping them positively motivated.
I had a conversation with a co-worker while I was in the final stages of putting the Affirmation Board together. He was happy to leave a positive thought on one of the post it pads – no name beside it, just a simple but powerful statement. People love this.
I open doors for people at the gas station, grocery stores and other places of public interaction. Sometimes, they say thank you, and I respond and ask if they want to give me a tip (gratuity), with me pretending to be a door man, and they laugh sometimes and comment – “that was a good one,” or “put it on my tab” or “do you accept Apple Pay?” It makes them smile and that little interaction goes a long way.
Some years ago in Dallas, driving through an employee parking lot, an employee was in the process of walking to his car and absent-mindedly literally walked into the path of my vehicle. I stopped abruptly, motioning to him to continue walking across. Once he cleared my path, I continued driving but pulled up close to him, put my window down. Not sure what he thought I was going to say, but I leaned over and told him “I don’t hit people on a Wednesday…” He laughed loud in response and then said to me, “Dude, I needed that laugh, that was a good one.” He may have just finished a hard shift at work, but the little comment made his day.
I tell co-workers thank you all the time. Driving for FedEx, most of us on the PM Shift, do not have permanent trucks assigned to us, but one thing I do is to leave any truck I use cleaner than I met it. This week, a colleague whose truck I use regularly came up to me and thanked me for taking care of the truck the way I do. Makes his life easier – so the same day I went an extra step and sprayed down the entire cabin, disinfecting it and making it shine and smell like new. I have not seen him yet, but I know he would have been very proud and others around him would be jealous.
So, my dear reader, those words of affirmation, those acts of kindness are a very good way to give someone their flowers. Go to the dollar store --- Dollar Tree and buy a little card or two and write a few words of encouragement to a neighbor on your street or a colleague at work or even your favorite cashier --- be the star in the sky that brightens somebody’s path. www.bestimony.com is a very good website to do digital affirmations.eep it short so I can print it in a future edition. Have a great month!
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