Feed: Seek THE Positive! - AggScore: 50.1

Thanksgiving Gratitude Cards

Download my Thanksgiving  Gratitude cards for only 76 cents! The set comes with my own gratitude list which may serve as a springboard for your guests, as well as 10 cards. You can reprint the set, so now matter how many folks are coming to your Thanksgiving feast, each one can write down what they are greatful for. Happy Thanksgiving! Click here to purchase the cards: http://www.uncommoncourtesy.net/index.php/products/thanksgiving-gratitude-cards-download

Share this:

Other Places to Bookmark

Christmas on a Shoestring

I received a wonderful comment about my holiday planner post that detailed the writer’s favorite holiday traditions. One thing that struck me was a comment that if someone did not have enough money to attend the play “The Christmas Carol” in person, it would be a good idea to read the story instead. Everyone I know has cut back, and what a great idea it would be to share ideas about how to festively celebrate the holidays in a cost conscious manner. Let me start this off with a few ideas of my own:

Instead of throwing a party for everyone else, how about a pot-luck or a cookie exchange?

Organize a board game party. It can be for adults, children, or a mix of both. This can be a great substitute for going out to dinner and a movie with friends.

Get a group of kids together and made fun and festive videos. They’ll have a blast, and what a great memory will be created!

I know this won’t be well received by my friends at the post office, but try sending email Christams greetings instead of using printed cards. This year I sent all my friends on Facebook a Christmas card, and I had lots of fun making it myself.

I’ve been a fan of homemade gifts for years! In the past I’ve been known to make goodie baskets that included homemade cookies, candies, and liquors. I always tell my children that I would prefer something homemade rather than a gift they grab off the shelf. Consequently, I have wonderful treasures from my children.

Those are just a few ideas that occurred to me as I wrote this post. Now, it’s your turn. What are your ideas? I’d love to hear them! Send them to me at :susan@uncommoncourtesy.com.

Share this:

Other Places to Bookmark

Christmas Words of the Season Game is Now Downloadable!

My Words of the Season Christmas Bingo game is now available in downloadable form. It’s the same game, available in the same three sizes, with the same calling cards but at a deep discount. You will have to print the game and provide your own cover tokens. Might I suggest a festive candy treat? Visit www.uncommoncourtesy.com to see all of my games or http://www.uncommoncourtesy.net/index.php/categories/words-of-the-season-bingo-sets to order the Words of the Season Bingo Game today!

Share this:

Other Places to Bookmark

Here’s a Bingo Game to Play if You are Traveling this Summer….or to Donate to Your Local Library!

Here’s a great game to donate to your local library! Many libraries are participating in the 2011 Collaborative Summer Reading Program. The theme for the children, teen, and adult programs all focus on travel. In conjunction with that theme, I have developed two travel related bingo games for children, as well as a game that features destinations that might be of more interest to adults.

You can order these games by visiting http://www.uncommoncourtesy.com

In conjunction with my Bingo for Charities program, anyone who donates a set to a library will receive a 5% discount by typing GIFT in the coupon box when the order is processed. The order must be sent directly to the library.

Share this:

Other Places to Bookmark

UnCommon Courtesy’s Bingo for Charities Program

I have always believed that one of my missions in life is to help others. Throughout my life, others have reached out to help me, and I decided early on that I would do the same when the opportunity presented itself. I have always been involved in some type of volunteer work or community service. My career choice is focused on helping others. In my private life, I have reached out to friends, neighbors, and acquaintances who seem to be at pivotal points in life. But lately I have felt the urge to do more. Something more than I can accomplish all by myself.

After a great deal of thought and soul searching, I am going to use UnCommon Courtesy as a vehicle to help those in need and assist those who are trying to do something good for others. To further this goal, I am in the process of launching a charity support program. This program will include a variety of ways to support gifting and charity work. Today, I would like to tell you about one of those ways and ask for your help.

As you may know, in addition to my main website (uncommoncourtesy.com), I have a variety of different theme-focused sites, so it is easier for customers to find specific games. I am going to expand these websites to include a focus on different issues that charities work to change, improve or resolve. These include:  

BingoforLearning.com: individual school support, education, and literacy.

        BingoforParties.com: medical diseases & conditions, hospitals, medical research, and mental health.

        BingoforDiversity.com: disaster relief, homelessness, human rights, and hunger.

        BingoforChristians.com: Christian based charities.

Bingoforcatholics.com: Catholic based charities.

        BingoforPatriots.com: military and veteran’s issues.

        BingoforChristmas.com: seasonal programs related to winter holidays, issues involving children, and child abuse.

        BingoforHalloween.com: animals and the environment

If you feel that I have missed a significant category, please let me know!

I am looking for charities that would be interested in donations resulting from the sale of my bingo games, as well as direct donations from visitors to my sites.  I will create a page for the charity on one of my theme sites that includes information about the charity, its mission, and how to contact/donate to the charity. I will also put the charity on a pull-down menu, so a customer can specify that $1 from his or her order can be donated to a specific charity. It is a small amount to be sure, but I have to start somewhere! I am hoping to be able to give more generous contributions in the future. Of course, I respectfully reserve the right to decide which charities to include in this program, and each charity must be non-profit.

How can you help? I am looking for charities that would be interested in donations resulting from the sale of my bingo games, as well as direct donations from visitors to my sites.  You don’t need to be affiliated with the charity to complete the form, but the more information you can send me about the charity, the more information I can pass along to others. Creating a webpage that is filled with information, pictures, etc., is more likely to create interest in the charity. If you know of a charity that is looking for donations, please visit: uncommoncourtesy.org and click on “submit your favorite charity,” or send this opportunity along to the charity itself. After the charity’s page has been created, tell everyone you know to visit the page. They can donate to the charity directly, or they have the chance to support the charity and have fun playing one of my games at the same time!

There are other opportunities for discounts, rebates, etc. related to charities and gifting on uncommoncourtesy.org. I’ll be discussing those opportunities in the weeks ahead. Please pass this information along to anyone you know involved with charity work. I am hoping that this program will become very successful!

Share this:

Other Places to Bookmark

Living In Fear Is Not Living At All

Let’s take a moment and think of them.  Think of some of the excuses that you can drum up to keep from trying something new, taking a risk, or doing something to change your life:

•                    Something may go wrong.
•                    Things may not go the way that I planned.
•                    I tried doing something once, and it didn’t work out.
•                    Bad things could happen if I am unsuccessful, so I won’t try.
•                    It might upset those around me if I change my behavior.

            The list of possibilities is endless. There are so many reasons why you should not take any risks in life – except for one thing.  Living in fear is not really living at all! 

            Fear is a natural response to any dangerous situation. Fear is something that children naturally possess.  The fear of strangers, the fear of falling, and the fear of the dark are all fears that are routinely found in children. Being fearful can have a protective effect on a child’s well being.  For example, being afraid of loud noises could prevent a child from fearlessly running into a dangerous situation. However, adults sometimes generalize this “protective intuition” into a fear of trying anything new because they do not want to fail or make a mistake.

            Most people who lead full, rich, and satisfying lives will validate that personal growth is a very important aspect of their lives.  If you are the same person at 40 years of age that you were when you were 20 years old, you may very well be bored, unhappy, and feel that your life has gone nowhere. That very well may be the case! Every day that you waste will not be replaced.  Just imagine how you would feel if you woke up one day and felt that you had wasted 20 years of your life!  Living in fear will prevent you from growing as a person.  If you constantly second guess yourself, focus on your mistakes, and think about the downside of any new situation, you will never voluntarily choose to move forward with your life.  It will be difficult for you to be a “self-starter” or make any changes in your life because you will be afraid of all the possible negative outcomes of your decision.

            The fear of making a mistake also results in another sad situation: it is very unlikely that you will take advantage of all the opportunities in your life that present themselves to you.  You may choose not to make a change in your career, take a promotion to a different type of job in the same company, enter into a new business venture, enter into a new relationship, or have a child.  These are just a few of the decisions that may be put off and put off until you can no longer take advantage of them. There are, in fact, many opportunities in life (e.g., a career change or having a child) for which there is never a “perfect time.”   Waiting for that time is really making a decision not to move forward with your life. The majority of the opportunities that we have in life (e.g., beginning a new relationship or entering into a new business venture) are time limited.  Therefore, your paralysis about whether or not to take advantage of an opportunity will simply result in that opportunity being lost.

            Many of my clients who have repeatedly failed to take advantage of opportunities (especially business opportunities that have later proved to be successful ventures for someone else) experience a sense of failure or depression.  “Why didn’t I do that” is a question that may nag at them for the rest of their lives.  These feelings can only lead to unhappiness and the belief that they have wasted large chunks of their lives. Unhappiness or general non-enjoyment of life can lead to a plethora of unintended consequences including poor health, severed relationships, and depression or anxiety.

            My message to you should be clear:  while it is important to carefully weigh the opportunities that are placed before you, choosing to live a “safe” life with few or no risks may also be a choice to live a frustrating and unhappy life.  A certain amount of risk-taking is an important part of any full and successful life. Yes, there will be times that you fail.  Yes, there will be times when you wish you had made another decision.  Yes, hindsight may prove that waiting for a different opportunity would have been a better decision. However, each of your decisions that result in a successful experience will give you a general sense of happiness about your life.  They will also open more successful opportunities to you in the future.

            There are endless reasons to not act on a hunch, seize an opportunity, or live each day to the fullest.  However, the lost opportunities and the lack of enjoyment of your life will far and away outweigh any risk that you may choose to take.  When in doubt, just remember: living in fear is not really living at all!

 Copyright © 2000 – 2011 Susan C. Rempel, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

This article (including the copyright notice) may be reprinted with the following the following attachment:

- begin attachment –

© 2000 – 2011 Susan C. Rempel, Ph.D.  All rights reserved.

Bingo Games, Motivational Material and More at www.UnCommonCourtesy.com! More than 200 holiday, religious, educational, and diversity bingo games and concentration sets available . Bingo games for adults and children to play at home, school, church, corporate meetings, and just about anywhere you can imagine. Games made to order for every occasion. Motivational articles and personal growth exercises too! Join Susan Rempel, Ph.D.’s blog: Seek THE Positive.

- end attachment -

Share this:

Other Places to Bookmark

Got Sniffles? Take Zinc!

The past two weeks at our house have been challenging! Two different viruses were being passed around at our local schools. One of my daughters came down with one virus, while my son came down with the other. Naturally, I ended up with both of them! Consequently, I decided to take a look at recent research that focused on preventing and getting rid of the viruses that seemed to be flooding through my front door. What luck! I found a piece of research that should finally lay to rest the question of whether or not zinc is helpful for those of us feeling the first signs of a cold. The author reviewed 15 different trials involving more than 1000 people. What did the findings reveal? Healthy people who took Zinc within 24 hours of symptom onset were slightly less likely to develop a cold than the control group. However, the decrease in school absences, or the need for prescription medication, in the trial group was highly significant! If Zinc was supplemented for a minimum of five months, the incidence of a child developing a cold decreased as well. The side effects from taking this supplement were primarily found to be nausea and a bad taste in the mouth. I don’t know about you, but I would gladly experience one or both of those side effects in exchange for decreasing the length and severity of a cold. Although the author was unable to specifically recommend how much zinc to take, the type of formula to use, or how long the zinc should be taken, this research indicates it is well worth discussing what is right for you with your healthcare professional. Take a look at the research yourself: Singh M, Das RR. Zinc for the common cold. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2011, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD001364. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001364.pub3. Wishing you health and happiness today and everyday!

Share this:

Other Places to Bookmark

Get Your Calendar Off Your Desk!

Has this ever happened to you?

There I sat. It was a beautiful day in Southern California. I sat sipping my tea and enjoying the beautiful view from my office window. Then, reality set in and spoiled my perfectly wonderful morning. My eyes slowly became focused on my desk. Rather, my eyes focused on the several inches of paper that covered most of my desktop. I had finished my latest project the day before and realized that I wasn’t exactly sure what to do next. All those pieces of paper referred to different things that needed my attention. Then, I began to think about everything I had to do that wasn’t even listed on one of those pieces of paper. I began to feel a bit overwhelmed. Then, I began to feel a bit depressed. How in the world would I get all these things done? Then, a little voice in my head said, “What is my calendar doing on my desk!” Then, I began to think of how much of my calendar I was carrying around in my head as well.

When you begin to feel overwhelmed, depressed, or a bit hopeless, it is time to examine whether or not your expectations for yourself, or commitments you have made to others, has created an untenable situation. You will no doubt have projects or a “to-do” list connected with home, work, and elsewhere in your life. But what is the order of each list, and how do you meld all the lists together? Then, how do you add your schedule onto the top of the list you have created. If you have not appropriately prioritized all of these different lists, you may become like a sailboat that has gone off course, turned into the wind, and is sitting dead in the water with its sails unable to take advantage of the prevailing winds. When you add your day-to-day schedule on top of these lists, the mounting pressure to complete all of the items on all of your lists will form a wall that will cause you to lose your flow, your momentum, and your motivation! Moving through life without a clearly defined path will cause you to forget things that you should do and decide not to do things that could result in greater success. When you find yourself floating still in the water, it’s time to take a look at your tasks and your schedule, and plot a course of just how to proceed.

To begin this exercise, redefine your lists as goals that need to be added to your calendar. This list of goals is not same as the goals that you set for yourself in life. It is not the New Year’s resolutions that you decide upon during the last week of each year. It is the list of what needs to get done within the next 7 to 14 days. These are the deadlines that generally create stress in your life. What is crazy making about the list is it is never ending and constantly needs to be reshuffled. It is not as if your list of obligations and responsibilities ends as the work week draws to a close at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. What happens then is that the target shifts to tasks that must be done at home. Then there are those commitments resulting from charities, volunteer opportunities, or special interest participation. When Monday morning rolls around, the list from work clicks back on in your head. Throughout the day your focus may be drawn away to the awaiting list of family obligations or other must-do tasks around the home. The result from the lists that develop from all of these sources may seem like a free floating band of rings circling your head. I particularly find this to be the case when I begin to consider the deadlines imposed on me because of the schedules of other members of my family. A goal calendar is different from a traditional calendar because it it is a detailed list everything in that you are responsible for in your life. Most people have a calendar on their computer, phone, or wall of their office, but those calendars generally focus on appointments or significant project deadlines. A goal calendar is an exercise in understanding, and coming to grips with, the expectations and obligations of your life.

If you are starting your goal calendar from scratch, create a spreadsheet on your computer. Each column will focus on a different area in your life. Each column should have a very specific focus.  Do not have one column for home and another for work. If “home” is one column, you will likely leave out responsibilities connected with your relationship, your children, pets that require interaction, immediate repairs or tasks, routine errands, or a host of other aspects of your day-to-day life. In particular, don’t forget about taking care of yourself. I consider exercise to be a necessary part of my daily routine, and I build it into my goal calendar. Now, add in columns associated with work, volunteer, and community related responsibilities. When you finish, you should not be able to think of anything that you need to do within the next 7 to 14 days that is not on that list. When I engage in this exercise all of those sticky notes that I have posted around my desk magically disappear. There may be many columns on your spreadsheet, but chronicling everything that you expect yourself to complete may help you understand why you are feeling overwhelmed.

The next step is to prioritize each column. This is the point at which you may begin to remove things from each list because you choose to postpone the deadline. You may also decide that some of the tasks are unnecessary, or there are so many things to do that you may need to adjust your commitments and expectations. Yes, that means occasionally telling other people that you just cannot do everything for everyone. Tasks or responsibilities may be given priority in each column because of their importance, but most often deadlines may be associated with each task or responsibility.

After you have adjusted the contents of each column, create a second page on the spreadsheet. Create columns for each day for the next 14 days, and then begin to copy items into the appropriate column. After you are finished, take a look at the list. Are you still feeling overwhelmed? It is time to start hitting the delete key once again. When you have completed this exercise, you should have a priority list for each day over the course of the next two weeks. Now it is time to incorporate your schedule into this list. Begin adding items day-by-day into your existing calendar. Wow! You may be feeling overwhelmed all over again. This is the time to once again consider deleting or postponing items from your list. If you cannot reasonably expect to complete your list of priorities when you add them to your daily schedule, then you care over committed, and need to think about simplifying your life. Of course, you will continually be tinkering with this list. Deleting items that you had the opportunity to complete early. Adding items that arise with an immediate deadline.  Finally, add in all of those items onto your calendar that you postponed for more than 14 days. Once your calendar is complete, color code it relative to the area of your life that creates each item on the calendar. In my own calendar, one color focuses on activities associated with my children. Another denotes my husband’s travel schedule which causes me to adjust my priorities on those particular days. A third color focuses on writing deadlines. A fourth focuses on routine work obligations that I complete each week. The list of colors is quite extensive. It is a colorful calendar to be sure, but I can get a glimpse of my day just by looking at the colors on the screen. 

Eventually this exercise will become part of your routine. While the exercise itself may initially seem overwhelming, organizing your life to this degree will minimize stress. It may also motivate you to turn away from aspects of your life that consume copious amounts of your time, while giving you little satisfaction in return.

 Well, there you have it. This article was written to be short and to the point. Put the wind back in your sails. Get your calendar off your desk. Then, clear it out of your head as well. Become inspired to take charge of your schedule. You have no time to waste because you will never have another chance to rewind today and start all over. So, get going!

Copyright © 2011 Susan C. Rempel, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

This article (including the copyright notice) may be reprinted with the following the following attachment:

- begin attachment –

© 2011 Susan C. Rempel, Ph.D.  All rights reserved.

Bingo Games, Motivational Material and More at www.UnCommonCourtesy.com! More than 200 holiday, religious, educational, and diversity bingo games and concentration sets available . Bingo games for adults and children to play at home, school, church, corporate meetings, and just about anywhere you can imagine. Games made to order for every occasion. Motivational articles and personal growth exercises too! Join Susan Rempel, Ph.D.’s blog: Seek THE Positive.

Share this:

Other Places to Bookmark

BINGO! Teaching Your Child to Celebrate Life!

 Admit it. Everyday of your life is a gift. You can do with that gift what you choose. You can waste it worrying about the future or the past. You can stumble through it without making the most of the time that you have been given. But you have an opportunity. You can celebrate each and every day of your life. What a concept! What a BIG concept!! Everyday you wake up with the choice to view life as a wonderful journey. Of course, you can also choose to view your day in a much more dismal manner.  

Here’s a special opportunity that you have as a parent. You can teach your child to celebrate that gift which he has been given. Imagine sending your child into the adult world with the belief that there is hope in every situation. There is a positive solution to every problem. That tomorrow can be a better day. What better gift can you give to your child, than the gift of optimism?

Of course, following your child around the house telling her to, “Think positive,” “Look on the bright side,” or “Change your attitude” just will not work. Your child will run away when she hears you walking down the hall. What should you do? You’ve got to be a role model and a teacher. Yes, that means that YOU have to celebrate each day of your life. Consider this. Do you wake up each day thinking that you have a new opportunity to be successful? Are you thankful for each day that you have been given? Are you making the most of your life? If the answers aren’t yes, Yes, and YES, then you have work to do, my friend.

First, think about whether your past has become an obstacle to forming and maintaining a positive perspective on life. Were your parents optimists or pessimists? What were the themes that ran through your family? There is often a theme or a pattern of thinking that is passed down from one generation to another. It permeates how the family functions. It impacts the expectations for each person in the family, and the agenda of the family unit itself. It often generates a family mantra. Family mantras can range from empowering to toxic. “You can do anything.” “Anything but super-achievement is failure.” “You need only be competent.” “Keep working until you succeed.” “Why can’t you be like (anyone but yourself)?” “You are part of a greater community.” “If it’s not important to me, then it’s not important.” “Life is good.” “Life would be good if only….”  The range of family themes is endless. You internalized themes or mantras from your family as you were growing up. It is important to think about what you were taught. Some of the messages may be powerful driving forces towards success, while others may be creating obstacles that are only present in your mind. In my own family, I learned several valuable mantras including “If you keep working at something, and make small steps towards your goal, you will eventually reach it.” That stick-to-it-ness has been a wonderful driving force in my own life. However, my parents were raised in the Depression, and they also unfortunately passed along a great deal of negativity and the tendency to be overly critical of oneself. One of my challenges, as an adult, has been to adopt and maintain a positive outlook on life. Sometimes those dark and negative thoughts bubble to the surface, but I try to recognize them and put a stop to them immediately. Think about the life lessons that you learned from your parents, and which of those you are now modeling for your child.

Next, consider how you react to success and adversity. What happens when you are successful in an endeavor or encounter an obstacle enroute to a goal? Do your successes in life become overblown, or are they minimized? Do you view success as an end unto itself, or is it an opportunity to set a new goal? Are the obstacles you encounter in life seen as challenges or do they serve as a  reason to give up? Do you ignore your successes only to focus on what you may never be able to achieve? You may not realize it, but your child is watching (and learning from) your reaction to success and adversity both large and small.

Another point to consider is what priorities you have in life, and what are you teaching your child about how to approach life? Is life a struggle? Is life something to be just gotten through? Is life something exciting? Is life full of challenges and possibilities? How would your child describe your approach to life? What are the areas of life that emphasize? Is it all about the material things you collect, or is materialism something you abhor? Are you focused on building your mind, as well as your child’s academic potential, or is that something only “smart people” try to achieve? Is it important develop a wide variety of interests, or are you focused on only one goal by which to define yourself as a success or failure. Are you teaching your child that exercise is a part of a healthy lifestyle, or is exercise just the work that goes along with becoming an Olympian or a professional athlete? Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Is your child learning the importance of forming social connections, or will he feel socially awkward all his life?  Do you have a faith-based belief system, or does your child think that this is all there is? Children characteristically parrot or imitate the views and patterns of the important adults around them. Consider whether the things you think of as important will be create a positive future life experience for your child.

Finally (and this is by no means an exhaustive list), what will you consider when determining whether or not your life has been successful? Have you ever stopped to consider what you think it means to be successful?  Have you learned to set goals that are attainable? If your child learns that “success” is only achieved if she is a billionaire, the next Babe Ruth, or a Nobel Prize winner, then being successful may seem an untenable goal. Are you just floating through life without goals or a sense of purpose? If not much is expected of a child, then life may become a series of “good enough’s” or viewed as a flat plateau without much to look forward to on the horizon. Are you able to pinpoint the success you have already experienced in your life, or are you always haunted by the “should have’s” or “never will be’s”? Recognizing and being thankful for your accomplishments in life is important, and is an important component in life satisfaction. A child who is trained to focus on what might have been or what might not ever occur is far less likely to experience satisfaction with life. Have you developed goals that span across many areas of your life, or do you focus on one goal to the exclusion of everything else in your life. Having a life that is hopeful and balanced will help your child to look forward to experiences and be willing to take risks. Your child will internalize a list of what is important in life and what is not. Both the list, and the level that is necessary to achieve “success” of each item on the list, will impact how he approaches life. Focusing your child on setting reasonable and positive goals in many areas will help her grow into an adult who can find something to celebrate each day of life no matter what happens on that day.

As I was thinking about how to teach children to celebrate each day of their lives, I suddenly realized that “bingo” is just the acronym to use as a training tool. Let me tell you why. As you may or may not know, my primary website (www.UnCommonCourtesy.com) is a combination of motivational material and several hundred bingo games and concentration sets. How did such an unlikely combination come about? As the room mother for my son’s first grade class, I was responsible for overseeing a Halloween party. My youngest child was six months old, and still getting up three or four times a night. My other two children weren’t great sleepers, and I come from a long line of poor sleepers. Consequently, I was quite sleep-deprived at the time. My son’s teacher asked me to bring a Halloween bingo game to the party, but she had a very specific type of game in mind. As I recall, it was one with only pictures. I tried to find one online, but didn’t find one that met her parameters. It was overwhelming to think about driving around to find such a specific game, so I decided to make it myself. Armed with a graphics program and some clipart, I produced a set. It was crude in comparison with the sets I create at this time, but it wasn’t bad. Then, I laminated the set because I wanted it to last several years. I didn’t want to make another set when my second child reached the first grade! I took the set to the party and several of the teachers said to me, “This is good. You could sell this.” For many years I had been a children custody evaluator, mediator, and a family therapist. However, that time in my life had past, and I was looking for a new career path. One that would allow me to focus on my children, work at home, and experience less stress. I thought to myself, “I COULD sell this!” I had launched my UnCommonCourtesy.com website as a reaction to all of the negativity in my past life, as well as the pain I witnessed in my private practice. Although I hadn’t published a newsletter or worked on the site for a couple of years, I had just not been able to get myself to shut it down. I kept thinking that surely it would be a part of my future career. Undaunted by the disconnect between the name of the site and bingo games, as well as the reaction from several family members and friends (“You are going to do what?????”), I put together a couple of bingo games to sell at Christmas. I managed to put together an order form, arrange for a secure server, and put the sets online. I made (and still make) all the sets by hand. Although I seemingly did everything wrong, I sold $700 dollars worth of bingo games that Christmas season! Never mind that I had actually lost money because of business set-up costs; my sleep-deprived mind was filled with possibilities. Although my head was filled with things like, “this could be the start of something big,” I heard a lot of “yea, yea, whatever” around me. But I’m a positive thinker. I kept making sets. Making better sets. Finding niches that my bingo games could fit into. I have to say that my unlikely career has been a wonderfully rewarding experience, and something that I can work on when things around me seem a bit dark. Thinking positively, and staying focused, has helped me to develop a very satisfying business and it is all about BINGO!

Well, you’ve heard my story. Now it’s time to learn to teach your child to celebrate life by applying the positive principle of BINGO!

B: BE IN THE GAME. How many children sit on the sidelines because they are afraid of failure or trying something new? They slam the door closed before they even get their feet firmly inside. I certainly did as a child, and I regret just about everything that I refused to try. Do not allow your child to sit on the sideline waiting for the good time to come to her. Teach him to participate! Tell her that the only failure in life is not trying at all. The main point is to jump in and get going. While you are at it, get in the game with your children! Volunteer at school. Sign up to coach a team. Be a Sunday School teacher. There is no question that my own children view me as a participant and not as someone who sits on the sidelines. They love it, and your child will love to see you involved in his life.

I: INTERNALIZE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE IN YOUR CHILD Talk about how good life is. Prompt her to make a list of the things that she has to be thankful for. Help him see that there is hope in, or a positive view of, almost every situation. Remember to be a role model! This is a family project, and you should think about the negative thoughts and actions that are holding you back. What do you have to be grateful for? Are you focused on what’s going right or what you haven’t got? How can you grasp and hold onto a positive attitude all day long. Don’t just say it- live it!

N: NOW IS THE TIME THAT IS IMPORTANT. Some people live in the past. Others focus on the future. But today is the time that you can jump into, start a life-changing pattern, or just savor. Enjoy the Moment! Teach your child to enjoy what he experiences every day. Help her learn to work toward things on a day-to-day basis. Don’t let him fret about the test next Thursday, help him plan study blocks between now and then so the test will be a cinch. Don’t join her in lamenting about not being chosen as the star in the play, work with her to be the best in the part that she was assigned. Those in-the-moment times with your child may be the ones that the two of you have the fondest memories of in the future.

G: GIVE OF YOURSELF. In the world of me, Me, ME, the self-absorption that many children learn is ultimately unsatisfying. If you live a life that is focused on material things, you’ll always think about what you do not have. More importantly, you will waste your life fretting about what other people have, and how much better your life would be if you lived someone else’s life. If everything is all about you, then the other members of your family will be left high and dry. In our house, we sing a song when one of the kids gets a bit too focused on his or her needs. While we sing the tune to “It Had to be You,” we insert the words: “It’s all about me. It’s all about me. Wonderful me. Important me. It’s all about me. Oh can’t you see? It’s all about me!” On and on it goes until everyone is laughing so hard that there are tears in our eyes. I try to give of myself, and I look back on most days thinking how good it felt to do something for a friend, have seen the eyes of my children light up because of the time I shared with them, or have done something a little unexpected for someone in need. It’s been a pleasant surprise to watch my children take note of my actions, and I hope they do the same for others throughout their lives.

O: OVERCOME IT! One of my favorites Authors, Norman Vincent Peale, made a very powerful statement in his book Enthusiasm Makes the Difference: “Every problem contains within itself the seeds of its own solutions.” Life is full of struggles and difficulties. Just because you are an optimist doesn’t mean you won’t have problems. You can think of those problems as another reason to despair or as an opportunity for growth. I often ask myself, “What can I learn from this?” or “How can I use this as an opportunity to grow as a result of my experience.”  Teach your child how to recognize that a problem exists before it gets out of control, how to problem-solve, and how to enlist others to help him solve those problems. Just about every problem in life can be solved or used as a spring board toward a positive outcome.

Now it’s time for you to start teaching your child the BINGO principle. Have fun! Enjoy the time that you spend with your child! Work on yourself a bit too! I’ll be writing future articles about how to teach your child to celebrate holidays and other moments in his or her life using the BINGO principle. I hope that you will stop by www.uncommoncouresty.com to take a look at my latest thoughts and a few of my bingo games as well!

Celebrate today and everyday!

 Susan

Susan C. Rempel, Ph.D.

 P.S. I’ve written many other motivational articles. You can find an index of them at: http://uncommoncourtesy.com/motivationalarticles.htm

Enthusiasm Makes the Difference in the Compenium: Peale, Norman Vincent (1994). The Power of Positive Thinking, The Positive Principle Today, and Enthusiasm Makes the Difference. Wings Books, New York. Pg 511.

© 2007-2011 Susan C. Rempel, Ph.D.  All rights reserved.

Do you like this article? Reprint it (with the following attachment of course) on your site or in your ezine!!

 begin attachment -

© 2007-2011 Susan C. Rempel, Ph.D.  All rights reserved.

Bingo Games, Motivational Material and More at www.UnCommonCourtesy.com! More than 200 holiday, religious, educational, and diversity bingo games and concentration sets available . Bingo games for adults and children to play at home, school, church, corporate meetings, and just about anywhere you can imagine. Games made to order for every occasion. Motivational articles and personal growth exercises too! Join Susan Rempel, Ph.D.’s blog: Seek THE Positive.

- end attachment -

Share this:

Other Places to Bookmark