Happy Thursday everyone! Hope you have a great day with success and happiness!
We all should have gratitude of what we have accomplished. We all have had rocky times in our lives.
Times when we can look back with admiration for what we climbed over or went through and survived at the other end.
What does not kill you only makes you stronger.
Today is part 4 of our discussion and thought of our basic needs that makes us all who we are.
As I promised you last Thursday I wanted to write some of my thoughts on our basic needs and how the power of a smile and the very essence of gratitude can not only sustain our basic needs but help in their development.
In 1943 Abraham Maslow’s paper ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’ was written and included his theory about the hierarchy of needs that we all have. The goal of this post is not dissect or go into much detail of what each need is about, but to rather highlight them and explain my mission to share the power of the smile and the importance of gratitude in ones life.
Self esteem, significance and becoming a greater part of the whole
So we covered thus far the basic survival needs and our need for security and semblance of order and yesterday went over the need for love or belonging. Today the last part of the basic needs is having the self esteem and feeling significant.
We all have the desire and need to be respected. Some of us earn it each day with parenthood of our children, some with our grand children. We learn to share our lessons of life and engage their spirit to communicate our history and what made us who we are today. We enjoy the process of shaping and molding a life and giving a direction to hopfully make their life easier and more productive than even our own.
Some of us gain significance through donation of time to a local charity or volunteering our services to someone in who has a greater need.
Look at today's trick or treater and even the adult seasonal party. We dress up and look to engage others with our costume and hopefully earn a sense of pride for a costume well done and for our children a large supply of treats for their efforts.
The need has always been to feel respected for our existance and efforts. We all want to feel that we contribute and become a great part of a whole. Whether it be at church, a school committee, visiting a nursing home, or maybe just planting flowers and a garden to share with co workers or neighbors we all want to give to more than just ourselves.
Our self esteem is fed on these things but the true esteem comes from the basic knowledge that
You are special, there is only one you ~ Fred Rogers
When we begin to acknowledge this and understand how we Make the Difference in our lives and the lives of others. Then we begin to 'Get it'.
Getting the fact that we have control, our smile, our beliefs, what we think about and talk about shapes and molds who we truly are at that moment.
Those of us who surround ourselves with the power or prayer, daily devotions and belief that there is the power of God directing our daily actions have proven to ourselves time and time again that we are here for a purpose greater than we can sometimes know.
At Christmas time, quickly approaching, we all know the movie with James Stewart called 'Its a Wonderful Life'. This 1946 classic where an angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would had been like if he never existed. Every year we watch it and it all reminds us that each of us has made a difference just by treading through life and becoming part of its outcome.
Remember this quote from the movie from time to time:
Clarence: [In book inscription] Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends.
How true indeed!
We all can look back and admire what we have built for those around us. Which is a whole lot better than looking back and feeling pity for what could have been.
One of my favorite sayings of all time is The past does not equal the future.'
It can shape our future but in the end we mold and make our future by what efforts we do in the present. Our future is the outcome of what we all do right now.
The smiles we share!
The doors we open for others!
The little random things that we do out of kindness for others that turn out to be huge in their hearts and minds.
Take time to search your heart and find all the things you have done over the years which have impacted others in a positive way.
Take time to search your son or daughters eyes and admire their admiration for the time and effort you give to them. Become part of their life, their goal planning and setting and help shape their 'wonderful life'.
If and when you take time to do these things I assure you step by step your esteem, your sense of belonging and purpose will expand. It can not help but expanding by the ripples your life will make in the waters of others.
So taking stock in what God has given you, giving thanks for what you have been blessed with, and taking time to share a smile. Not a bad day, which will lead to a better life. For you, for those you love and for the random person you meet along the way.
We make the difference.
A quote from Willy Wonka:
We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.
Write your song, dream your dream and begin today to share your smile!
Enjoy your day everyone! Enjoy your smile and pass one on! You will make a difference.
Till next time...... Smile!
www make me smile online dot com
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