JumpStart National Stationery Week (5/15/23)

Main Idea:  Joy comes from within.  Shifting your mindset is key to finding (and keeping) joy.
Those of you who know my wife, Martha, will probably agree that she is the most positive person you’ve ever met.

She would never cause anyone pain, is always looking to help other people be their best, and is positive 99.9% of the time (y’all wouldn’t believe me if I said 100%).

Where does all this positivity come from?  It’s just there.  She doesn’t read self-help books to learn what to say.  She somehow just knows that the secret to personal peace is internal joy.
Jon Gordon talks about bringing your own positivity in The Energy Bus.

Simon Sinek has heartwarming and motivational conversations on A Bit of Optimism.

But each one will tell you that ultimately, the joy comes from within.   At last summer’s SEL Summit, we gave out a tumbler that had the phrase, “Happiness is an inside job” emblazoned on the side.  (It was the most popular)

This week, try this: As your inner reserves are wearing down, remember what good things happened.  As you look at your calendar in the morning, take a minute and bring to mind each person you’ll be interacting with that day.  Then consider how much each of those people enhance your life.  
Quote:  "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself."  (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Educator Resource:  Determine the Size of the Problem - Last week, I had the pleasure of working with a first grade class on ‘Big Deal / Little Deal’ where I used the visual of a traffic light (even though they don’t have one in their town!) to illustrate the size of a problem, and (probably more importantly) discuss what appropriate responses to each size would be.  The link above has an elementary lesson and a secondary lesson, because I know of adults who will respond to little problems with big actions.

Dad Joke:  I paid $1 for a hair piece today.  It was a small price toupee.

The joke is especially funny to my since I'm bald!