I've been listening to the audio-broadcast of a conference called "Masterful Leadership: Leading Like Jesus" on my Audible App as I drive to and from work each day. It's been enlightening...encouraging...and challenging. I've paused the "book" to take notes. I've pushed the "back" button to listen to a specific segment again more times than I can count. And I've said "yes", "hmmm...", and "preach" right out loud to myself in my car several times. I listened to one particular section three different times. This section was on the concept of the "mood elevator", which was developed by a man named Larry Senn. Larry Senn is a leader in the field of corporate leadership and has written a book called, Up the Mood Elevator to describe and teach this decision-making concept. The Mood Elevator is a book that, admittedly, I haven't finished yet. But when I heard the mood elevator concept in the message from the "Lead Like Jesus" conference, I just had to share it because it was mind-blowing to me!
I mean...what mood is there that would be higher on the elevator than joy???
Joy is "a feeling of great pleasure and happiness". That seemed like the top option, as far as mood is concerned. Until the speaker shared with the audience that the top of the mood elevator is being grateful. Gratitude. Thankfulness. Appreciation. We make the best decisions when we are grateful. It made so much sense to me that I spoke out loud and said, "Oh, duh!" I think it's important here that we talk about how quickly we can take a trip up or down the mood elevator, if we're not careful. We can hear one negative comment that, if left unchecked, can quickly take us spiraling into an irritated, anxious, insecure state of mind that eventually could lead to anger and depression. It's so necessary that we keep our thoughts in check every day and focus on gratitude. During this last sermon series at church, our minister preached a sermon called "Don't Forget to Pray". In this sermon, he talked about staying alert to things in our lives that we need to take to the Father. He talked about being devoted daily to prayer. And he also talked about the importance of being thankful. I deeply appreciated his admission that there are days where it's very hard to find something to be thankful for. Sometimes we have to open our eyes and look hard to find opportunities to be thankful. In every circumstance, we can find gratitude. This attitude of being grateful in all situations goes hand-in-hand with the time we spend at the top of the mood elevator. And the more time we spend at the top of the mood elevator, the more peace and contentment we will find in our daily lives. So today and every day, let's be intentional about finding gratitude. Let's give thanks in all circumstances. Let's ride that mood elevator to the top floor and be the best we can be. Giving thanks from the farmhouse tonight. ❤️🏡❤️
0 Comments
Yesterday, my bestie and I went out to do some shopping for our classrooms. She teachers fourth. I teach third. We both are heading back to school soon and decided to hit the teacher sale at Mardel. I believe that I'm heading into the school year that has snuck up on me faster than any year before. This summer, through the home selling and buying process and the moving situation, we just haven't felt very "settled" in the farmhouse until the last few weeks. And now that we FINALLY feel like this is home, BOOM...it's time to go back to school.
I meandered around and found some great items for the farmhouse. My three favorite purchases were a clearance "you & me" sign for the master bedroom, a sign that says "Be Kind...it's that easy.", and a sign for my classroom that said "It's a good day to have a good day." I think sometimes we get so wrapped up in our circumstances that we struggle to find the positive side of life. I see it every day on social media. There are some people on my Facebook Newsfeed who seem to struggle to find anything good to say about their day...every single day. My heart is filled with sadness for these people, as they can't find any good in their circumstances. I also see the opposite side of the spectrum on my Facebook and Instagram feed. People who are struggling through really big life hurdles...chronic illness, a cancer diagnosis, the loss of a close family member. And yet, their words are encouraging and inspiring and uplifting. I want my students to know when they walk into our classroom that EVERY day is a good day to have a good day. Yes, we will have struggles. A house sale or purchase doesn't go as planned. The air conditioning goes out in your Yukon. The car you purchased to save you money is having transmission problems. Your three-year-old has decided that she doesn't like sleep anymore. (These are all hypothetical situations, of course.) But even when life seems to hit, we have a choice in how we deal with it all. We can smile and persevere. Or we can frown and complain. We can show kindness to family, friends, and strangers. Or we can be cranky and negative. Let's just try over the next few weeks, no matter what road we are walking on right now in our personal lives...to have a good day. To find the good in the world. To BE the good in the world. Happy Weekend, friends. Make it a good one. ❤️🏡❤️ There's a Hobby Lobby right beside Mardel, so of course we had to run in there to see what we could find. I can't believe I found more items to buy, but this great "Gather Together" sign was in the new fall line. The "Fresh Eggs" sign and the beef cuts plate were in the new farmhouse line and fit perfectly in our kitchen, as we eat our own farm fresh eggs and butcher our own beef. The farmhouse rug looks great in front of our kitchen sink...even though I didn't think about how dirty a white rug would get on the farm. I also got a new-to-me window that my mom purchased for our dining room. I had another window on the piano that I decided would fit better in our bedroom, so I needed to fill the spot. Mom delivered, as usual! "I have no idea how you have stayed positive through this whole situation. You are almost six weeks past your closing date with a smile on your face."
Our loan officer texted me to let me know how surprised he is that I have kept a good attitude through the ups and downs of our home sale and purchase. Of course, he doesn't know about the late-night stressed-out texts to my dear friends, the tears that I've held back more than a few times, and the numerous conversations Mr. Farmhouse and I have had about whether or not we were making the right decision with this whole situation. However, in the end, I've never really worried that it wasn't going to work out. I just knew that eventually, the right thing would happen. I wasn't worried about being homeless. After all, we could always take our three kids and our three dogs and move in with my parents. 😳 No matter what, we would figure something out. We always do. My friends often refer to me as "Polly-Hannah" because I just don't get worked up about too much. In fact, the time that I feel the most "worked up" is when one of my friends is going through something difficult that I can't fix for them. I can usually talk them down, even when I'm really struggling to keep it together myself. My mom always used to tell us, "Happiness is a choice. Every morning when you wake up, you have a choice to have a good day or a bad day. It's up to you." And I really think she's right. It doesn't matter what happens in the day-to-day events of life...we can choose how we react. We can't control one thing that happens around us, but we can control how we choose to deal with whatever is thrown our way. This whole house sale and purchase has seemed like one tough situation after another. Documents not where they needed to be when they needed to be there. Inspections, inspections, and more inspections. Appraisals and repairs and...did I mention inspections? There were hiccups and hurdles and bumps in the road. We were supposed to close on June 16th and then June 30th and then July 5th...yet here we are. With a final closing date of July 26th. Finally. However, I have tried to keep a good attitude. To trust that God is in control. To know that no matter what...I have a choice in my reaction to our circumstances. Life isn't always rainbows and butterflies, I know. There are really, really rough situations. There are really, really hard days. But no matter what someone is going through, a positive attitude sure can do a lot for a one's outlook on life. So today... I choose happiness. I choose patience. I choose joy. I choose Polly-Hannah. ❤️ |
Archives
January 2024
Categories
All
|