You are welcome to copy the image paste it in Word, enlarge it and print it out.
COMMENTARY: The Treasure of Old Friends 757.2
In my lifetime, I’ve had the good fortune of having a handful of good friends. Each of my four teenage daughters have many hundreds. At least that what they call every Facebook connection they collect like trophies. The list of those kinds of friends includes people they barely know, some they don’t know at all and even some people they …
WORTH SEEING: Posters – True Friendship, A-Z, from young to old
Click on image to make it larger. You are welcome to copy the image, paste it in Word, enlarge it and print it for your own personal use. You may also want to see our poster on True Friends https://whatwillmatter.com/2012/01/worth-seeing-poster-of-true-friends-poem-by-michael-josephson/
WORTH READING & WATCHING: Simon & Garfunkel’s “Old Friends”
Simon & Garfunkel “Old Friends” Old friends, old friends sat on their park bench like bookends A newspaper blowin’ through the grass / Falls on the round toes of the high shoes of the old friends Old friends, winter companions, the old men / Lost in their overcoats, waiting for the sun
COMMENTARY: Living a Life That Matters 757.1
I saw a cartoon showing an old king checking in at the gates of heaven. He introduced himself as “Edward The Good.” The gatekeeper with a large book in front of him said, “Well, Eddie, we’ll be the judge of that.” The point is that, in the end, generous self-appraisals won’t matter. Our epitaphs will be written and eulogies delivered …
COMMENTARY: A Mother’s Message About Bullying: Hang in There. It Will Get better. 756.5
While researching the bullying issue for a CHARACTER COUNTS! seminar, I came across Vicky Bell’s blog, where she posted a letter to her daughter in college. I think her advice moving and wise. Here’s an abridged version: Hello my girl. . . You may have heard about the NJ college student who killed himself because his roommate posted a videotape …
OBSERVATION: According to a 2010 study by the Josephson Institute of Ethics, half of all high school students admit they bullied someone in the past year, and nearly as many, 47 percent, say they were bullied, teased, or taunted in a way that seriously upset them in the past year. That’s an awful lot of kids who are inflicting and suffering serious emotional injuries, some so serious as to cause deep depression and even suicide.
Read the Josephson Institute’s 2010 study here. At the root of all this misery is the willingness of our sons and daughters to say and do mean and awful things that humiliate, embarrass, intimidate, or degrade others. Most of the perpetrators of all this pain are not brutish thugs with severe self-esteem issues. Many are intelligent, highly confident teens good at …
WORTH SEEING: Beautiful images to remind you to spend more time looking at the stars above — and within
A collection of beautiful images
COMMENTARY: Enough Is Enough
What does it take to make you happy? How much do you have to have to be grateful? To the barefoot man, happiness is a pair of shoes. To the man with old shoes, it’s a pair of new shoes. To the man with new shoes, it’s more stylish shoes. And of course, the fellow with no feet — he’d …
COMMENTARY: The Seven Cs of Character 756.2
As you consider your goals for the New Year, I hope you’ll think about working on your character. No, you’re not too old and I don’t mean to imply you’re a bad person. As I’ve said often, “you don’t have to be sick to get better.” In fact, it’s a lot easier to make a good person better than a …
QUOTE: How true Daddy’s words were when he said: all children must look after their own upbringing. Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands. — Anne Frank
A similar thought: “Let us not say, Every man is the architect of his own fortune; but let us say, Every man is the architect of his own character.” — George Dana Boardman
COMMENTARY: Launching the New Year with a Commitment to be Self-Consciously Reflective
Expanding on the theme that the best way to improve your life and have an exceptionally successful and fulfilling New Year is to increase your wisdom and optimism, I urge you not to just skim this essay but to take some serious reflection time to answer these questions: What did you learn last year that will help you become wiser …
OBSERVATION: Scientific evidence and personal experience teach us that approaching each daily task and our lives in general with a positive attitude (optimism, enthusiasm, confidence) significantly increases actual success and enhances personal happiness. Yet many of us stifle our careers and pollute our personal relationships by persistent negativity. Just as losing weight and keeping it off is really hard, so is losing self-defeating attitudes and staying positive — but it’s doable and worth it. The strategy: self-consciously cultivate optimism.
Here are some suggestions to help you more consistently reap the benefits of positivity.
WORTH SEEING: Reading and learning expands your mind and heart by making you wiser and more compassionate. See these beautiful paintings depicting people enjoying the gift of reading.
Here are some beautiful paintings depicting men and women expanding their lives though reading.
QUOTES: 15 Quotes worth reading about the worth of reading
1. You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend. ― Paul Sweeney 2. Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the
Personal Note From Michael Josephson: Closing Out 2011, Entering 2012
As I began to write this note conveying my best wishes to you for a happy and fulfilling New Year, I asked myself whether 2011 was, for me, a good year or a bad year. And, of course, my mind quickly filled with conflicting memories of happy and sad moments, achievements and disappointments, and the recognition that every year has …
WORTH READING: Get Smarter! Start the New Year With the Five Best Books I Read in 2011. What books are on your list?
Here are the best five books I’ve read this year. They are so good they are all on my top-ten of all-time list. In the comment section please share the names of the best books you’ve read this year and if you are willing add a sentence or two on what you found so good about each book. The Happiness Hypothesis by …
COMMENTARY: Some of the Things I’ve Learned 755.3
I hope you are looking forward to the new year, not just because you will be glad the old one is over but because you know 2012 will be full of opportunities and challenges that will bring you pleasure and fulfillment. It’s traditional to start the New Year with resolutions designed to help us live healthier, happier, and more rewarding …