WOW Word-Of-the-Week #76: Naughty
May 12, 2009 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #76: Naughty
Naughty – violating accepted standards of good taste or polite behavior.
It’s that time of year again! “You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why…”
As I am writing this, Christmas music is abounding from the radio. Does this word make you smile like it does me? First of all, the only time I remember hearing it was around Christmas time. And second, it’s one of those words that just sounds funny when you hear or say it.
To me, using the word naughty is a playful way of saying someone is bad. Not really bad, just kind of bad. A fun bad! I saw a sign for sale in a card shop that read,
“You are a
Naughty Boy, go to
MY ROOM!
I have to tell you, I just cracked up when I saw it.
And so, this week’s reminder is, “He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows if you’re awake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake…”
Reader Responses
“There are words we can have fun with and NAUGHTY is one of those. It is easy to take ourselves way too seriously, especially in the business world. So, it is nice to have some fun with a word that can be used harmlessly. Nice choice.” — Joe Moran
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #75: Ethical
May 12, 2009 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #75: Ethical
Ethical – being in accord with approved standards of behavior.
Do you ever question that what you, or someone else, are doing is ethical?
A Seattle-based training organization, The Respectful Workplace Co., offers “four common clues.”
- Wondering if it’s legal. If you’re doing this, chances are it isn’t ethical.
- Trying to keep it a secret. Concerned about what will happen if your decision becomes widely known? Reconsider the choice.
- Making rationalizations. Using phrases like, “I deserve this,” is a sign of trouble.
- Feeling in your gut that it’s wrong. The moral line is usually instinctive.
This week the newspaper featured an article titled, “Ethics Training Course is Considered for House.” This year has been wrought with political figures who have been charged with various forms of illegal activities.
This week focus on being ethical in all areas of your life. You now have your checklist if for some reason you’re not sure!
Reader Responses
“Good stuff! I have a plaque in my office that talks all about ETHICS. I say if we lose our credibility and ethics, we have lost everything.” — Don Vance
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #74: Happiness
May 12, 2009 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #74: Happiness
Happiness – a state of well being; ranging from contentment to deep intense joy in living.
Happiness Experienced!
Did your parents tell you, “I just want you to be happy” like mine did? I spent years trying to figure out what happy was. And then I woke up one morning and realized that for me, happiness represented a sense of contentment.
My personal and professional lives were going well. I was fortunate because I was no longer “just surviving,” as I had felt at times in my younger years, but living a life I enjoyed.
The author of the book, Authentic Happiness, Martin Seligman says, “Happy people remember more good events than actually happened, and they forget more of the bad events. Depressed people in contrast, are accurate about both. Happy people are lopsided in their beliefs about success and failure. If it was a success, they did it, it’s going to last, and they’re good at everything. If it was a failure, you did it to them, it’s going away quickly, and it was just this one little thing.”
In my seminars and playshops I describe that as “Mental Manipulation Coupled With Selective Amnesia.” In other words, we distort and forget the things that aren’t positive! As we get older, I have found that it gets easier to “not sweat the small stuff.”
So this week, your assignment is to identify what makes you content and where you experience a deep intense joy for living.
Reader Responses
“Thanks for the WOW # 74…I can definitely relate.” — Wayne Vollmer
WOW Word-Of-the-Week#73: Failed
May 12, 2009 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week#73: Failed
Failed – the act or process of not having occurred.
When you think of this word, do you view it negatively? You’ve heard the saying, “Inventors fail more times than they succeed.”
I don’t see anything negative in the above definition. It merely states that failure happens when something doesn’t occur. I experience things not occurring lots of times. I don’t see them as a failure, but as a setback.
For example, I fully expected my electrician to show up Monday morning. He didn’t and called and said he would be there Wednesday. He sent his assistant and the work still didn’t get done. He called and said now it will be done by Friday. So far I have failed to have my electrician get my work done. If it’s not done by Friday, I will hire a new electrician!
Now on the other hand, how many times have you tried something new that didn’t work or failed. Were you willing to continue your pursuit or did you give up?
In the movie Walk the Line, Johnny Cash says, “You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.”
This week if you have a failed attempt, see if you can view it as just a setback. Be willing to move on and not let it drain you of your energy, take up a lot of your time, or invade your space.
PS The electrician showed up on Friday!
Reader Responses
“If something doesn’t work out the way that I wanted to after putting in time, effort and money – hey, it did not work out. When there are circumstances involved that were out of my control I look at the outcome as, Well, it was just not meant to be. Let’s move on. I have always believed that there is a reason for everything happening in our lifetime – good and bad. We don’t usually find out until years later when our perspective is much clearer. Life throws us curves every day. I don’t look at these setbacks as failures. I just look at it as something that did not work out. So, we move on and try something else. When one door closes, another opens. I have always believed that every day is like a new lifetime. The opportunities are incredible. Other doors open. Every door that closes does not signify failure, it signifies opportunity. We just have to stay open minded and keep our eyes open. The best is always yet to come.: — Joe Moran
“Thanks for the info, I agree. I have written you occassionally, so doing so again as this time to share my thoughts on the info you sent on ‘failure’ as it strikes a particular core in my own challanges,so here is my input on that particular subject. Isn’t it true “failure” is to give up!! But unfulfilled expectations in ourselves or others does not necessary mean failure. They might just be “unfulfilled expectatons”,for that time, day , place, problem, situation, etc.
When something does not have the outcome we expect maybe our expexctations were unrealistic, maybe we didn’t analyze the situation properly, or have all the necessary info. to obtain a result, maybe if someone else is involved we just didn’t communitate our need adequately to the other party, maybe there are unforseen occurrences in our own situation or someone else’s situation that make it impossible for us to obtain the needed results that moment, or the other person may be limiited in their capacity to communicate, understand, cooperate or perform a task or perhaps they were ill or they were just having a bad day themselves…..whatever. There are so many variables in anthing we try, and people are imperfect in an imperfect world. Didn’t you or someone else give the illustration one time at a siminar about a fly hitting the window—– trying to get in——and it kept repeatedly hitting the window, but if it had moved over ever so slightly it might have had different results—-that is so like us—sometimes we just to do things differently to get a better outcome———-adjust a little, give others some slack, don’t keep hiting our head against the wall like the fly when something doesn’t work—-maybe we need sometimes to not be so demanding of others or ourselves of perfection—we need to be realistic. Sometimes things work out sometimes they don’t,so we try again another way or another day. I’m sure you will agree that the key to success is not to give up in the face of opposition or trials, !! persistence does pay off in the long run with patient endurance and not give up!!!! Thanks for your monthly letter I always enjoy them as they help be maintain balance in my life and of course maintain “positive mental attitude” which is becoming an increasing challange in these stressful times we live in. With sincere appreciation” — Jesslyn Santos
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #72: Stress
May 12, 2009 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #72: Stress
Stress – what happens when we have a lot of pressure and tension in our life.
Do you feel “stressed out” most of the time? There is good stress and bad stress. Bad stress is when we feel resistance rather than excitement when we have lots of things happening.
One way to help buffer the side effects of stress is to reflect on your personal values, relationships, and qualities that are a source of pride to you.
Stress Relief
Shelley Taylor, a professor of psychology says, “Self-affirmations can be a very good stress combatant especially under conditions of chronic stress. It’s helpful to remind yourself you’re a good person with talents, and remind yourself what is important to you. That can be hard to do when you’re going through something that’s really awful.”
This week define the values that are important to you. Think about the relationships that bring you great joy, and focus on your good qualities and talents. Write them down and read them when you feel overwhelmed by pressure and/or tension. How does it make you feel?
Reader Responses
“We all go through stress. I think that is universal. The key in dealing with stress is how we ACT and not REACT. When things start to go haywire in our lives, it is very easy to simply REACT out of frustration, especially with things we have no control over. That is natural. However, learning how to simply THINK and then ACT instead of REACTING takes time and experience in those situations. Stress will always be a part of our lives, it is just how we deal with it.” — Joe Moran