Some people think the world owes THEM. They have a backwards. We are servants. How can we best serve?


12-21



If it’s the right thing, if something needs to be done… Make yourself do it. You’re never going to “feel like it.” Practice daily with things big and / or small without complaining.


9, 12, 15, 21



No matter how late you are, don’t speed or drive unsafely. It’s not worth someone’s life or limbs.


18-18, 21



Set up automatic payments so they are initiated on your end, so that you send out money to the bill/ company you’re paying instead of giving them access to take money out of your account.


20



Kindness Confidence = Popular (Be kind to everyone, paying no attention to social status, age, looks, money or disability.) Be confident: Know that you are enough. You’ll never be perfect but no one else is either. When you mess up it’s not the end of the world- laugh at yourself when possible. Learn from failures. Don’t fake interest in people or things that don’t fill you up. Be who you are! People gravitate towards kindness and confidence


12



Stay fit. Try to increase fitness every year in some way: Strength, flexibility, endurance, or a specific sport or practice. Never take your body for granted.


14, 20



Book recommendation: “Star Fish” by Lisa Fipps.


11



Read biographies. So much to learn and discover by reading about the lives of great men and women. Ducksters.com is a great resource. Amazon and The Learning Well also have great lists. Just Google "biographies for kids."


5-15



We don’t always get what we want. Sometimes we have to wait. Sometimes we go without it. Sometimes when we DO get what we wanted it looks different than how we imagined it would. AND IT’S OK. We’re ok. The world keeps turning! That’s a huge lesson and a valuable one. Practice “pushing the snooze button” on wants. Enlist their help. “I understand you want ____. Would this be something you could snooze or do without?”


5, 10, 20



Happiness comes from giving and helping, not buying and having.


14, 19



Sometimes it’s easier to describe what a thing is *not* than to describe what it is.


14, 21



Read “Spare” by Prince Harry.


20



My ballet teacher used to punish us by making us sit on the floor and hold our arms up. It hurts! But you learn how to sit with pain. You learn how to endure and how to use your mind to make your muscles really don’t want to do.


14, 20



Don’t take criticism from people you wouldn’t take advice from.


16



Life doesn’t need to be perfect to be beautiful.


20



Whether they’re young or old, try not to under-estimate people. Most people will impress the heck out of you.


15



Two big things. Control yourself, not others. Learn to react less.


12, 16, 19, 21



Trust me when I tell you that one day you’ll look back and realize you judged people unfairly and you held strong to convictions only to end up changing your mind about in the light of life experience. Leave a little space open for second impressions or the possibility that you could be wrong.


17



“Those who cannot change their mind cannot change anything.” -George Bernard Shaw...... As you live and love and learn, your views will evolve. It takes courage to grow.


16



Respect people’s privacy. No snooping, eavesdropping, peeping, etc.


11



Don’t ask for anything until you’ve done what has been asked of you.


5



We feel best when we create. No amount of food, video games or any self-destructive habits will fill that hole. So why fight it?!? Create something, even if it’s as small as a little sketch or poem. Grow a garden, bake a cake. Start a business! Whatever your beautiful heart desires.


12, 15, 18, 21



Don’t quit your job until you have another job. Suck it up and make the best out of it.


21



Wintergreen snow sledding trip.


6



To quote Harvard professor Adam Grant: “Argue like you’re right and listen like you’re wrong.”


15



If there’s a ever a bird in the house, close the interior doors, open the doors to the outside and shoo it out with a broom.


18



Try out Petra Lingua online language courses for kids. (Ages 3-10)


4



Have family game nights this winter.


9