A Matter of Well-Being

I love my new job. I work for Dennett-Winspear Attorneys at Law. Check them out at http://www.dennettwinspear.com/. It’s only a 15-20 minute drive from my home and there’s no freeway drive!  I am the Document Manager. The people I work with are friendly and accepting and I felt at home with them immediately. 

One thing I love about this place is that there is no micro-managing.  They gave me a job to do and they trust me to do it.  And I do it. 

There’s a mixture of personalities, just as in any job, and it makes the place interesting.  The employees have fun, joke and tease but they also take their jobs seriously. I’m not completely sure what the secret is except that everyone is treated with respect and trust.

 According to John Helliwell, author of Globalization and Well-Being and a former professor of Economics at the University of British Columbia, there are 5 factors in the workplace that demonstrate the effect each quality could have on happiness. Each factor was assigned with a dollar value:

·       Trust- equal to a rise in income to $115,000

·       Variety of tasks- equal to a rise in income of $90,000

·       Skills- equal to a rise to $60,000

·       A workplace void of conflicts- equal to a rise of $42,000

·       Time enough to do work assigned- equal to rise of $30,000

According to the results, being content with one’s work environment has a direct relationship to well-being and income. As Helliwell points out, “Ranking your workplace one point higher on a scale of 10 for general job satisfaction raises your well-being by 0.175 on a 10-point scale. That is equivalent to an income increase of about $30,000 per year.”
Wow, I never thought about putting a dollar value to the factors in a workplace but I thought what Mr. Helliwell came up with was very interesting.

So here are the results of using Mr. Helliwell’s factors and adding one of my own:

Ø  Trust - $115,000

Ø  Variety of tasks - $90,000

Ø  Skills - $60,000

Ø  No Conflicts - $42,000

Ø  Time to do work - $30,000

Ø  Well-Being – priceless

Playlist

Yesterday I created a song playlist for my blog.  It is set to play the songs randomly and it comes on automatically when you visit my blog, as you've already found out.  :-) So I need to know what visitors want.  Do you think I should leave it to come on automatically or should I fix it so that a visitor can play it if they want? 

What Heaven Sees in You

Do we know what heaven sees in us?  I know I need to be reminded. Click on the link below and you will be reminded of who you are.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=C8TNpZOdYA8

To Be Happy or Not To Be Happy

I love the following story.  I'm not sure of the author, all I could see was that this was shared by a caring friend from FROPKI.com.  It's entitled "Are You Happy?"

"On a certain occasion, during an elegant welcoming reception for the new Director of Marketing of an important London company, some of the wives of the other directors, who wanted to get acquainted with the new spouse, asked her with some hesitation: Does your spouse make you happy, truly happy?

The husband, who at the moment was not at her side, but was sufficiently near to hear the question, paid attention to the conversation, sitting up slightly, feeling secure, even filling his chest lightly in pride, knowing that his spouse would answer affirmatively, since she had always been there for him during their marriage.

Nevertheless, to both his and the others' surprise, she replied simply, 'No, no he doesn't make me happy . . ."

The room became uncomfortably silent, as if everyone were listening to the spouse's response.  The husband was petrified.  He couldn't believe what his wife was saying, especially at such an important occasion for him.

To the amazement of her husbnad and of everyone, she simply placed enigmatically on her head an elegant black silk scarf and continued: 'No, he doesn't make me happy . . . I AM HAPPY. The fact that I am happy or not, doesn't depend on him, but on me. I am the only person upon which my happiness depends.  I make the choice to be happy in each situation and in each moment of my life. If my happiness were to depend on other people, on other things or circumstances on the face of this earth, I would be in serious trouble!

Everything that exists in this life changes continually: humans, wealth, my body, the climate, pleasures, etc. I could enumerate an infinite list . . .

Over my life I have learned a couple of things: I decided to be happy and the rest is a matter of experiences or circumstances; like helping, and understanding, accepting, listening, consoling; and with my spouse, I have lived and practiced this many times . . . .

Happiness will always be found in forgiveness and in loving yourself and others.

. . .  It's not the responsitiblity of my spouse to make me happy. . . He also has his experiences or circumstances. I love him and he loves me, often in spite of his circumstances and of mine.  He changes, I change, the environment changes, everything changes; having forgivness and true love, and observing these changes, that can be, big or little, but always happen we must face them with the love that exists in each of us.  If the two of us love and forgive each other, the change will only be experiences or circumstances that enrich us and give us strength. Otherwise we would only be living together.  For some, divorce is the only solution; (. . . in reality it is the easiest . . ).  To truly love, is difficult, it is to forgive unconditionally, to live, to take the experiences or circumstances as they are, facing them together and being happy with conviction.

There are those who say: 'I cannot be be happy, because I am sick, because I have no money, because it's too cold, because they insulted me, because someone stopped loving me, because someone didn't appreciate me!'  But what you don't know is that you can be happy even though you are sick, whther it is too hot, whether you have money or not, whether someone has insulted you, or someone didn't love you, or hasn't valued you.

BEING HAPPY is an attitude about life and each one of us must decide! 

BEING HAPPY

depends on you!"



Family & Easter

Yesterday we had all but one of our children and all 9 grandchildren over for our traditional Easter get-together.  Laila, who is the youngest and only 19 months old, had her first Easter Egg hunt in our backyard.  It was fun to watch her as she carried her basket, which was almost as big as she is, out the sliding glass door to the backyard.

She had to sit on her dad's lap while she waited for her mother to get the camera but she didn't mind because she was fascinated with the basked and the shiny grass.

She set her basket on the grass and went in search of the many colored eggs that her mother "hid" in the grass. If you look real close you can see one over to her right.

With the help of Nick and Lauren, two of our other grandchildren, she was able to find all her eggs.

Our grandchildren range from 19 months to 16 years.  Laila is the youngest and the next one closest to her age is Nick who is 9, so there's quite an age gap between the two youngest grandchildren. My daughter, Becky, who is Laial's mother, had a hard time getting pregnant so it took them 8 years to get her.  Becky and her husband, Greg, started adoption proceedings and were just waiting for a baby when she discovered she was pregnanat.  I've heard stories of that happening to other people but I now have first hand experience with it.  It's one of the many tender mercies that we receive in our lives.

I was going to take pictures of our feast before we started in on it but got wrapped up in other things.  However, we had ham, homemade rolls, a couple of potato dishes, Green Bean Casserole, Jello with whipped cream, green salad, deviled eggs and for dessert, Texas sheet cake and chocolate swirl ice cream.  And we all ate way too much but it was delicious.  I love these family get-togethers, not just for the wonderful food but I love having my family around. It makes everything in life so much better.  What would we do without family?



Easter

I love the spring time in Las Vegas.  I opened the blinds to my home office window this morning and had a feeling of renewal. I love the cool air in the morning when you first walk outside.  I enjoy every minute of it because I know that the heat of the summer will be here soon.

I felt like I have literally survived this last winter because of different struggles that took place in my life. A friend of mine  once said that we don’t have struggles, problems or challenges. We have opportunities. These opportunities give us a chance to grow and learn.   

Spring is a time of renewal and hope. And with Spring comes Easter.  I love Easter time.  When I was a girl growing up in Henderson, Nevada, my parents would take the family and go to the Boulder City park and have a picnic the Saturday before Easter.  I love that memory, sitting on a blanket with the picnic spread out before us.  And the grass was always green and smelled so wonderful.

Tomorrow we will have our children and grandchildren over for Easter dinner after church.  My grandchildren are growing so fast and the two oldest are going to be seniors in high school this coming Fall.  It seems like yesterday that I was looking forward to my children becoming seniors.  Now it’s the grandchildren.  As I grow older I realize how precious our time on earth is and that the choices we make here are so important.

Easter is a time of rejoicing and celebration. The center of Easter is our Savior Jesus Christ. Picnics and getting together as a family is wonderful and creates bonds and memories. But I don’t want to forget what Jesus Christ has done for me. His Atonement is central to our happiness.

In the recent General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, C. Scott Grow of the Seventy said:  “We access the Atonement through repentance. When we repent, the Lord allows us to put the mistakes of the past behind us. . . . Each of us knows a person who has had serious challenges in his or her life―someone who has wandered or wavered. That person could be a friend or relative, a parent or child, a husband or wife. That person may even be you.

The Messiah came to redeem men from the Fall of Adam.  Everything in the gospel of Jesus Christ points toward the atoning sacrifice of the Messiah, the Son of God. . . .

Through His suffering and death, the Savior atoned for the sins of all men. His Atonement began in Gethsemane and continued on the cross and culminated with the Resurrection. . . .

Through His Atonement, He heals not only the transgressor, but He also heals the innocent who suffer because of those transgressions. As the innocent exercise faith in the Savior and in His Atonement and forgive the transgressor, they too can be healed.

There are times when each of us needs “relief from feelings of guilt that come from mistakes and sins.”  As we repent, the Savior removes the guilt from our souls.

Through His atoning sacrifice, our sins are remitted. With the exception of sons of perdition, the Atonement is available to everyone all the time, no matter how large or small the sin, “on conditions of repentance.”

Because of His infinite love, Jesus Christ invites us to repent so that we will not have to suffer the full weight of our own sins.”

I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and for the sacrifice he made for me.

Each New Day

Many years ago I decided that I wanted to look at each day as a new adventure, expecting something special and/or exciting to happen each day.  It’s fun to look at each new day like that. But in the last couple of years I started to lose that perspective. These last two years have been difficult for me to look at each day that way. 

I worked at a job for almost 15 years.  I loved the job and I loved the people I worked with.  I had my goals all set that I would retire from that job when I turn 70.  Then a few of my fellow employees who I worked with for 10 plus years and whom I considered my good friends  started leaving.  These friends consisted of people who I considered partners, a mentor and teacher and people who would listen to me and I could listen to them. I was so comfortable with how things were, enjoying every minute, that I was not ready for the changes that were about to happen. 

I know change is inevitable. But so much change happened. At the end of 2009 a merger took place and my job was no longer the same.  And in May of 2010 I was let go from that job.

I am 60.  I have a high school education.  My knowledge of my job was from experience. When I started looking for a job I found that perspective employers looked at me one of two ways, I was either over qualified because of the positions I held and my experience or I was not qualified because I did not have a college degree. I started to lose perspective and belief in myself.

One thing I lost track of was my faith in my Savior Jesus Christ.  Through this last year I have done a lot of soul searching and realized that he is the one person that never left my side and that I could count on.  I’ve done a lot of praying and talking with my husband and church leaders.  These things have helped me gain my perspective back.  But I attribute all I have to my Savior. He has helped me and is still helping me and will continue to help me, even when I don’t deserve it.

So now each day has become a new adventure again.  Something special happens every day, big or small. But it happens. And I am grateful.

 

I love the thought that positive thinking can create a doorway for my guardian angle to step through.  Did you know there are health benefits of positive thinking?  Below are some of these benefits.

The health benefits of positive thinking

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

• Increased life span
• Lower rates of depression
• Lower levels of distress
• Greater resistance to the common cold
• Better psychological and physical well-being
• Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
• Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

The following story illustrates how this power works:
Allan applied for a new job, but as his self-esteem was low, and he considered himself as a failure and unworthy of success, he was sure that he was not going to get the job. He had a negative attitude towards himself, and believed that the other applicants were better and more qualified than him. Allan manifested this attitude, due to his negative past experiences with job interviews.

His mind was filled with negative thoughts and fears concerning the job for the whole week before the job interview. He was sure he would be rejected. On the day of the interview he got up late, and to his horror he discovered that the shirt he had planned to wear was dirty, and the other one needed ironing. As it was already too late, he went out wearing a shirt full of wrinkles.

During the interview he was tense, displayed a negative attitude, worried about his shirt, and felt hungry because he did not have enough time to eat breakfast. All this distracted his mind and made it difficult for him to focus on the interview. His overall behavior made a bad impression, and consequently he materialized his fear and did not get the job.

Jim applied for the same job too, but approached the matter in a different way. He was sure that he was going to get the job. During the week preceding the interview he often visualized himself making a good impression and getting the job.

In the evening before the interview he prepared the clothes he was going to wear, and went to sleep a little earlier. On day of the interview he woke up earlier than usual, and had ample time to eat breakfast, and then to arrive to the interview before the scheduled time.

He got the job because he made a good impression. He had also of course, the proper qualifications for the job, but so had Allan.

What do we learn from these two stories? Is there any magic employed here? No, it is all natural. When the attitude is positive we entertain pleasant feelings and constructive images, and see in our mind's eye what we really want to happen. This brings brightness to the eyes, more energy and happiness. The whole being broadcasts good will, happiness and success. Even the health is affected in a beneficial way. We walk tall and the voice is more powerful. Our body language shows the way you feel inside.

A Positive Impact

One of the most positive impacts on my life, if not the most positive, is my husband Dean.  From the first day I met him I was impacted with awe about his no worry attitude about life.  He just took life as it came and still does. That used to frustrate me but now I am trying to initiate that in my life.  I like the saying by Jan Glidewell “You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.” Dean puts things behind him, learns from them and moves forward.  This quote is from the Little Book of Happiness “All of life is a journey; which paths we take, what we look back on, and what we look forward to is up to us. We determine our destination, what kind of road we will take to get there, and how happy we are when we get there.”

My goal is to be able to embrace Dean’s attitude about life and learn from it.  I’ve already learned so much.  I don’t think he will ever know how much I have learned from him and how much I love him.

Attitude

The more I live the more I realize how important a positive attitude is about everything you do.  So I thought I would start my blog off by the following written by Charles Swindoll:

"The longer I live, the more I realized the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  It will make or break a company...a church...a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.  We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play on the one thing we have, and that is our attitude.... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it."