Slow down to appreciate those who love you.

The world has a way of grinding you down with the daily onslaught of remedial tasks, constant challenges and the stress and pressure of everyday life. We have a tendency to get caught up in small problems and make them the focus of our existence ignoring the very reason we fight these battles in the first place.

The most valuable and sweet reward of life is the ability to love and be loved. Everyone has experienced that little rush of excitement you feel when you are doing something special for someone you care about and the anticipation of their reaction to your efforts.

When we spend a lot of time with people it is easy to let ourselves focus on the things they do to annoy us. We let the very small annoyances or habits cloud all of the wonderful traits that person has. Over time as we allow ourselves to focus on the negative parts of their personality or physical traits that quickly becomes all we can see.

Unfortunately, family members are not immune to this fact and often get the worst of the deal. The other thing we need to understand about ourselves is that we have the very same tendencies to focus on our own deficiencies and parts of ourselves we wish were different and we quickly forget the importance of loving who we are.

Like I said before its easy to allow the world to dominate our lives and distract us from the things that really matter. We live from problem to problem rarely taking the time to appreciate those who are cheering us on and pulling on the yoke with us. Take a moment right now to think about the people you love and the ones who overlook your weaknesses and love you even though.

Stop the crazy dash from problem to problem and spend some time really telling those special people in your life how you feel about them. Make a point to do something nice especially when it is unexpected. If you can focus on the wonderful points about a person you will find that the negative things disappear and will be a happier and more fulfilled person as you realize that you are surrounded by simply amazing and wonderful people.

Work hard to stop the habit of focusing on the negative. As you emphasis the positive things in the people you love you will find that those things magnify and the small annoyances almost become endearing.

Love,

Dad