1. Five Powerful Things My Grandchildren
Taught me in 2014
Sit back relax and listen to Nona Debi
tell you a story…
As you are reading this remember
back to a time in your life when you
watched a child play. The joy in their
face, the sound of their laugh. The
excitement in their body.
Ok….great, now you are ready to
discover the five things my little man
taught me in the year 2014.

2. 1 - When you are unhappy with your surroundings or
conditions do something to change it.
Little man thoroughly understands when he is no longer happy in the setting or with the conditions surrounding him.
This year, watching him play and explore his world, I see his facial expressions change as he begins to realize his
current activity or the environment is no longer bring him pleasure. He tolerates this displeasure for only seconds.
Little man immediately takes some form of action to change his environment. He has a variety of unusual types of
action he takes to change his conditions and surroundings as quickly as possible. When one fails to work, he moves to
the next one. Little Man refuses to give up on finding a way to change his surrounding and conditions.
Observing and watching this behavior in this brand new child reminds me to be aware of my present environment. The
moment I notice my vibe {feelings} shift to toward the negative side, I instantly ask myself “So, what do I want?” This
new habit shift in my thinking automatically brings my thoughts and focus to thinks I desire. Allowing me to come up
with creative, innovative and powerful ways to do something about my environment.

3. 2 - When someone is talking to you smile because
it brings a smile to their face.
Observed a person talking to a baby lately? What is the first thing you notice?
Exactly, the big wide smile on their face as they engage with the baby. Then
what happens next? The baby smiles.
The second Little Man smiles at me, my heart melts. I know he’s focusing on
me and engaged in our activity. Noticing how I felt as he smiles at me reminded
me to be more engaged with people, smile as I speak with people, make eye
contact and be 100% present.

4. 3 - Feeling a bit cranky, then take a 20-minute nap. When
you wake up you’ll have a new outlook on things.
From the very beginning of this life, Little Man’s naps were shorter than most babies. His personality is one of
high energy and joy. When he gets cranky, a quick nap fixes everything.
Watching Little Man’s mood shift towards the cranky side and helping him fall asleep for a nap, reminds me to
observe when I’m feeling “cranky” and take myself away for 20 minutes or so.
I know, I know….. most people have a work environment in which taking a nap in the middle of the day is
impossible. What about being OK with taking a mental break from things?
Right at your desk, you can take a mini-mental break. Try focusing on just your breath for a few moments.
Or take a “smoke-free break”. People take smoke breaks all the time. Take a mental break, get up walk
outside, breath in the fresh air, feel the sun, clear your head and go back to your desk.

5. 4 - When you are excited about something, then let it show.
Squeal, wave your hands around, move your entire body and let
the world know you are happy.
When was the last time you celebrated your success? What about
showing your joy of experiencing something exciting?
Putting Little Man’s natural behavior of showing his joy into my life
brings me so much bliss. Learn to celebrate the big and small things
along this journey of life keeps me feeling confident, energetic,
courageous, and blissful.

6. 5 - Let your inner child out and put some
play time in your calendar.
This one is a new one for me. I began scheduling
play time in my life the last month of 2014.
December, what a perfect month for play. Right?
Putting this topic top of mind in my head, lets me
come up with creative, fun ways to bring play time
into my life.
I began to add play into my life because of
something I learned while reading Essentialism by
Greg Mckeown. One of the topics Greg talks about
are how play helps you break through to the next
level in whatever you are doing in life.