The seminar started out to be very promising, the speaker was energetic, Susan liked her table mates and she was very excited about having a day away from the responsibilities of Acme Sweatshop. It soon became clear that content of the seminar was not what she thought it would be. Nonetheless, she would participate and learn then be out the door by 3:30pm. Not bad.
After the lunch break Susan's attention span really dropped off and she found herself daydreaming just like she was back in fifth grade. When the seminar preacher made everybody stand and answer a simple question Susan was unprepared.
What was Susan willing to commit to doing differently?
She had honestly answered a similar question before lunch and now she had to come up with something else. As she listened to the other participants give their commitments she reviewed her sparse notes. Nothing.
Now it was Susan's turn and she blurted out the least likely thing she would ever do;
Each day I will write down 5 things that I am grateful for.
OMG. Who is she now, Oprah? Susan felt sick inside. She had lied about maintaining an attitude of gratitude to a room full of strangers whom she would never see again.
When she got home she was troubled by what she had done. She lied.
Susan used to be a liar. She used to lie to everyone except the person she would ultimately marry. Through a Herculean effort and self discipline she made herself become a truthful person. She might not tell you the whole truth, just what you need to know and she won't tell you that you look good in something when you don't. Neither will she differentiate between little white lies because they have just as much impact as big ones.
She does, however, reserve the right to lie about matters of opinion like saying that your party was fun or that your expensive kitchen remodel is beautiful.
So, for the next week Susan is going to post 5 things she is grateful for starting with:
- The spring breeze coming through an open window
- Her new Kitchen Aid mixer
- Having her children in the house
- Mangoes
- Being employed
Till tomorrow.
