October 30, 2008

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In This Issue

Featured Article: Become Harder to Offend

Audio Tip

Announcements

Speaking Schedule

Daddy's Little Girls

 

Greetings!

Welcome to another issue of Appreciation in Action. I hope things are wonderful for you and those around you. Things on my end are great! Big sister Samantha is excited about Halloween and her baby sister Annarose just turned two months old last week. Lots to of good stuff to appreciate in our house!

Thanks for being on my e-zine list. I’m grateful to be able to connect with you in this way.

With Appreciation,

 

Become Harder to Offend

Many of us are really easy to offend. We get offended by what people say, things on TV, opposing political opinions (especially these days), noise, music, traffic, weather, our family, different view points, and so much more. Most of us are convinced that we are right and that people who don’t see it our way are wrong, or at least “misguided.”

While I often aspire to be as open minded, accepting, and easy-going as possible, the truth is that I can get as easily offended as anyone I know. Many of my opinions about life, others, and “the way things should be” are incredibly self-righteous. Can you relate?

However, what if we became really hard to offend. This is not to say that we abandon our values or opinions, it’s more about choosing to allow other people and things be as they are. We take so many things personally that have nothing to do with us. The more we react to something, the less freedom and peace we have.

When I get really “triggered” by someone or something, if I make it all about the other person or the thing I’m focusing on, I usually miss the real gift, the lesson, and the point (i.e. the shadow or mirror that this negative thing is showing me about myself and life).

Here are a few things we can do to become harder to offend:

1) Remember that it’s not all about you. Even though it may seem like someone is being rude to us or something is happening directly to us, most of the time the things we take personally or get offended by have little or nothing to do with us.

2) Have compassion for others. While we don’t have to simply allow people to treat us poorly or let them walk all over us, if we can have compassion for them instead of assuming they’re out to get us, it makes life more peaceful all the way around. Often when other people act in a way we find “offensive,” they are having a difficult time themselves.

3) Right or happy, you choose? As my friend and mentor Richard Carlson used to say, “In life, you have a choice – you can be right or you can be happy, not both.” What a great reminder. When we’re obsessed, as many of us are (myself included), about being right all the time – we're easily offended. When we let go of our need to be right, we have the space to be happy, peaceful, and joyful.

Today and the rest of this week – I challenge you to be really hard to offend. See what happens, how it feels, and the impact it has on you and those around you. While it can be challenging at first, it will make a big difference in the quality of your life.

Share Your Thoughts / Feedback on this article at my blog.

For some additional ideas and specific tips about how to become harder to offend, check out this week’s audio clip.

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Become Harder to Offend

Here are some additional thoughts and tips on how to become harder to offend.

Click here to listen.

Inner Espresso:
I’m excited to let you know

about something I think you’ll really enjoy – Inner Espresso. Inner Espresso is a series of short 90-second broadcast quality video blasts, delivered to you directly by email with compelling and inspiring messages recorded by authors, speakers, and experts like Marshall Goldsmith, Marcia Weider, Gay Hendricks, and me! Each segment offers you an inspiring thought of the day, a grounded real world example, and a practical call to action. Inner Espresso is a great wake-up call for your professional and personal life, especially in these challenging times. To see a sample of one of my clips, a few others, and to get information about how you or your organization can subscribe to Inner Espresso, click here.

Vote:
Next Tuesday, November 4th, is election day here in the United States. In what has been the longest and most interesting campaign season in my lifetime, I think our country is both ready for change and also ready for this whole thing to finally be over. Regardless of who or what you plan to vote for, make sure you get out and vote. We are so blessed in our country to have the right and the freedom to express ourselves and vote for the people and issues we care about. I consider voting to be a sacred act and one we can each do in a conscious, deliberate, and grateful way. If you’re not exactly sure where to go or need any information about voting in your area, click on this link: www.votesmart.org/index.htm

Below is a list of where I’m speaking for the next month or two. All of these events are for my corporate or organizational clients (i.e. not open to the public), however I wanted to let you know where I will be. If you live in any of the cities where I’ll be traveling and want to contact me about setting up a speaking engagement for your group or company while I’m in town, feel free to contact me. Thanks!

10/30/08 – San Francisco, CA

11/5/08 – Walnut Creek, CA

11/10/08 – Kenosha, WI

11/12/08 – South San Francisco, CA

11/13/08 – Scottsdale, AZ

11/14/08 – Mill Valley, CA

11/15/08 – Yosemite, CA

11/17/08 – San Francisco, CA

11/18/08 – San Francisco, CA

11/19/08 – San Francisco, CA

11/20/08 – San Francisco, CA

11/21/08 – Monterey, CA

12/9/08 – Concord, CA

12/16/08 – San Francisco, CA

“We’re both working on being harder to offend –

should make life easier for us as we grow up!

Thanks for reading daddy’s e-zine.”
– Samantha and Annarose Robbins

 

For more photos of Annarose and Samantha, click here:
http://www.jklifestories.com/RosieArrives/