Celebrate NATIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP DAY

on March 6

Last week I talked about teaching our children good sportsmanship and all the positive characteristics that could be learned along with them.

Although Tuesday, March 6th is the 21st annual National Sportsmanship Day (NSD), the Hopson Household celebrated it a little early this year, along with our grandchildren.

You see this past weekend was NBA All-Star Weekend. We’re big fans of basketball, including the children, so it’s become a tradition for us to spend the weekend enjoying the events together.

Michael and I let the grandkids (ages 12 and 14) decide on all the fun stuff we’d do. While letting them know that we were there if they needed assistance, we also managed to ease in some valuable lessons and help them work on the following skills:  

How to Plan and Make Decisions for a group

They planned the entire weekend; including menus, ingredients for special recipes, grocery lists and activities to serve as time-fillers between NBA TV events.

How to Design Schedules, Establish Deadlines (and stick to them)

Final plans were set for the week before (with adult approval, of course). The kids used calendars and scheduled programming to coordinate events with other necessary activities, like yard work, housework, trips to the barber shop, etc.  

How to Encourage Teamwork

The kids determined the necessary tasks and were prepared to assign them; but due to their enthusiasm and encouragement, we all just volunteered.  

How to Let Go of Status Quo

By making this year better than last year, the kids dodged complacency and are already stretching themselves by thinking of ways to make next year even better. This develops a great habit for life in general.

How to be Competitive and Keep Fun in the Mix

Since all four of us have different NBA favorites in players and teams, there was a lot of cheering, taunting, and trash-talking. It’s important that children learn how to balance competitive behavior with considerate action, so while viewing the events (and sometimes after the event) Michael and I prompted many discussions in this area, such as:

·  The kids’ perceptions of the teamwork (or lack of) that was displayed

·  Their perception of individual and team characteristics (confidence, encouragement, determination, competitiveness, selfish/unselfish plays, etc).

·  Trash-talking and how it can inspire either inner-determination or create negative reactions.

 "Excellence is not a singular act but a habit. You are what you do repeatedly." ~~Shaquille O'Neal

There are so many strong character traits that can be taught to enhance and inspire our youth just by interacting with them. Use mutual interests and look for subtle ways to teach them through fun and games. Encourage them to not only play as a good sport, but to live their lives as good sports, too. 

Learn more about National Sportsmanship Day here

APPLAUD YOURSELF

In the past, I've pointed out to clients their worth, their importance, and their value. And usually after hearing just a few of what I call their "positive perpetuations", most of them could then take over and recognize their light, themselves.

That’s what I want you to do, too.

I want you to climb to the next level and see yourself in a bigger way – in a brighter light – in a stronger chain that’s linked by human connections. I want you to discover your own reasons to applaud the remarkable person you’ve been to yourself and to others. I give you praise and now it’s time you praised yourself too.

Take notice of yourself right now. What are you doing? Don’t think you’re doing much? Well, you are. You’re reading this. Applaud yourself! At this point in time, you chose to read something that adds bliss to your life, no matter how good your life is at this time. You’re aspiring to be more than who you are and by doing so; you’re contributing to the world.

So don’t just go through your actions as if they were nothing. See them for all they really are. Then applaud yourself! It’s that easy. Applaud yourself and really feel the praise you’re giving you. Consciously think more about what you do and how you perform on a regular basis. Recognize the way you add to the world; maybe in little ways, but in ways that could make big differences. You see, it’s not about finding the cure for a life-threatening disease. Nor is it about running a mega-company. It doesn’t have to be on a grand scale to be a grand stand.

Look for the many reasons you already have to applaud yourself and know in your heart that it’s not about how large you contribute, but how well.

Who Are You?

Have you ever asked yourself this very basic question? If you have, did you listen to your answer? Notice I said your answer and not the answer. What comes to mind may not be your true answer; not what's really inside of you. It may come from you and it may come from others who know you; or think they know you. Worse yet, it may come from those who knew you in the past, even though you're not that person now.

So who are you? Did you think of an answer yet? Were they your thoughts or someone else's? We get so caught up in what's going on outside of ourselves...family, work, duties, obligations...yadda, yadda, yadda...that we tend to bury our true selves.

Sound familiar? Recognize yourself yet? Don't feel bad if you do. This has been the case for all of us at some point in our lives. But it doesn't have to continue that way for the rest of our lives. So what do you do? You silence the outside noise and calm yourself to:

• Get to know yourself
• Distinguish between your own ideas and those influenced by others

Then, just as you love, trust and believe in a close friend, you will learn to love, trust and believe in your inner voice...your true self.

~-This post is an Excerpt from my soon-to-be released book 
“Creating B.L.I.S.S. ~ Better Living in Seven Steps”

For a sneak peek, read a sample chapter from the book HERE  

ALL MY CHILDREN and Other Soaps Did More than Entertain Us

Today is a very special day in my life and in the life of countless others. It's the last airing of ABC TV's Daytime Soap Opera ALL MY CHILDREN. Although that may seem superficial to some, don’t judge. At least not before you hear why it’s important to me and why Soap Operas are important in general.

From the very first show that I watched with my mother when I was 11 years old; which happens to be the current age of my granddaughter, I loved the anticipation of sharing that time with my Mama who is no longer with us. After the show, she and I would chat about the stories; some parts I understood, and some she'd have to explain to me, often stating, "we'll talk about it in more detail when you're older and better able to understand". Some of it may have been put on hold, but all of it was discussed and believe me, they opened up some great 'life' discussions. Those moments were and shall remain very fond memories of Mama and me.

ALL MY CHILDREN was also a great influence on my creativity. Amazed at the intricate story lines and how they successfully weaved real-life lessons into entertaining drama, it helped me to remain positive when working through life's challenges and to be creative when solving life's problems. Come on...tell the truth; how many times have you been in a tough spot and asked yourself, “What would Erica do?” You may not have the answer right away, but you learned to know that things would always work out. Good training for real life.  

ALL MY CHILDREN and Soap Operas in general, present us with opportunities to open up and learn how to dream; a prerequisite to success. In real life, success begins with one inspiring moment in your heart; in one flash of a dream where you get a glimpse of your true desire. Success comes from the one thought that you learn to nourish into reality. So in essence, Soap Operas gave you practice at being successful, each and every day.

Finally, through ALL MY CHILDREN, I witnessed first-hand (via my TV set) that what is seen by some as hard work, actually enriches your life when you’re doing what you love to do. And to do what that cast did for so long expresses absolute love of the art, regardless of the bad rap Soap Operas sometimes got. It doesn’t matter whether others understand what you do, as long as you understand and believe in what you’re doing. And when it can inspire many people without hurting any people, you can’t help but be happy.

  

Over the top? Yes, Soap Operas are famous for it. The stories did get over-the-top at times, but I simply viewed them as attention-getters; you know, like how you sometimes get loud and animated when you're trying to drive a point home. With their bottom line being that the viewers did get the point…mission accomplished. And everyone came out ok, with us being entertained in the process.   

They say the end of ALL MY CHILDREN marks the end of an era, and that’s true for daytime TV. But with the buzz about Soap Operas going online, ALL MY CHILDREN will probably continue in some other media; which teaches us the ultimate lesson; Nothing dies; it's just reborn into another form.

I thank you, ALL MY CHILDREN, for all my lessons and especially for all the good times you brought into my life. I feel like I’m saying good-bye to an old and dear friend. So, as I complete this tribute, I stop for a moment, raise my cup of Chamomile tea and say, Here’s to a fantastic show!  It’s been a great ride!



~~ Tell Tammy ~~
If you're a fan of ALL MY CHILDREN, share your favorite moments.

Want to keep a Journal but find it's NOT your forte?

These days, many find pleasure and answers through the art of journaling. You can journal about any topic under the sun. You can journal about the sun if you choose – anything you’d like to write about, you can have a journal for it.

But is journaling really an art form? Is it something made by the hands of only a creative few? Are there special skills involved in journaling?

No. Then why do some consider themselves journal-challenged? Why does it seem to come so easy to some people while others struggle with it? And how can the seemingly journal-challenged individuals find the same pleasure as the journal-inclined?  

There are various ways to keep a journal; audio, video, etc. But if you find journaling hard to grab hold of, try your hand at these alternatives to traditional journal-keeping to get you started. You can always alter your techniques later:  

Overcome Challenges in 10 Easy Steps

When you find yourself in a challenging situation, reject inner tendencies to view it as a problem. Instead, embrace the challenge, and then