“Snazzy Socks for Charles”

Every once in awhile you have to knit a pair of socks for someone you love! It is NOT a hardship but, it is a reminder how important it is to show love, show kindness and practice unconditional positive regard every single day. Life is too short to not listen, not care and not make a difference by doing anything you can to make the world a better place. If you start with a few simple things…you will be more positive and you will feel so much better…all the time.

1. Going over to the person and greeting them – this includes making sure you start the day with your family in a positive way – a warm hug and 10 second kiss with your spouse – behaviour that lets the people you love most know that they are your priority and your favourite way to start the day
2. Suspending judgement – listen and ask questions – don’t accuse. Show genuine interest in what someone is saying.
3. Give everyone you talk to your full attention – don’t glance at your phone – sit down, face-to-face and listen to the full story. Be present and attentive.
4. Using their first name – when you know someone’s name, use it – if you don’t find out their name.
5. Smiling (and being authentic) – choosing to smile and be pleasant (even when you sometimes don’t feel like it) can make everybody’s day better…
6. Using a warm tone of voice -meeting in person is sometimes better than email or text because you can focus on your tone of voice – it can make all the difference
7. Surprise someone! Do you have someone in your office that you don’t interact with very much….buy them a coffee or take them out for lunch. Do your kids love it when you bake brownies or take them to the park? Are you super tired but, you do it anyway? Sometimes pushing past “yourself” can turn the whole day around.
8. Validate another person’s feelings. We need to especially do this if we work with children. They need to feel heard and understood and they need to be able to acknowledge and name their feelings. Adults need this as well – I understand how you feel, how can I support you?
9. Understand that everyone has a bad day and don’t take it personally.
10. I am here to help, understand, and provide guidelines, not criticise. Your worth does not need to be earned. I accept you, even though I may not approve of all the actions or choices you make. I give you permission to make mistakes and I believe in our collective ability to learn from them.

How did I get all this from a pair of socks? I always need a reminder to show unconditional positive regard. We can get caught up in the negative and it is always important to talk to each other about things that are bothering us but, when you start it from a positive outlook, it always goes much better. Unconditional positive regard is especially important in marriage and with our children – close contact can let little things pile up and a positive approach and not avoiding issues helps us grow in our relationships and when we have wholesome relationships we can make a huge difference in the world.