#CharacterDay

Yesterday, International Day of Happiness

coincided with the first day of spring and #CharacterDay

And we officially spent the first three hours in the ER.

No worries; everybody's okay.

Better safe than sorry, right?

John and I left there after five hours feeling

exhausted,

grateful,

blessed,

relieved,

a little stressed,

and a little lot silly.

You see, it turns out it was nothing.

Nothing serious, anyway.

Nothing life threatening.

And that's good news, right?

In the end, I'd so much rather leave an ER with nothing

than with a horrible diagnosis

and an overnight or extended stay.

My character was tested a little, 

having to stay up until 3 am and 

patiently wait our turn, 

then patiently wait for results.

I'm not a very patient patient myself and

I can be a really impatient spouse.

But John needed me.

And I was happy to be there to learn that it was nothing. 

To celebrate #CharacterDay, 

our friends at Let It Ripple spent the day

creating awareness about character development

with Tiffany Shlain's film clip, The Science of Character.

I love this clip because it totally validates everything that

I believe and am passionate about nurturing in

tomorrow's leaders.

It got me to wondering ...

What if every day were Character Day?

The world would undoubtedly be a better place.

Imagine saying so long to impatience, shame, blame, addiction, guilt, jealousy, negativity, dishonesty, gossip, rumors, rude and discourteous behavior.

Pie in the sky ... or possible?

Strengths as game-changers ... I like that.

And helping people understand character development

better with an engaging PSA like this ...

great idea, don't you think?

Character can be built, developed, grown even.

We're all works in progress.

That's just so hopeful. 
And filled with joyful possibilities.

For me.

For my children, family and friends.

For my colleagues and my community.

For my country and my world.

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

I think I'll start working on that right now.

Intentionally sharpening a trait that's dulled.

Patience, maybe ...

or ... well, lot of possibilities!

What are your character strengths?

And which virtue(s) do you want to improve?

With every day as character day, 

today is a good a time as ever to get started.

Feel free to set a goal and let us know 

in the comments below if you want some support.

People who write down their goals

are more likely to intentionally work toward achieving them.

Find an accountability partner to help you in your quest.

Then enjoy the fruits of your labor, because

someone is undoubtedly watching and learning ...

from you. And lots of someones need
a character mentor like you.

Happy modeling.