Tips for Living

At the turn of the new year, I received an email entitled "Handbook for 2010." I decided to check out this handbook and see if it related to me in any way.

After reading through the nearly 40 tips , I started to think about how I could share them.

I thought about Girl Scout volunteers and how hard they work to ensure the safety and well-being of their troops and groups. I thought about folks giving up their nights and weekends for troop meetings, the gas in their vehicles driving to and from trips, and cell phone minutes to call troop members and remind them of upcoming program events and overnights.

I thought, who better to share these tips with, than the people who brighten my day by giving up their time and talent to push the Girl Scout movement forward.

Here are a few of those tips:

• Drink plenty of water.
• Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
• Live with the three E's - Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
• Play more games.
• Sleep for seven hours.
• Take a 10 to 30-minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
• Don't overdo. Keep your limits.
• Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
• Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
• Dream more while you are awake.
• Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
• Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
• Smile and laugh more.
• You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
• Each day give something good to others.
• Forgive everyone for everything.
• Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of six.
• Try to make at least three people smile each day.
• Do the right thing!
• Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
• However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
• No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
• The best is yet to come.

Jen Nation
Director of Program
Girl Scouts, San Diego-Imperial Council