Ham and Lox and a Dollop of Doubt

A beautiful platter stared up at me from the breakfast buffet. The caterer had prepared elegant little sandwiches. Half the sandwiches on the platter were ham and cheese on tiny biscuits and the other half were lox and cream cheese on tiny bagels.

Staring at that site of peaceful coexistence, a thought struck me. We all need to promote Doubt.

Let me explain. The luscious looking ham and cheese sandwiches are something religious Jews and Muslims would not eat. Ham is not Kosher or Halal.  But this is a sandwich often consumed by Christians (and plenty of other people). Now anyone who has not grown up with lox (a traditional Jewish food) might well look warily at this preparation of raw fish, surely not as elegant as sushi. Yet despite prohibitions and prejudices, these sandwiches looked just lovely sharing one big platter.

So naturally I thought: Why can’t we humans share the same platter peacefully….the platter we know as Earth?

And then I thought of the political debates, and the talk show guests, and the amount of useless but incendiary hot air that is spewed out regularly these days, and I thought: Can’t we all just be ham and cheese and bagels and lox sitting peacefully together?

Of course I would add in some great kebabs and tagine, and baklava, kunafeh, or halva for dessert. And more platters would be welcome on the table if other religions and cultures wanted to join in. Heck, everyone needs a bite of pad thai regularly. And we’d all be healthier if we ate vegan meals sometimes. But these days, I want to insist that we all eat some poblanos, tacos, and enchiladas. Ha! Fight back against prejudice with hot sauce!

So back to the thought I had when I was staring at the ham and cheese and bagels and lox: Doubt.

It seems to me that doubt is the key. Why is everyone so darned sure that they are right? Can’t they find just a dollop of doubt somewhere in their minds? Isn’t it possible that someone of an opposing view might have at least partially a half-way decent point?

If everyone had just a dollop of doubt as they voiced their opinions, guess what? Compromise might be possible!

And on a much more terrifying level than our childish politicians’ antics, anyone who starts wars and murders innocent people because “god” is on their side, might think twice if they allowed just the slightest bit of doubt to shadow their fanaticism. 

I don’t pray often enough, I am sure. But today I pray that some tiny sliver of doubt invades the minds of those who are absolutely certain of their cause.

And suddenly I am very hungry for both ham and cheese and bagel and lox. I’ll have them both.

©2015 Margery Leveen Sher

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is now available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here.http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

Cooperation, Persistence, and Fun

Pretentiously, I call myself a flaneur.

That is, I walk around Noticing. Usually I Notice what people are doing or saying. Sometimes I Notice odd things happening, or I Notice natural beauty or architecture or street musicians.

And today, a beautiful spring day, called me again to be a flaneur, but today I Noticed something new.

I Noticed cooperation. I Noticed persistence. I Noticed fun.  

Look at this picture. These two pigeons are sharing a bagel, just like many of you probably do on a lazy weekend morning. The amazing thing is that these pigeons were taking turns! They weren’t pushing each other aside to get a good peck. No. One patiently waited for the other to walk away a bit, and then he began his pecking. When he moved away, the first pigeon came back.

I spent a good many years of my life running preschools. We always taught the toddlers to take turns with a toy, since they were really too young to get the concept of playing together and sharing. First one toddler can play for a while, then the other gets a turn. These pigeons were just like well-behaved toddlers! They were really cooperating, and as a result each got his share of bagel until they were both full.

Now look at this series of pictures. I found a terrific sandwich shop to have my lunch in. I was munching my sandwich at the counter in front of the windowed wall, and it was my great luck to get an amazing lesson in persistence. This bee started at the bottom of the window and walked up until at some point he lost his footing and slid all the way back down. Now this Sisyphus-type character did not give up. He started climbing up the window again and eventually slid back down again. This went on time after time until my sandwich was gone and I had to leave. But I wished the bee well and hoped he finally reached his goal. He was nothing, if not persistent.

So what is the best way to get work done? Well if you have a team, cooperation is essential, is it not? We must learn from the pigeons. And if a task is difficult, we must be persistent. There was no throwing up legs in defeat for the bee, and there was no whining either. He just persisted. I hope he eventually felt satisfied with his endeavors.

But while the pigeon and the bee teach us lessons in success, the next picture shows us the enormous value of fun. While I was taking pictures of this beautiful dog fetching the Frisbee in the sunshine of a spring day, he eventually fetched the Frisbee and brought it to me, dropping it at my feet. He would not move until I threw it for him and then he began the fetch game only with me. “Forget about getting your blog post done,” he said. “It is a beautiful day and you need to concentrate on having fun!”

Ok, Smart Doggy. You are right. Cooperation and persistence are all well and good. But the opportunity for a fun time is not to be frittered away.

©2014 Margery Leveen Sher

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk peppered with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

Margery Leveen Sher is a speaker, writer, and entrepreneur with decades of experience as a consultant for major corporations and government agencies.  She is the founder and Chief Noticing Officer of The Did Ya Notice?® Project, and is currently writing the definitive book on Noticing.

Celebration

I am a huge believer in celebration. You, too?

As we all know, life throws mud at us from time to time, which makes it all the more important, I think, to celebrate everything good whenever we can.

Those of you who are regular readers of my blog also know that I believe in Noticing and celebrating “small things”. Small things like the first warm sun of spring on your back as you walk down the street. Small things like a beautiful tiny park in the middle of the city. Small things like the smells from a kitchen where someone is preparing good stuff – maybe onions sautéing, maybe cinnamon from breakfast rolls baking, maybe even chocolate chip cookies turning golden.

I also believe in parties. (Now this is beginning to sound like a strange religion….a believer in celebration and parties!) But I do love to throw parties. Of course there are the usual, birthdays or 4th of July or holidays on a calendar. But I think this year I will throw parties to celebrate coziness on a winter day, or the first flower of spring, or why not just celebrate Tuesday?

Tuesday is a nice day, and often neglected. People moan about Monday, Wednesday gets the special name Hump Day, Thursday begins the weekend celebration (at least if you are under 30), and Friday gets to kick off the weekend. But poor Tuesday is left out! Tuesday is a good solid day. We are over complaining about the workweek starting, and really buckle down on Tuesday. It is a day of accomplishment. It is a day of goals too. “Ok, it’s only Tuesday and we are chugging along here. Think of all the things we can do this week! It will be an awesome week!” Tuesday is a good, solid, optimistic day and should have a party of its own. Celebrate Tuesday!    

Here’s something very special that I have to celebrate: This is my 100th blog post for The Did Ya Notice?® Project!

I am going to celebrate this milestone in a magnificent way. I am going to write The Did Ya Notice?® Project book! This book will have a compilation of my best blogs along with research showing that Noticing is all around wonderful – for focus, for productivity, for happiness. I will also have ideas for Noticing at home and at work.  Like my keynote speech title says, “Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work….and at Home too”.  Respond to this email or to this post on the website www.DidYaNotice.com  if you would like to have a free copy of the book when it comes out. I will give free books to the first 10 responders.

So do celebrate what strikes you as lovely.  December is a celebrating time of year – Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas, Festivus for the rest of us ;-). But celebrate other stuff too….how about a quiet tea/coffee and cookies party when all the holiday shopping and prep is done. It’s not my business what special umpff-giver you would add to your drink….I would invite some people over to sit still, talk quietly, and savor a hot drink and a sweet treat. There’s a December party worth doing!

Celebrate throughout the year. Party hardy, as they say. Life is good and sweet, and when it’s not, kick the bad in the butt with a party!

Cheers!

©2013 Margery Leveen Sher

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk peppered with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

Margery Leveen Sher is a speaker, writer, entrepreneur with decades of experience as a consultant for major corporations and government agencies.  She is the founder and Chief Noticing Officer of The Did Ya Notice?® Project

A Most Delightful Exclamation Point

A truly wonderful thing happened to me this morning!

As I was walking home from my beloved farmers market with tomatoes and basil and peaches and my happy yellow flowers in my arms, an exclamation point bounced down upon my nose.

An exclamation point to my excellent morning, that is. I was walking down a residential street in the city. Beautiful old townhouses lined the sidewalks, and on this particular street, the townhouses were set back and lovely gardens filled the spaces between the front doors and the sidewalk.

As I ambled along, I heard a voice. “Would you like some rosemary?” I looked around, and up an incline a woman was holding huge scissors near a bountiful bush. Would I ever! As I thanked her and climbed the stairs to receive this surprise, her beautiful retriever opened his eyes for just a second before drifting off again.

The smell of the rosemary was the perfect addition to the scent of the basil and the perfume of the flowers. 

Another secret of city living: people are kind; dogs are sleepy; and the markets with their displays of fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs, and flowers is the finest art there is.

2013 © Margery Leveen Sher

Margery Leveen Sher is an entrepreneur, writer and speaker with decades of experience as a work-life balance consultant for major corporations and government agencies.  Her latest start-up is The Did Ya Notice?® Project. Her motivational speaking is certain to draw many a laugh and many an aha.  

4 Steps to Becoming “The Hero of Thanksgiving”

Ah Thanksgiving. What does it bring to your mind?

Catching up with relatives you haven’t seen for a while? Gorging on turkey and treasured, old family recipes? Enjoying the little children who have been born to cousins in the past few years? Talking with the grandparents?

Or maybe…

Your Thanksgiving is more like that in the 1990 movie Avalon. There is a scene where the aunt and uncle arrive late. They enter the house and everyone is already sitting around the table with the food on glorious display. The uncle is enraged: “You carved the turkey without me!” he shouts and storms out slamming the door behind him.

Are you cringing at the thought of several hours with grouchy Uncle Bob? Are you hoping the kids running wild don’t grab you with sticky, pumpkin-pie hands? Are you preparing to pop an Advil for the noise and to grab a large glass of wine as gramps tells you the same World War II stories again? And you can’t even imagine how you will eat even a little of the Campbell soup green beans.

Whichever your mindset is, there are new ways for you to enjoy yourself, and to be…(drum roll)… The Hero of Thanksgiving!

The key to turning Thanksgiving around, or to enhancing the positives even more, is to Notice. I define Noticing as “mindfulness with a smile.” To be mindful means to be in the moment. To use your senses to Notice what is right around you. And to think about Zippers and Broccoli and Human Idiosyn-Crazies ™. And to smile, and maybe to have everyone around you ROTFL. I better explain.

1. Use Your Five Senses to Notice and to Help Others Notice, Too!

First, transform yourself into a first-class Noticer. Use your senses and Notice.

• Savor the smells of Thanksgiving. Not just the food, although that is key to this holiday, but also the smell of the air outside – can you smell autumn? What does that mean?

• What can you really see? What family resemblances can you see in the faces around the room? Who looks really good? Why do you think so? What do you see in the rooms? Family photos? Other pictures? Furniture that you remember from how long ago?

• What do you hear? Certainly the sounds of talking and hopefully laughing, but what else? The TV? The sounds of the kitchen – ovens opening and closing? The refrigerator? Pots being washed? Cabinet doors clopping? Is there a rhythm you can Notice?

• Think about the sense of touch. When you hug family members, what does it feel like? Is someone frail? Is someone hefty? What does the chair or sofa feel like?

• And finally, taste. How does each part of the meal taste? Can you decipher the seasoning in the different dishes? You may be surprised how you haven’t really tasted these foods over the years – you have eaten them while talking but have not taken the time to really taste and savor. Don’t worry, you don’t have to do this with the soup-soaked green beans if you don’t want to.

2. Notice the Zippers: What Can You Do to Help the Day Go Smoothly?

The Zipper is the best invention of all time! It is simple and it works. Zip. Zip. Done! What else is simple and works?

Here are some examples of possible Thanksgiving Zippers:

• Can you think of something simple that will keep the buffet line moving quickly? Perhaps you can help the most elderly and the children.

• Can you be the hero who gathers the little kids and stops them from running wild by getting them to gobble like turkeys or sway like a blob of cranberry sauce?

• Can you be the hero who gets the older kids or teens together for a conversation about the small things they are grateful for? Maybe someone saved them a seat at lunch? Maybe someone lent them paper when they forgot their notebook? Maybe someone made them a special card for their birthday? Make them think about being grateful for the little things that have brightened their day.

• Can you be the hero who engages the older folks to tell stories about the Thanksgivings of their youth?

3. Notice the Broccoli: Replicate Good Patterns and Disrupt the Bad

Broccoli is, pure and simple, awesome! It is a beautiful vegetable that is very special. It is a repeating pattern! Broccoli is made up of smaller broccolis that are each made up of even smaller broccolis. A pattern! I use the term Broccoli to mean patterns. If the Broccoli is good, maybe you can replicate it. If the Broccoli is not so good, maybe you can disrupt it.

• What Broccoli can you Notice at Thanksgiving? Do people always sit in the same place or with the same group of relatives or friends? Who always carves the turkey? Who always makes the pumpkin pie? Who always makes the green bean casserole with the soup?

• Thanksgiving is a holiday of lots of Broccoli. Notice them! Start a conversation about the Broccoli people Notice. Do they make the person feel warm and secure? Or do they make the person cringe and think “here we go again.” Be forgiving about Broccoli if you can because…

• You need to laugh with your relatives and friends as much as you can. Notice the Broccoli and laugh! Who will end the day comatose on the couch? Who will pitch in and help clean up? Well, while you’re at it, make up some silly Zippers to get everyone to help…. and laugh!

4. Notice the Human Idiosyn-Crazies™ and laugh

Human Idiosyn-Crazies™ are the endearingly dumb things we all do.

For example, some people are early people and some are always late. These are Human Idiosyn-Crazies. You know who will arrive while you are still getting ready and who will arrive when plates are being cleared.  You know who will be checking his watch to be sure not to miss the kick-off. (Oh don’t bother Cousin Joe. Let him watch the game in peace.) You know who will make a beeline for the drumstick. 

Thanksgiving is a time when we should definitely Notice our own Human Idiosyn-Crazies first, before we go Noticing them in others. And we need to be kind and be ready with a smile, a chuckle, or a hearty belly laugh. We all have our Human idioysn-Crazies. I believe laughing at our own builds up the fuel to be kinder to other people. So explain what Human Idiosyn-Crazies are and share some of your own. Laugh! Others will then share theirs. There is no better Thanksgiving than one filled with people ROFL!

Now that you know how to Notice, you can put your skills to work and be (drum roll)… The Hero of Thanksgiving!

©2015 Margery Leveen Sher

The Gestalt of the Eclipse

Imperceptibly, but seemingly abruptly, the sky darkened. I felt a shiver run down my back, partially from the lowered temperature and partially from the eeriness. Crickets burst into a cacophony of chirps. The breeze grew wilder. Then, with a silent clash of cymbals, a hole appeared in the darkened sky surrounded by a halo of fire!

Nothing felt like the everyday. Nothing looked like the everyday. Nothing sounded like the everyday. My eyes filled with tears. Gasps from the humans competed with the gasps of the crickets until the humans succumbed to a tremendous round of applause.

Applause for whom? Applause for what? Maybe applause of thankfulness for the gift of that breathtaking event.

I became acutely aware of the startling beauty of the cosmos and of its vastness. This was only one moon and one sun among countless in the multiverse. And we are only one planet among countless; a veritable spec in the cosmos. And each person sitting in this park in Missouri was just one person out of Earth’s 7.5 billion people, each one of us sitting on a square yard of this tiny spec at the edge of just one of a multitude of galaxies. And for a short time, each of us appreciated this fact and appreciated the vastness of being and our tiny place in it. 

And I realized yet again that we earthlings are not the center of the universe. And I thought, maybe we should work a little harder to earn our place in the cosmos, and maybe our work output should be measured in units of kindness spread.

©2017 Margery Leveen Sher

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here.http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

The Bird and the Boy

I sat at the window of the café eating my salad. On the plaza outside, a boy of about 10 years was running around chasing himself while his dad was checking his phone. Suddenly there was something between a small bam and a large plonk as I saw a tiny baby bird fly into the window right between my eyes. It fell to the ground and lay still. But as I stared sadly, I saw that its body was moving slightly up and down as it breathed. One stick-leg moved slowly back and forth. The boy ran over to the bird with tears in his eyes. He looked over to his dad who came to the bird’s side as well. Boy and dad bent over the bird and watched solemnly. The dad said something, stood up and walked away. The boy wiped his eyes and spied a quarter bagel on the plaza. He ran to it, picked it up and brought it back to the bird. Ever so gently, he lay the bagel piece next to the bird’s beak. Then he stood up and walked slowly over to his dad. As they walked away, I too hoped the bird would find its second wind and peck at the bagel for strength. But I did not want to watch the bird die. I wiped my eyes too and moved away.

In these dark times for our country and for the world, I find great hope in this true story. If a 10 year old boy can feel such kindness toward a bird, there is hope for our species. I cannot imagine that a boy who tears up at a dying baby bird and gives him maybe his last possible peck of food, would grow up to be a terrorist or a racist. Let us hope.

©2017 Margery Leveen Sher

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U 

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

Ice Cream Cones

You have to be happy when you eat an ice cream cone.

If you were sad, angry, or just feeling lethargic, you wouldn’t want to eat an ice cream cone.  It simply wouldn’t appeal to you, would it?

Sometimes, if you’re feeling a little wistful, an ice cream cone can cheer you right up.  I often have a cone on the anniversary of my mother’s death.

Now I don’t often reveal my wild and crazy side to strangers… but I am ready to admit that I have a real chocolate cone once a year.  Just to have it!  Ha!

Ice cream cones define summer.  I love summer and firmly believe we must hang onto the warm sunny days by our fingernails, until the cold blast of fall air brings us to our senses.

Happy chocolate chip!  Happy rocky road!  Happy strawberry swirl!  In fact, happy plain old and still good, vanilla!

Oh, and by the way, there is absolutely no shame in biting off the cone’s bottom and sucking the ice cream out that way.  That’s right Noticers – the truth is out now on this one!

CONVERSATION-STARTER WITH ELEMENTARY SCHOOLERS

Ask the kids: Do ice cream cones make you feel happy?  What other foods make you happy?  Hot dogs?  Cupcakes?  What would you like to eat when you are cold?  Soup?  Oatmeal?  How about when you are sad?  Maybe a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a smiley banana face on top?  Are there foods that are better in summer than winter? Did you know that people who live in cold climates often eat ice cream in winter!

You can have many conversations about foods and the feelings they evoke. Although you should talk about not substituting eating for dealing with problems, I personally believe that a nice cup of tea can do wonders for the mood.  And there is nothing wrong with celebrating a good grade by going out for ice cream!

Lessons Learned in San Francisco

Lesson Learned #1: Your hotel room door cannot be opened with your BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) card no matter how badly you have to pee and how loudly you curse.

Lesson Learned #2: Email follows you everywhere so you don't miss the opportunity to make failure into success. I have been submitting the picture book I just wrote to literary agents hoping that someone will agree to represent it. I got my first rejection! People have told me that you need to get 100 rejections before you are accepted, so....1 down, only 99 to go and then.... KABAM!!! SUCCESS!

Lesson Learned #3: We drove over the Bay Bridge at sunset. The lavender of the foothills blended with the blues of the bay and the buildings of the city were pitch black but lit by beautiful white lights. It was a magnificent vista. We live in a beautiful country – the natural landscapes are spectacular in so many places and they are often enhanced by breath-taking architecture. I have many favorite sites around the country and I am sure you do as well.

But I feel that these days the soul of our country is not matching up to the majesty of the land. So lesson learned: Let’s try to be as lovely within ourselves as the most awesome scenery we have enjoyed. Let’s rebalance. Let’s make the soul of our country (the sum of all of us) match the beauty of the soul-replenishing bays, lakes, rivers, mountains and seas that we enjoy.

Lesson Learned #4: The lovely uniqueness of San Francisco is proven yet again. No numbered spaces in this parking garage; instead we have reminders to nurture our soul (or if you are cynical, it's a fortune cookie parking garage). 

©2016 Margery Leveen Sher

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is now available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U 

That’s How the Light Gets In

So far, this month has been a month of losses.

I am afraid that the election confirmed a loss of civility as a norm in our society. I don’t want to write about politics but I do want to say that inclusiveness and respect for each individual are values we must fight for. Bigotry, xenophobia, homophobia, racism, sexism, and disrespect for people with disabilities must not be tolerated. We must speak up against bigotry whenever we hear it. I will support all organizations that fight for civil rights. Will you join me in consistently speaking out against hate and putting money behind our words?

Right after the election I lost my wonderful Aunt Shirley, and with her the last vestige of my childhood elders. My mother was one of five children, and as time went on five families were formed. My parents and aunts and uncles and cousins were a most close-knit family.  Three of the families lived only blocks from each other and there were no locked doors. Aunts, uncles, cousins wandered in and out of each other’s homes at will. It was a wonderful childhood, but even more wonderful were the values that were instilled in each of us kids in each of our five families. A cohesive family is golden. We have a little touch of La Cosa Nostra in the Smith Clan, as we call ourselves. The older generation of Smiths are not here anymore to guide us, and we mourn the loss of a generation, but they created the Smith Clan and the Smith Clan lives on. 

Right after Aunt Shirley died, Leonard Cohen did as well. Of course, he was not a relative so the loss was not personal. But I loved Leonard Cohen for his poetry, and the fact that he growled out his beautiful songs only made them more powerful. 

And next, Gwen Ifill was gone. I always considered Ifill a huge breath of fresh journalistic air amongst the shouters.

But now Thanksgiving is coming. Just in time, I think. Here’s an opportunity to remember all that we can be thankful for. I am thankful that Leonard Cohen reminded us that “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”

Before this month of losses ends, I am going to try to figure out how to bring some more light through the cracks. Will you join me? December can truly be a month of light if we “ring the bells that still can ring.”

©2016 Margery Leveen Sher

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is now available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U 

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

Laundry, Type A’s, and a Nobel Prize

I have really thought a lot about this. Self-examination is a good thing, they say, so I was determined to determine why in the world I love to do laundry.

I have absolutely no affinity for any other type of housework. I have a talent for averting my eyes so as not to see work that unquestionably should be done.

But laundry! I love doing laundry! When I get home from work, I change my clothes and then put in a load of laundry before I do anything else. This is sacrosanct, and I have done it daily for my whole adult life.

You might question where I get all this dirty laundry. After all, it is just my husband and me in the house now. Well I generate a lot. I have confessed before that I only use a towel once. I know. I know. It is very un-ecological and a big sin. I am sorry. Besides the towels, there are always things to wash. Of course the clothes and sheets, but it is a good thing to wash blankets from time to time as well. Anyway, I find enough dirty laundry to keep me going, believe you me.

But why do I love it?

After much introspection on this important topic, I have come to the conclusion that I love things that allow me to multitask because then I feel all the more accomplished. Yay for me! Not only have I written this piece about laundry – a Nobel Prize level essay I believe – but I have also washed my whites at the very same time. How fabulous is that?!

There aren’t that many machines that allow you to multitask. There is the washing machine’s sibling, the dryer. And there is the dishwasher. And there is a crockpot, which I don’t have, but still admire. What else? Of course, you can leave things to cook on a stove or oven, but that doesn’t count for me because I am always paranoid that the house will burn down so I am constantly watching. Oh yeah, the refrigerator. But still, that doesn’t give me the same level of excitement because it is always doing its thing. It’s not like I have to start it up and then it takes over. Can you think of other excellent machines that allow you to multitask?

Anyway, you see now why the washing machine is the perfect machine for a Type A. My laundry is clean and my Noticing for today is done. 

©2016 Margery Leveen Sher

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is now available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

Put the Pale Blue Dot in its Place

I am a geek. Specifically I am a space geek, and I want you to be a space geek too.

We can have space geek parties together! Truly, space Noticers are a fine group of geeks. C’mon. You want to join the in-crowd, the cool kids, the trend-setters, don’t you? (Of course, only geeks use phrases like that.)

While we are obsessing about sports or politics or buying the latest and greatest, the universe…or the multiverse….is going about its business of being born and dying and spinning and swallowing and spitting out.

The late Carl Sagan said that our planet is just a pale blue dot in a vast universe. Watch his awesome video here.

Our planet is in a solar system that is on one edge of the huge Milky Way galaxy. And the Milky Way galaxy is only one of at least one hundred billion galaxies. And now astronomers have found dark matter galaxies – galaxies that are mostly dark with very few stars. The rest of such a galaxy is composed of dark matter. And all these galaxies make up the known universe. And who knows how many more universes there are.

You can see the center of our own galaxy right here! 

These are all real images from our most powerful telescopes, but another amazing thing is the real photos taken on Mars. 

I have to admit, I spend a lot of time on these websites: NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Hayden Planetarium (with the great Neil deGrasse Tyson), and various YouTube space videos. Try it! Just spend 10 minutes. You will Notice such awe-inspiring things. And it’s all real!

You don’t care?! You are going to ignore space and concentrate on the game? You don’t want to be a space Noticer? You want me to leave you alone? “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Who am I quoting? A prize will come to you if you know.

©2016 Margery Leveen Sher

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is now available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

The Lucky Girl in the Red Plaid Glasses

I wasn’t too bright and I was very quiet and shy, but I was a pretty little girl - so all was well.

I remember as a two or three year old chasing after all the black dots and lines I saw. Are you familiar with “floaters”? You see dots and lines – it’s really shadows of clumps of vitreous on the retina. It is unusual to have floaters so young, but I did. No adult knew that, though.

By the time I got to elementary school, it was clear that this shy little girl was a real dummy. Into the slow reading group she went.

I remember in first or second grade, trying to memorize what the teacher was saying because evidently she was doing something on the big board in the front of the room, but I had no idea what. It is, indeed, much slower to learn when you have to memorize everything instead of reading the blackboard.

But I didn’t know what I didn’t know, so I didn’t complain. Anyway, I was shy.

Somehow in third grade, the teacher and my parents began to realize that maybe I couldn’t see well. What a revelation!

I loved my new red plaid plastic glasses. I could see, and soon I was able to move reading groups.

As the years passed, my glasses got thicker and thicker. My parents, especially my father, were early adopters (I didn’t get those genes), so I always got the latest, thinnest variation, but they were still thick.

When I was 13, something new was invented: contact lenses. I remember when I got my contacts, I looked into the mirror and for the very first time clearly saw my face without glasses. It was a miracle. I was elated.

Over the years, I have worn many types of contacts, always trying to get my vision crisper. My vision has been around 20/800 in both eyes for a very long time. I blame old Great-Aunt Sarah. She was renown in the family for her coke bottle bottom glasses and for walking into things. I did indeed inherit those genes. Fortunately and thankfully, my vision could be corrected well enough, and I could go through my life pretty much like anyone without vision problems.

Then along came the cataracts. The world got blurrier and greyer. Night-time driving was hazardous. Depth perception was very iffy and steps became perilous.

This week I had my second cataract surgery. It is truly a miracle. I see clearly for really the first time in my life! Modern medicine is a wonder and we who can take advantage of it are so very lucky. I feel exactly as I did when I got my contact lenses at age 13. I am absolutely awed.

The girl in the red plaid glasses is truly a lucky girl. I often think that if I happened to be born into a poor family in a third world country, I may have been sent out to beg or worse. 90% of the 285 million visually impaired people in the world live in low-income areas. Imagine how difficult their lives are.

Not only am I just lucky for where and when I was born, I am lucky that I could take advantage of all the technological and scientific advances that came along. I am definitely adding Prevent Blindness to the list of charities I support.

Noticers, we know how critical our vision is to our work, but also remember what Mark Twain said:

“You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”

So let’s practice Noticing until our imaginations are 20/20!

©2016 Margery Leveen Sher

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is now available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

Super Powers

There is a section in The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing, called Amazing Inventions Noticings. In that section I talk about the absolutely amazing zipper, trashcan, lettuce spinner, overcoat, and newspaper. There are so many more amazing inventions, but today I want to point out one very special invention…and maybe another.

That bumpy rubber thingy that grips the cap of a bottle! Yay for it! It makes me, a 100 lb (well, give or take a few multiples of 10) weakling into a veritable superwoman. If I can open a bottle, I can conquer the world! Ain’t nothin I can’t do now! Why with my bumpy rubber thingy, I can make this discordant world into a world of Noticers, a world of people who appreciate bumpy, rubber thingys and zippers, trashcans, and lettuce spinners as well! Somebody send me a Superwoman tee!

Now sometimes the bottle outsmarts even the bumpy rubber thingy. Then….and here is the other great invention I need to mention…..I get out the pliers! Yes the pliers! Without the pliers, I would never have my iced tea.

Pliers are an invention of last resort. The order is this: 1) Try using your bare hand. If that doesn’t work; 2) Get the bumpy rubber thingy. If that still doesn’t work, then; 3) The pliers will save the day!

I want to emphasize that most of the time the bumpy, rubber thingy will work. I’d hate for anyone to skip step 2 and just keep pliers in your pocket.

I used to have a round rubber bumpy thingy but I don’t know what happened to it, so I got another that is a big square. I liked the little round one better though because it was smaller and because I kept it with my other round thing – the tuit. Whenever I have to do something, I know I can get a round tuit at some point.

Ok. Sorry for this silliness today. I have important work to do now. I need to get a round tuit.

©2016 Margery Leveen Sher

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is now available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U 

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

10 Steps to Making Your Business Buzz

Do you want to make your business buzz with vitality? Do you want your employees to create new solutions as a team? It‘s all about making your company vibrant. Employees need to buy in to the vision. Employees need to be alert and have their creative juices rewarded. The company needs to be alive and buzzing.

Based on my decades as an entrepreneur and executive, here’s my take on what leaders need to do:

1. Set high standards. No, not just profitability goals or sales targets. Whatever you do you have to be the best. The customer or client has to feel that they are getting the best widget, platform, consulting ideas, etc. that anyone could imagine. This end result can only happen if every employee is making it happen. Everyone has to want to be the best. Everyone has to have that competitive itch that makes them put in the extra effort to put their particular contribution over the top.
2. Have a sense of humor. Be pleasant. Smile. (More on this in a bit.)
3. Be compassionate. When people fall, help them up. If they are willing to learn and not make the same mistake twice, compassion can lead to great loyalty.
4. Get your hands dirty. Sometimes, dive down into what each group is doing so that you understand their struggles and what they are trying to accomplish.
5. Be creative and reward it in others. A major route to creativity is (drum roll here): Noticing. Open your eyes and Notice what’s around you. Do not stare at a screen all day. Look around. Think about what you have seen. Teach your employees to Notice too. In the summer of 2014, Harvard Business Review had an article entitled “Becoming a First-Class Noticer.” It talked about how essential it is for leaders to Notice. I define Noticing as “mindfulness with a smile.” Mindfulness is paying attention, being in the moment. The smile makes it memorable. The smile comes from zippers and broccoli.
6. A zipper is a simple solution that works. Zip! You’re done! Can you Notice “zippers” in your workplace. If you can, maybe you can think of ways to replicate them. Maybe you can invent new “zippers”. Notice if any work processes are more like a Rube Goldberg invention than a zipper. Rube Goldberg inventions are unnecessarily complicated to the nth degree. Think if you can “zipperize” your Rube Goldberg processes. When I am speaking to corporate groups and I ask them to name zippers, they come up with things like templates, minutes to a meeting, Dropbox, consistent email subject lines, etc. Other zippers commonly in use range from KJ Diagrams to SurveyMonkey to Hootsuite. Consulting firms have had huge success inventing zippers – selling simplified solutions. Bottom line is: you want to find or invent all the simple solutions you can. Notice zippers!
7. Now broccoli. A basic form of analysis is to Notice and recognize patterns. Basic kinds of patterns that you see in the workplace have to do with how work gets done and how people behave. Often you can Notice repeating patterns. Broccoli is a lovely vegetable made up of a repeating pattern of smaller and smaller broccolis. Notice the “broccoli” and teach your employees to Notice broccoli. When you Notice broccoli –  patterns – you have a choice. If the broccoli is fresh and deep green, figure out if you can replicate it elsewhere. If the broccoli is kind of drooping and yellowing, disrupt it and replace it with a delicious, fresh broccoli Notice so you can replicate or disrupt.
8. Why use the terms zippers and broccoli, rather than simple solutions and patterns? See number 2. It makes people smile, and this new vocabulary is a memorable shorthand. You can have Notice the Zippers standing meetings frequently and brainstorm new solutions. You can have Notice the Broccoli meetings which will take some of the sting out of discussing old, negative patterns that need to be disrupted.
9. One more thing leaders need to Notice: Human Idiosyn-Crazies™. These are the endearingly dumb things we all do. We all have them. We need to Notice them in ourselves before we go pointing them out in other people. Are you a person who has an open door policy? Or are you a person who requires an Outlook invitation even if someone has a simple, one minute question? These are Human Idiosyn-Crazies. We need to be quick to laugh at ourselves. I believe that laughing at ourselves builds up the fuel for us to be kinder to other people and their Human Idiosyn-Crazies.
10. Perhaps in addition to being an extremely effective business leader, you might also be interested in squeezing the dickens out of your life? Life is not one big to-do list. Notice what you see at work and outside of work, at home and in your community…and smile. Notice with all five of your senses. Notice the zippers, broccoli, and Human Idiosyn-Crazies. You will be amazed at how much fuller your life will be. 

Noticers are vibrant people, radically amazed at what they see. Noticers build companies that are buzzing with vitality. Noticing is the secret to success – both in the workplace and in life in general.

Dear Mr., Miss, or Mrs. Noticer,

Gee. I haven’t talked with you in a while. I wonder how you are. 

But…how am I supposed to communicate with you? It seems I must be adaptable if I actually desire a response.

 

Well, if you are my good friend and we have been through lots together (this means we are relatively the same age), I will email you, of course. And I will hear back from you soon.

 

But if you are the age of my offspring, my email may well wither on the vine. For you, I better text. Aha, there’s my answer right away!

 

And then there is the Facebook crowd. For them I must message. 

 

OMG. I also must tweet to preserve my coolness quotient and post on LinkedIn for my professional creds. 

 

However….I don’t care how uncool I am; I am drawing a red line in the sand. If you want me to Instagram, fuhgeddaboudit! It’s hard enough to figure out whom I should email, whom I should text, and whom I must message. (Of course, my use of the m after who certainly gives away my age and uncoolness.) And now you want me to Instagram?! Nononononono!

 

Pinterest? No way in Hades. Plain and simple.

 

Google+, Tumblr, VK, Flickr, Vine?! Hahahahaha. You will never find me. I am hiding way under my bed covered with a quilt.

 

But now. But now. But now, I am being told that nobody will become a Noticer unless I use Periscope.  Aiyaiyaiyai!!!!!

 

This social media stuff has turned me into a cranky, petulant two-year-old. Why must I be the one to adapt to your preferred communication style?! Why must I figure out how old you are, or how tech saavy you are, or how artsy you are so that I know where to find you?!

 

What was wrong with the olden days when you communicated by calling someone on a big black telephone by dialing the letters and numbers. That worked fine! Today of course you can call someone on their cell, but don’t leave a message for anyone under 40 because they will not listen to a voicemail. It is against their religion.

 

So here is my formal announcement: If you want to communicate with me, kindly purchase a quill and parchment, write me a nice letter in cursive, put it in an envelope and seal it with wax, and then find a horseback rider who will deliver it to me on a silver tray.

 

Ah! Them were the days.

 

Oh but wait….this beautiful invitation on parchment just arrived and it is for a dinner that occurred two weeks ago. Darn! Why do I always miss out?!

 

Ok ok OK! Soon you will find me on Periscope.

Meanwhile, please click here.

 

©2016 Margery Leveen Sher

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is now available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. 

 

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs: 

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

 

 

 

 

I Wish You a Lopsided Heart

I have been thinking about the heart lately.

As I told you in my last post, How To Live a Life, my brother died of a sudden heart attack a month ago. (And thank you for all your lovely condolences. Each one is very much appreciated.)

Coincidentally to this tragedy, I had been undergoing some tests for symptoms that could have been angina. The good news here is that my symptoms are most likely from esophageal spasms – no big deal and certainly nothing that will interfere with my Noticing. Phew!

So I have been a bit heart-obsessed. And I have been trying to figure out how the heart works.

Not the physical heart – I will leave that to the cardiologists. Rather, I have been trying to figure out our feeling heart, our emotional heart. I think that this heart contracts and expands like the physical heart. And I have come to the conclusion that this heart – the heart that is core to our soul - is capable of great expansion.

I think that every time we are touched by the death of someone we love or even just miss, our heart contracts and gets a little smaller. I think of the deaths of my mother, my father, and now my brother; the deaths of my aunt and my uncles. I think of the deaths of my in-laws and of old friends who I should have kept in touch with more, and even the deaths of great people who we need so much to continue to walk the earth, but who are gone. I think each of these deaths cuts a little piece out of our hearts and shrinks it.

But our hearts grow enormously when we love someone; they enlarge hugely when we have children; they almost explode they grow so big when we have grandchildren. Happy family times expand our hearts. Good friends expand our hearts. Good deeds expand our hearts. Laughter expands our hearts.

So I think the heart can be totally lopsided. One side indeed contracts with each sadness we experience. The other side expands when we are blessed to be touched with laughter and love.

So I have a wish for you, my Noticing friends:

May you have a totally lopsided heart. May the expanded side of your heart be so great that the contracted side is, although not forgotten, not overwhelming you.

©2016 Margery Leveen Sher

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is now available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

How To Live a Life

My brother dropped dead last week.

I am sorry to start a Noticing in such a depressing way, but in fact, that is what happened. He had a sudden heart attack and was gone.

So this blog post is probably the most presumptuous kind of writing you can read. Who am I to tell you how to live a life? Of course there is plenty of this advice from self-help, spiritual and religious sources. But actually, I don’t really want to tell you how to live your life. I just want to write about what conclusions I am drawing from this shocking experience. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

     1.     Laugh as much as possible and try to get others to laugh.

There is much pain and sadness in the world. Savor the good and the funny. Enjoy yourself as much as you can. That’s what I think, anyway.

     2.     Give generously of your time and talents to whoever can use them most.

Not only should you use your talents to help others because you shouldn’t hoard your gifts, but it will make you happier, much happier. That’s what I think, anyway.

     3.     Nurture your forgiving heart.

As I have written many times before, we are all full of Human Idiosyn-Crazies ™, which I usually define as the endearingly dumb things we all do. But sometimes, they are not that endearing. But he who has never been a pain in the butt to someone at some time, is the only one who should be allowed to present a holier than thou demeanor.  That’s what I think, anyway.

     4.     Learn as much as you can about how the world works and how other people in other cultures live.

It makes us gain perspective. We begin to really understand that we are not the center of the universe. That’s what I think, anyway.

     5.     Celebrate everything you can.

You never know when you will leave this earth. Acknowledge every accomplishment you can, both yours and your family’s and your friends’. Nothing is too small to celebrate. I have written before on why we should celebrate all kinds of things. Make up your own reasons. But celebrate often. That’s what I think, anyway.

My brother is gone.

I will remember him with laughter and understanding.

© 2016 Margery Leveen Sher

Move Forward but Don’t Miss the Backward View

Isn’t this a cool photo? The clouds in back of the car are reflected in the rear view mirror and match the clouds in the sky in front of our moving car.

It made me reflect on looking back and looking forward. And that is what we do a lot of in January of each year, don’t we?

Often people say things like “don’t look back” or “keep your eyes on the goal”. Phrases that urge us to keep moving forward instead of wallowing in the past. Yes, wallowing is not a good thing. But if we just keep ploughing onward without looking in the rear view mirror from time to time, we may of course repeat mistakes, but even worse, we will not be able to gauge how far we have come. And we wouldn’t want to miss opportunities for celebrating improvements, would we?

So I say, as we look forward to the new year, let’s set our vision for the year and work to get there. Maybe your vision is making stronger connections with family and friends. Maybe it is a work-related goal. Maybe it has to do with getting healthier or volunteering more. Maybe it is to read more books and drink more wine. (Just thinking personally here….) But whatever it is, look forward - and look in the rear view mirror too from time to time. Look at how far you have come. Look at how you were able to be resilient. Look at how you managed despite whatever. And celebrate! Celebrate small steps forward because they are really not small at all compared to where you started. Celebrate your evolution.

I have a vision of a world of Noticers. People all over the world realizing that if they just Notice, their lives and the lives of everyone around them will be so much richer. I have a very long way to go before I realize this goal. But if I look in the rear view mirror, I remember that a few years ago almost nobody was discussing the value of Noticing what you see. So I will move forward, but will also glance through the rear view mirror from time to time. After all I need some valid reasons to celebrate the spread of Noticing with a big piece of yummy cake.

Won’t you join me?

©2016 Margery Leveen Sher

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is now available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U 

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

The Hero of the Holidays: 4 Ways to Bring Family Together

Ah, the holidays are upon us. What does it bring to your mind?

Catching up with relatives you haven’t seen for a while? Gorging on turkey and treasured, old family recipes? Enjoying the little children who have been born to cousins in the past few years? Talking with the grandparents?

Or maybe your holiday isn’t always quite so idyllic.

Are you cringing at the thought of several hours with grouchy Uncle Bob? Are you hoping the kids running wild don’t grab you with sticky, dessert-covered hands? Are you preparing to pop an Advil for the noise and to grab a large glass of wine as Gramps tells you the same World War II stories again?

Whichever your mindset and past experience is, there are new ways for you to truly enjoy yourself all while being… the Hero of the Holidays!

The key to turning the holiday get-togethers around, or to enhancing the positives even more, is to Notice. Noticing is best defined as “mindfulness with a smile.” To be mindful means to be in the moment, and to use your senses to Notice what is all around you. Can’t we all use a bit more mindfulness during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season? Below are some simple steps to making this year’s holiday events happy, fun, and memorable!

1. Use Your Five Senses to Notice and to Help Others Notice, Too!

To be a first-class Noticer, you must learn to use your senses and Notice. Here are some ideas:

•   Savor the smells of the holidays. Not just the food, although that is often what get-togethers revolve around, but also the smell of the air outside – can you smell the crispness of winter? Why not ask family members what the smells evoke in their minds?

•   Focus on all that you can see. What family resemblances can you see in the faces around the room? Are there family photos displayed, and how have people changed throughout the years? What memories have been made on the furniture that has been around for as long as you can remember?

•   Keep your ears open for the sounds of the holidays. What do you hear? Certainly the sounds of talking and hopefully laughing, but what else? The TV? The sounds of the kitchen – ovens opening and closing? The refrigerator? Pots being washed? Cabinet doors clopping? Is there a rhythm you can Notice?

•   Be aware of the often-overlooked sense of touch. When you hug family members, what does it feel like? Is someone frail? Who gives a good squeeze? What does the furniture feel like that you’re lounging on?

•   And finally, taste. How does each part of the meal taste? Can you decipher the seasoning in different dishes?  You may be surprised how you haven’t really tasted these foods over the years; you have eaten them while talking, but have not taken the time to really taste and savor.

2. Notice the Zippers: What Can You Do to Help the Event Go Smoothly?

The Zipper is the best invention of all time! It is simple and it works: Zip. Zip. Zip. Done! What else is simple and works? Identify the Zippers in your family get-together. Here’s how:

•   Can you think of something simple that will keep the food line moving quickly? Perhaps you can help the most elderly family members and the children serve themselves efficiently, so everyone is happy!

•  Can you be the hero who gathers the little kids and stops them from running wild by getting them to play holiday games or sing carols?

•  Can you be the person who gets the older kids or teens together for a conversation about the small things they are grateful for?

•  Can you be the family member who engages the older folks to tell stories about the holidays of their youth?

3. Notice the Broccoli: Replicate Good Patterns and Disrupt the Bad

Sure, it’s a tasty vegetable, but Broccoli is also a repeating pattern! It’s made up of smaller broccolis that are each made up of even smaller broccolis. Therefore, think of a “Broccoli” in the family as a pattern. If the Broccoli is good, try to find ways to replicate it. If the Broccoli is not good, perhaps you can disrupt it.

•  What Broccoli can you Notice during holiday events? Do people always sit in the same place or with the same group of relatives or friends? Who always carves the turkey?

•  The holidays hold lots of Broccoli. Notice them! Start a conversation about the holiday patterns other people Notice. Do they make the person feel warm and secure, or do they make the person cringe?

•  Above all, it’s important to laugh with your relatives and friends as much as possible. Notice the Broccoli – the patterns that are unique to your family – and laugh!

4. Notice the Human Idosyn-Crazies

What are Human Idiosyn-Crazies™? They are the endearingly dumb things we all do.

For example, some people are early people and some are always late. These are Human Idiosyn-Crazies. You know who will arrive while you are still getting ready and who will arrive when plates are being cleared, and so on.

This holiday, we need to Notice our own Human Idiosyn-Crazies first, before we Notice them in others. It’s important to be kind and ready with a smile, a chuckle, or a hearty belly laugh. We all have our Human idioysn-Crazies and laughing at our own builds up the fuel to be kinder to other people. So explain what Human Idiosyn-Crazies are to your family around the dinner table and share some of your own. Laugh together, and enjoy being the Hero of the Holidays!

Margery Leveen Sher is the Founder and Chief Noticing Officer of The Did Ya Notice? Project™. Sher is a writer, speaker, entrepreneur, and executive who has had a long consulting career working with corporations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and foundations.

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing can be purchased from www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com

 ©2015 Margery Leveen Sher