Life Tips Daily

I went to a restaurant with family recently and I was not impressed with the first waitress that was assigned to us. Before I could even comment on it to my parents, a new server came to our table and informed us that she was going to be helping us from there on.

She was wonderful and I can honestly say that we’ve never had such superb service before. In analyzing how she made our experience so lovely, I came up with the following tips for those of you who work in the customer service area and who wish to give top notch service every time.

Smile
A sign at a dentist’s office I pass every day reads “A smile is the same in every language” and isn’t that the truth? Smile, and smile from your heart. Only the truly miserable will fail to respond similarly to a warm smile (and in that case they need to see more smiles in their life!).

Engage the customer, build a rapport
My father can be taciturn but our charming waitress soon had him cracking jokes and responding to her teasing. In order to build a rapport with your customer, you aren’t necessarily required to be a funny person. Be polite, show interest in the customer, look for indications of what makes them tick and respond to those cues in your own behaviour.

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If you live North America, particularly in one of the many states or provinces where snow is prevalent, it’s hard to make yourself leave the comfort of home when the cold weather arrives. However, if you’ve found that your plans to hibernate are wreaking havoc on your waistline, here are some things to consider to combat the weight gain.

Get souped up
A great way to fill your stomach without sacrificing too many calories, and ensure that you get your daily serving of vegetables is to make yourself a thick, hearty soup full of veggies and lean meat (unless you’re a vegetarian, of course!). Not only will this meal make you feel warm and cozy, it’ll satisfy the requirements for a healthy meal too.

Bundle up and go walking
Colour me guilty: I cheerfully use the winter weather to excuse my general physical inactivity but that’s a weak excuse. Why? Because the sidewalks around my place are cleared very regularly, and even when they’re not, long boots with a decent grip are all that is needed to ensure that a walk doesn’t turn into a slippery stroll. If you layer your clothing and have a good jacket, hat and gloves (or mittens), you’ll hardly feel the cold and return invigorated and warmed from your walk.

Try a winter sport
If walking sounds boring, why not try snowshoeing or cross country skiing? Neither requires any hard to learn skills and both will provide a very intense workout, even though you’re cruising along on flat ground for the most part. Depending on where you decide to go snowshoeing or cross country skiing, you may be able to rent the gear that you need before committing to it.

If you prefer sports that are more exciting, try downhill skiing, snowboarding or ice skating. These activities can be hard on those who are new to them so expect to build up your confidence (and skill) slowly.

For those of you living in chilly weather, how do you keep active?

I’ve always been a fan of practicing forgiveness, not because I am a saint and not just because my religion commands it, but because it really is easier on you if you let go of the hurt and pain and forgive. Forgiving, unfortunately, does not mean you forget the hurt and the pain, sometimes the hurt and pain stays with you and can be triggered unexpectedly and you can feel just as bad as if the hurt happened yesterday. The idea behind practicing forgiveness is that the sooner you’re able to “let it go”, the sooner the process of letting time work its magic can begin.

Almost a year ago, I had an opportunity to see if forgiving really was better for my soul. A friend and I went through a situation that led to the end of our friendship. I was happy with the way I handled the situation, but I am not the sort of person who can throw away the years of a friendship without feeling twinges of sadness and although I didn’t talk about the situation much with friends after its conclusion, certain thing I would see and hear would remind me of this person. Part of the process of forgiveness for me was wishing her well in the future, so when I’d think of her, I’d hope that she was doing well and was happier. I’m no saint, I just chose not to let the feelings that I had during the situation sour me toward her permanently and therefore have the power to continually ruin my mood. Instead of feeling angry when I thought of her, I felt sad that things didn’t end in a more positive way (if they had to end).

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A smart woman that I met late last year when I was feeling particularly uncreative and uninspired told me that she believes strongly that people meet for a reason, and sometimes just for a season. I’ve always thought that when you meet someone, find some common points and become friends, as long as the mutual like and respect remains, your friendship has to grow deeper, and if that means you have to work hard to make this happen, so be it.

However recent events have me having second thoughts. Maybe it is possible for someone to come into your life for a brief period of time and accomplish what they were meant to do in your life—give you a new perspective on life, answer a question that has been plaguing you for ages, support you at a time where you feel that nobody around you is there for you. Maybe these fleeting friendships aren’t meant to get any deeper. And most important, if that is the case, that is ok.

If you are faced with such a case, where you felt a need to reach out to someone going through a rough time despite that person not being your usual “friend material”, or if you are touched by somebody who doesn’t seem interested in being anything more than acquaintances, I encourage you to hold on to the lesson you have learned from the person. Long after you’ve forgotten the name of the person who believed in you enough to sponsor you, or the coworker who always asked you how you were doing, the memories of how their presence improved your life will remain. You won’t always be able to remain close friends with everyone despite your very best intentions, and sometimes, a deep friendship isn’t the goal. Keep the lesson close to you, and you may be able to be there for someone else, be it for a season or for a lifetime.

We’re only one week into the new year, and perhaps instead of being inspired by a new year, you find yourself seeking something to excite you: a resolution you’ll be motivated to keep, or a project you’d like to tackle. Well you’ve come to the right place! Below are four things that you can use to inspire you in the new year.

Other people
Talk to friends and family members and find out what they are looking forward to in the new year. Read the blogs of your favourite writers. You may discover something that you forgot that you also find exciting, or your memory might be jogged by something from someone else, even if it’s something completely different from your own goal.

Magazines and books
One thing that is inevitable about January magazines is they will be full of ways to help you accomplish resolutions, from saving money to losing weight. Magazine headlines will try to grab your attention by using words that make you believe there is new information that you don’t know and perhaps by reading an article or two, you’ll discover something new and inspirational.

Similarly, reading a book, even one that isn’t of the self help variety, can get your thoughts churning, and perhaps you’ll be suddenly tempted to start saving money for a trip to Tuscany, or for cooking lessons, or to learn all that you can about crocheting. Go for it!

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If you’ve been coming here daily for tips, you know, because the title of the blog is Life Tips Daily, you have more likely than not been disappointed. I apologize and I’ll give you a couple of insights and tips about this site.

Although every attempt will be made to update at least five times a week, I may only manage to update three times a week. This is still a good thing because it will be a more regular update than I have been doing for the last two months.

I also want to make sure that you don’t waste your precious time clicking on the link to this site (which is hopefully still in your bookmarks or favourites) when there is no new content. One way you can avoid the disappointment is by subscribing to this blog’s feed. The location of the best explanation that I have ever read of what feeds are, and how they work, has eluded me, but here’s Wikipedia’s say on the matter, though it is not easiest to understand explanation.

What you need to know is this:
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