Tigger knows it's the Little Things in Life that Matter Most!

It seems that people all too often lose perspective and get pre-occupied by things that don’t matter, all the while missing the little moments everyday that truly make life worth living.  I think we all need to be reminded now and then that the little things are usually the most important, don’t let them pass by unnoticed.  I came to this realization today as I was waiting for my baby daughter to fall asleep for her morning nap and I found myself getting minorly frustrated. It was way past her naptime and she wouldn’t sleep.  I quickly thought how stupid this was and decided I should play with her and have fun with her rather than letting frustration settle in simply because she wasn’t tired when I thought she should be. 

We should never forget how the little moments could change people’s lives.  I adored the book, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.  Randy got it.  The two things I always remember from his inspirational book were:

1.     Never value things over people.  They’re just things that can be replaced.

2.     Everyday you have the choice whether you want to be a Tigger or an Eeyore.

We should remember these tips daily.  Never in word or action prioritize an inanimate object over a person who may need you.  You can wash your car later; go have that conversation that that friend needs to have.  You can vacuum or paint later; go spend that extra 30 minutes playing with your kid.  Make people feel valued, but more than that, actually value the people in your life.

I love his analogy using Winnie the Pooh characters.  If you didn’t already know, Tigger is upbeat, positive and people love being around him.  Eeyore on the other hand is pessimistic, negative and people try to stay away from him.  Each day we can be negative or attempt to view all we can in as positive light as possible and uplift those around us. 

Unfortunately, it seems our society sometimes gets our perspective and priorities messed up a bit.  Those are two things that we should daily re-evaluate in ourselves.  How do we view things?  Do we have an appropriate amount of empathy for others and realize its not all about us or are we self centered and proud?

As for our priorities, are we really honest with what they are?  Do our actions reflect what we truly want to be the most important to us? 

It seems we get too caught up in the quick pace of life and don’t slow down enough to breathe, appreciate, enjoy and truly appreciate those who surround us.  I know I need this reminder a lot and I hope you find a way to remind yourself that the little things in life are often times the most important.