Check Out the Good News!

At a time when there is so much divisiveness and polarization, it’s important to remember that there is a great deal of good going on.  I believe that people are fundamentally caring, and the stories below demonstrate that.  I’m wishing you a glorious holiday season and I’m grateful you are one of my readers.  I’d love to hear from you!

• In Jacksonville, Fl:  Shaquille O’Neal, with Duval County Public Schools, the Henry and Zach Crocklett Foundation and  Rhodes Graduation Services, brought gifts and food to needy families in need this week. This happens through the Turkey & Toys Districtwide Partnership.

• In Maryland, the DARCARS dealership erased $25,000 of school lunch debt.

• A baby who had been abandoned at birth next to a dumpster has gone on to be a $62 million entrepreneur finding solutions in the tech industry.  He also created a tracking device for those with Alzheimers. Freddie Figgers says “The best thing any human being can do is influence another one.”

• A 93 year old toymaker, Ed Higinbotham of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, donated 300 wooden trucks to the state police this month.

• Actor Morgan Freeman has devoted his 124 acre ranch to saving the bees, and saving the planet.

• Miss USA, Miss Teen America, Miss America and Miss World are all black women this year.  A wonderful trend of diversity!

• A British scientist who developed a new drug for ovarian cancer has donated her share of the profits, £31 million, to charity.

• And a couple who get engaged at Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC, from South Africa, and were subsequently shamed by critics on social media, got the surprise of their lives.  McDonald’s bought them a honeymoon to Capetown, a jeweler provided wedding rings, Huawei provided new phones and KFC paid for the whole wedding!

How to Cut Down On Email Clutter

The Average employee gets over 12o emails ad day, most CEO’s receive 300+.  Eeks!!  How can you cope with that deluge of email on a daily basis.

Here are a few tips from my friend Dianna Booher, whose new book Faster, Fewer, Better Emails came out this week.

What to do:

1. Read each email only once and either delete, put into action, reply or send to right person.
2. Ask coworkers not to cc all.
3. Don’t prolong responses with personal commentary that is meaningless.  Women often try to build relationships with email; this is not the place.
4. Acknowledge receipt and respond with a plan: “I will get that report to you after I hear from Tom; you will have it by 3:00pm.”
5. Bow out after introductions.
6. Don’t forward jokes, stories, etc. We all have enough distractions.
7. Unsubscribe to ezines.
8. Turn off alerts.A tip from me:
9. Only check email 4-5 times a day.  First thing when you start work, before lunch, after lunch, mind-day and at end of day.  Don’t take it home and don’t read it before bed- it will wreak havoc with your sleep.  You train people how to expect your response.  If you respond immediately, they will always expect it.

You can handle your email in a way that works for you. Try these techniques and let me know if they helped!

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©2019, Snowden McFall, Fired Up! You may reprint if you credit me with content.Follow me on social media @snowdenmcfall

Fear of the Unknown Creates Significant Anxiety

Fear of the unknown often plagues employers and employees alike, as well as parents and teens. Whether you’re a CEO concerned about payroll, or a caretaker wondering how to handle your parent’s latest medical crisis , fear of the unknown can absorb far too much of your time and energy. Not knowing what will happen and then projecting worry, or worse, catastrophizing, is a huge stressor for those who don’t know how to handle it. If uncertainty or the unknown has been increasing your stress load, you may find these practical stress management strategies helpful.

Here’s what you can do to handle this stressor:

1. Do a reality check. Worried about cash flow? Check your numbers carefully. Analyze receivables and projections, bills and outflow. If there truly is an issue, consider renegotiating agreements with vendors, tapping into a line of credit, or asking for help. Whenever you contract about money, make a written list of all you are grateful for right now. What are all the blessings in your life? Review them. That will shift your focus off of lack and into abundance. We create more of what we focus on.
2. Put your attention on the present moment. One of the biggest stressors is worrying about the future, of what could happen. Most of the time, we cannot control what is going on in the world; we can only control our attitude. Stay optimistic and handle what you can right now, in your immediate future. Visualize a good outcome. The more progress you make today on your highest ROI activities, the better tomorrow will be.
3. Take control of something small where you can see an immediate result. That might mean cleaning off your desk and filing all your documents. Or washing the dishes. Or completing a short report. Do something that gives you a sense of completion, and that will help you reframe your sense of futility and powerlessness. It will also get your moving physically, which shifts the negativity.
4. Analyze challenging times in your past. How did you prevail? What or who got you through them? Reference previous successes and coping strategies, and employ them now to help you deal with the most recent stressor.

Know that you are incredibly resourceful, capable and powerful, when you set your mind and heart to it. Get clear about what’s happening, ask for help, tap into your resources and previous strategies and you will thrive, no matter what the future brings.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it with others. Sign up for tips on success, employee retention, productivity, and stress relief. https://www.firedupnow.com/kindlings

©2019, Snowden McFall, Fired Up! You may reprint if you credit me with content