Be A Good Steward

I try to teach my children that if you simply manage yourself you will not only make life easier on yourself but also for those around you.  The best way to manage yourself is to be a good steward.  To be a good steward is to be fully mindful in all that we do, think, say and in how we act.  We are in control of all of those things and with that we are immensely powerful.

As a good steward I am always working to improve myself and my surroundings.  At work I greet everyone I encounter each morning with a smile and a hearty "good morning".  It sets the stage for how the rest of the day will be.  Whenever I answer my desk phone I try to really personalize the conversation by asking the caller how they are doing and using their name when I speak to them.  The same with emails and instant messaging.

I take action rather than to allow things to just happen.  If something needs to be done I will do it to the best of my ability or find someone else who can if I am unable.  If the light goes out in the ladies room I have no problem calling to get it replaced.  If someone is rude/lazy enough not to replace the toilet paper I'll do it.  When I wash my hands at the sink I do not to leave a sloppy mess behind and I make sure my paper towel ends up in the trash and not on the floor.  The company kitchen is another area that tends to get destroyed and it baffles me as to why that is, although to be completely honest I am sure if I went to the homes of the mess makers I'd see the same situation there too.  But just because someone else leaves a mess behind is no excuse for me to do so too.  It is amazing to me how much less work we create simply by picking up after ourselves.

I hold doors for people with their hands full and I thank those that hold doors open for me.  In nasty weather I wipe my feet on doormats before entering a store.  I take my shoes off before entering my friend's homes.  I pick up trash if I see it and I throw my own trash away properly.  I offer to help elderly and short people get things off the top shelf.  I smile at strangers and I don't mind talking with them either.  Sometimes just a simple smile or a kind gesture can really turn someone's day around.

I try really hard not to create a lot of trash myself.  I recycle as much as I can, limit packaging on purchases to the best of my ability and reuse items whenever possible.  We mulch, burn and compost our yard debris.  As a result we grossly overpay for trash services we don't use but that's okay because we are limiting our negative impact to the earth we live on.

It is a daily habit we've developed to be neat, tidy and pick up after ourselves at home, at work, at school, wherever we happen to be.  It makes our experiences much more pleasant as well as for those around us or those who follow after us.  We are mindful of our manners and try to be considerate of others.  I have yet to force others at the grocery store or in a restaurant to listen to one of my personal phone calls.  I don't talk my way through movies or concerts either.

With all the being said are we perfect in our actions?  Hardly.  But we try and we constantly work to improve and do better.  As long as we do that we make our world a better place to be.  We hold ourselves to a higher standard, we set examples, we create our own reality and in the process vastly improve the quality of our lives.  Can you imagine if more people did this what kind of life we would have?  It would be amazing!