Tuesday Tidbit: The Wisdom of Girl Scout Cookies

Our chief want is someone who 

will inspire us to be 

what we know we could be.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

As painful as some research can be, I thought that for the benefit of my readers, I would tough out some serious cookie eating research. It was in the name of research folks that I consumed way too many cookies to count and you faithful followers will now benefit from my painstaking efforts. This year, Girls Scouts in our area were selling "Shout Outs." This cookie is described as a Belgian Carmelized something or other. Let's cut to it, they taste like gloried graham crackers and they are freak'n delicious. But I digress. Shout Outs have a super cute cheerleader type theme and has a word design on each cookie with the following words: LEAD, BELIEVE, LEARN, CHANGE, BUILD, CREATE and INSPIRE. Pretty bold concept, no? So what did 130 calories per 4 cookies teach me?

Ok the first thing I learned is I probably didn't have to eat sleeve after sleeve of girl scout cookies to read all the words. I could have read the images on the box or just looked at the cookies. The second thing is that even eating cookies can give us reminders about being better people and living better lives.

LEAD-options do not have to include a battalion of followers or subordinates. One can lead by example. If you smile so may others.
BELIEVE-if you are a faithful type awesome, if you are not, just believing that making a genuine effort at the things you do will result in something positive can make the differences in a good day or bad day. Getting out of bed? I believe it is worthwhile, there are some folks that struggle with just getting out of bed each day because they believe that the day has nothing positive in store for them.
LEARN-Get off your high horse, you don't know it all. As long as you recognize that and are open to new and fresh approaches, you'll be able to handle whats next...CHANGE
CHANGE-icky, anyone feeling that panicky feeling yet? Yes change is hard to digest if it is not want you want, expect or feel you are equipped to handle. Change is inevitable. Once you accept that fact, then guess what YOU are in control of how you deal with it. Resisting is futile. That is not to say you have to like it, but it is far better to expect that things will change for better or worse and be prepared for an appropriate response.
BUILD-Build on your successes. Build up your peers. Build symbiotic relationships. Build your self-esteem. You do not have to be an engineer in the SCIENCE sense, but be the engineer of your own life and build something with a strong foundation, that is structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing inside and out.
CREATE-I am so not creative in the sense that I can sew, scrapebook, paint or write eloquent poetry. I am excellent at planning, creating to-do-lists, and designing days that full of rewarding activities. Find what you do best and label yourself creative. Can you make a mean omlette? Create an ice cream sundae your kids go crazy for? Can you tie a fly that trout can't pass up? Yeah, well then guess what, you are creative. Go out and use your talent and CREATE!
INSPIRE-Believe it or not, someone is watching you. The person standing behind you in the grocery line, you kids, a neighbor...someone cares what you do and are watching you for inspiration. Do you best to be your best every day and inspire others through your actions. Pick up a piece of trash and put it in a trash bin, someone may see you and be inspired to do the same.
Why I Kick A$$-I actually read each cookie before I ate it.

Thankful Three

1. For an opportunity to say goodbye to a mentor who is retiring this week
2. To have creative liberties at work when leading my staff
3. For sunny days

Disclaimer: Uh, I guess I should say something here. I was not asked to review GS cookies and I was not given any product for free. I paid my $4 (actually more like $40 on way too many boxes of cookies). I was never a girl scout and unless I am buying cookies, I generally don't do anything else to support girl scouts. I think it is totally lame that GS cookies are only offered 1x per year.