Giving back to my community has always been placed at high value in my life. Starting when I was a young girl I was asked to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis, I remember being told I had raised the second highest in the town of Campbell River, BC and I was only in grade 4.

     When I moved to Vancouver, BC in 2003 I joined my family in raising money for the Canadian Cancer Foundation, which now has been a yearly tradition ever since. Every year my family participates in the Relay for Life to raise money for cancer. In addition, in high school I was a member of grad committee, within this committee I helped raise money for our grad year so we could have a dry grad, prom and special grad events. I knew if we raised enough money it would minimize students from having to pay a lot from their own pockets. Including me who was being raised by a single mom trying to make ends meet and making sure I could participate in everything the rest of my peers were participating in. She did her best to make sure that I could have the best grad year possible!

     Nevertheless, last year I wanted to pursue my own personal goal in contributing and giving back to the community. In November 2012, I was elected as the Educator Coordinator for the Counselling and Education student club, at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. At this time I was volunteering in a local elementary school in Surrey, BC. During my volunteer experience I would go out at recess where I would have the best interactions with different members of the school. Furthermore, a particular recess in November 2013 was an “Ah ha” moment for me when I realized that not everyone in this school was bringing a snack or even had a lunch in their bag for lunch time.  These moments inspired me to collaborate with the school I was volunteering with and the club that I was involved in. I knew Christmas was around the corner so I thought if I was able to fundraise enough money and collaborate with the Vice Principal I could donate money through grocery gift cards to families in need.  The week leading up to the fundraiser we had hardly raised $100 and I was very disappointed in myself and felt that $100 could hardly help enough students, I wanted to get to at least $200. Within this week I tried my best to contact as much individuals in my social network.  I had texted my family, friends and co-workers to try to promote the fundraiser event. The day of the event we decided to incorporate a coin toss. At the end of the night I had calculated how much we had made and it was $917.25. I was in tears to know that 3 days before the event we were hardly at $100. The quote that sticks with me to this day is “you can’t help everyone, but you can help someone.” I was happy that my goal for our fundraiser went from $100 to $917.25. However, I was even happier to learn that I was able to contribute to families to have food on their plates for Christmas dinner. The Vice Principal at this school met with me after making all the phone calls home, to let certain parents know they would receive a grocery gift card this Christmas, donated to the school. She had told me that a few parents were in tears when they found out. One parent mentioned “sometimes I have to decide if I am going to buy gifts for the kids or dinner on their plates; this year I can do both.” This comment made me and the Vice Principal in tears especially because both of us came from single family homes. I was overwhelmed with joy to make an impact in the community I was involved with.

     This year I have been a little busy with school. However, busy is not an excuse. Everyone claims they are busy. Busy is the new norm.  As David Truss stated “busy is not a badge of honor.”  I have a passion to want to make a much greater impact in my community and to do this on a yearly basis if possible. I have decided to spend Christmas morning of 2014 to deliver hot coffee to the downtown eastside. I am hoping to reach out to my network in receiving donations of $2 to donate towards a coffee that will go to individuals in the downtown eastside, on Christmas Morning.  Although I have yet to promote this fundraiser I hope to reach out to my networks through word of mouth and be able to donate at least 50 cups of coffee. I will continue to know that “I can’t help everyone, but I can help someone.”

     My mission in creating this blog was to reach out to YOU and hope you too can strive for what you are passionate in doing and what you believe in; my passion is making impacts in the communities I am involved in.

     I would love to hear what inspires you? What are you currently doing to impact your own community? Please leave a comment so I can be inspired by your ideas.

   
     An authentic life with flow, zest, and gratitude is meaningful, engaging and pleasant.  In order to want to optimize life we have to be willing to want to promote happiness into our lives.  However, becoming happier and maintaining happiness is not easy, it takes work (Peterson, 2006).  Optimism begins with a changing your attitude into expecting a desirable future.  An optimistic life for me leads into waking up every day, being excited and full of energy, otherwise known as zest.  Moreover, it opens a window of feeling gratitude for everything you have in your life and appreciating the meaningful moments of your life.  Below I will discuss my present and preferred future into optimizing the quality of my life.

     My maximizing present involves continuing to give thanks through experiencing and expressing gratitude.  I will continue to be grateful for the individuals who are around me.  Gratitude is positive for both the recipient and the giver because the recipient is grateful for being the recipient of gratefulness and the giver is grateful for acknowledging the recipient was in need of, or worthy of benefit (Emmons, 2007).  Emmons (2007) suggest that those who regularly practice positive thinking reap emotional, interpersonal and personal benefits.  Therefore, I will continue to practice gratitude in my present life.

      Furthermore, in my maximizing present I intend to continue to spread the wisdoms of “ARK” (Acts of Random Kindness).  I had the opportunity as project manager at Sunset Community Center every Monday for eight weeks of day-camp to teach the acronym “ARK” to an average of 40 new kids a week between the ages of 5-12 years old.  Also, I ran an “ARK” activity with some Vancouver City Day-Camp staff and discussed with them the power of ARK.  Every day for eight weeks before children and staff went home we  placed our hands all in the middle of the carpet piling on top of each other’s hands and yelled “Longevity” on the count of three. Completing these activities with the children and staff at my work has enhanced my work environment through building positive relationships with the kids and staff members. Before the work day begins my staff and I go around in a circle listing one thing we are grateful for and then move on with our days activities. Not only has this enhanced my work environment, but it has left an impact on my life in general.  I leave work in a mental and physical positive state which makes me feel less exhausted at the end of the day, because I am grateful for a positive work environment. ARK is very important to me because it creates a different type of subjective happiness when you are helping someone else in need. It allows you to feel selfless, and continue to help others in your daily life routines. It last much longer then a personal pleasurable experience, and creates feelings of hedonism (Peterson, 2006). Moreover, it includes feelings of meaning, engagement, pleasure and victory (Peterson, 2006).  This summer I have felt so much intrinsic motivation to wake up in the morning to go to work, and during my workday I have felt a flush of flow making a whole eight hour shift fly by. Therefore, in my maximizing present I would like to broaden and build on my positive emotions through gratitude, ARK and living a healthy and active lifestyle.

     In addition, I will maximize my future through using the hope theory. My preferred future is to be happy.  I will be happy though having a successful career as a teacher and spreading ARK through my classroom. I need to broaden and build on many positive aspects of my life using hope theory. I hope to continue to have goals in my life and challenge myself by putting energy into my life and looking after myself through spreading positive emotions. I hope to have high subjective well-being and high life satisfaction in my career and relationships. In my life I hope to experience inner outcomes such as; enjoyment, savoring, remembering, pleasure and positive feelings (Peterson, 2006).  I do not have an end date of this time line of events because chromos otherwise known as time perspective is running out.  Life is short and changes in my life are going to begin today.  I will have to be very strict with myself and make sure I accomplish the goals I want while being happy and living everyday as if it were my last.


I would like to dedicate my first blog to a wonderful co-worker Monica Dhaliwal who helped in motivating me to create a blog and as she put it “make them live.” Thank you for savoring the gratitude exercises! I am happy I have inspired you to take ARK into your business career. Good-luck at Sauder. 
 
                                                                               

                                                                                           References

Emmons, R. (2007). Thanks: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make you Happier.  Boston, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.
 
Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology.  New York, NY: Oxford University Press