Slides from MHS Baccalaureate Message at College Wesleyan Church, June 5, 2014
Collection of Notes from students, Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture," , and Neil
Neil Pasricha's Ted Talk, the 3 A's of Awesome, and a few words of my own.
5. Today’s Talk
Philippians 4:8
“ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever
is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think
about such things.”
7. Dwell on the Positive
And this will bring you JOY.
8. Why ? Research SAYS
By studying the personalities of identical twins
they've found that about
50 percent of our happiness -- or unhappiness -- can
be traced to our genes.
40 percent we can control with our daily thoughts
and actions
10 percent is related to our life circumstances, such
as where we live, how much money we have, our
marital status, or looks
9. Think About That!
40 percent of our happiness "is left for the
intentional activities that we can choose to
engage in -- the things that we do and think
every day of our lives.”
10. Back to the Bible Philippians 4:8
“ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever
is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think
about such things.”
You can TAKE ACTION to change the
way you feel, regardless of your life
circumstances.
11. HOW do we Do This? What ARE
those Intentional Activities?
Guess what’s written in the notes
you took four years ago?
Some Words to Live By…
15. ***HAVE FUN!!! Decide early on if
you are enthusiastic, energetic,
curious, optimistic and have fun.
Never underestimate the importance of
fun. Choose to have fun. Have fun while
learning something hard. Randy says, “I
don’t know how to not have fun. I’m dying
soon and I’m choosing to have fun today,
tomorrow, and every other day I have left.”
17. Whatever is TRUE: Attitude
By dwelling on what he called “awesome things” he put
himself in a better mood. Sometimes it's easy to forget the
things that make us smile. Sometimes it's tempting to feel the
world is falling apart. But awesome things are all around us:
• Hitting a bunch of green lights in a row on the Bypass
• Breadstick Tuesday (well, it used to be that way)
• Waking up and realizing it's Saturday
• Being the first table called up to the dinner buffet at a
wedding
• When the cashier opens a new lane at the grocery store
@1000awesome
18. Whatever is TRUE: Attitude
Having a great attitude is a choice, in spite
of a bad day or situation, it’s a choice to
have faith that “this too shall pass.”
THERE ARE TIMES… Life is HARD.
19. You can’t change the cards
that are dealt, just the way you
play the hand.
20. Whatever is Noble, Right…
TIME - Are you spending your time on the
right things?
Randy said, “The key question to keep asking
is, Are you spending your time on the right
things? Because time is all you have.”
21. Whatever is Noble, Right…
Put time into people. Put the phones down. If
you’re watching TV with your family or friends, put
the phones down - be engaged with THAT moment.
At the graduation parties - don’t be sitting around
playing candy crush - that’s not what you’ll
remember.
Stay connected with people. That takes time and
effort but technology makes that more possible. Your
parents need to hear from you. They are probably
paying for your phones. Pick up when they call.
22. Research Fact: Beware of Social Media
ABC news just reported
“Everyday Facebook use leads to declines in
subjective well-being, both how happy you
feel moment to moment and how satisfied
you feel with your life," says Ethan Kross, an
assistant professor of psychology at the
University of Michigan.
Studies show that higher rates of Facebook
lead to an overall decline in happiness
amongst young adults.
23. Whatever is Noble, Right…
AWARENESS. This includes being in the moment.
Giving full attention to whatever is happening.
Start noticing those things - those 1000
awesome thing.
That moment coming up this Sunday when you are
told to lift your tassel…Savor it.
*Treasure the moments you are about to have with
friends and family who want to celebrate you.
25. Practice Gratitude
***Research shows if you actually list
one thing you are grateful for every
night for three weeks, the chemistry of
your brain literally changes to a
‘happier’ state equivalent to taking an
antidepressant.
26.
27. Show Gratitude
The “Thank You” Note – You’ll have plenty of
opportunities coming up to practice showing
gratitude. Instead of thinking of the thank you’s
as a chore, be thankful you have an occasion to
write one.
Think about the people in your life who love
and support you. Count them as blessings.
Thank them for what they’ve meant in your
life.
Whatever is right…
28. Whatever is Noble, Right…
AUTHENTICY. Live with Integrity.
-Tell the truth
-Do the RIGHT thing - it will help you
sleep at night.
-Apologize (A good apology has 3 parts)
• I’m sorry,
• It was my fault
• How do I make it right - (most skip that part)
32. Other Notes
Be good at something: it makes you
valuable
Work hard … Be prepared: “luck” is
where preparation meets opportunity
Find the best in everybody; no matter
how you have to wait for them to show it
33. Other Notes
Loyalty is a two-way street
Ladies: When it comes to men
who are romantically interested
in you. Completely ignore
everything they say and pay
attention to everything they do.
34. Other Notes
When you don’t get what you
want, you learn from that
experience.
Always Help Others
Get a feedback loop; then listen to
it.
35. My Own Little Gems
Be the bigger person (that’s hard
sometimes)
36. My Own Little Gems
Be the Light – We Have Enough Darkness
Trust God. Do Your Best to Seek his Plan
for Your Life.
Learn to be a Giver, rather than a Taker
It’s not enough to be Smart.
Have Initiative – Be a self starter and
Follow through! Do what you say you are
going to do.
37. My Own Little Gems
Sleep on it (before you send that letter) –
the bigger person probably wouldn’t send
the letter.
It’s not enough to be Smart.
Never stop Learning! Follow us on
Twitter @giantslibrary
39. You are Beginning a New Journey.
"It's not about how to achieve
your dreams. It's about how to
lead your life. If you lead your
life the right way, the karma will
take care of itself. The dreams
will come to you." Randy
Pausch
40. One More Look
Philippians 4:8
“ Finally, brothers, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable- if anything is
excellent or praiseworthy-
think about such things.”
42. The Good News is…
You are already well on your
way to doing those things…
or you wouldn’t be here
tonight.
43. …Think about Such Things
Philippians 4:8
“ Finally, brothers, WHATEVER is true, WHATEVER is noble,
WHATEVER I s right, WHATEVER is pure, WHATEVER is lovely,
WHATEVER is admirable-
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”
To Help You Do This
See Bookmark
44. This weekend…
Don’t just go through the motions.
Stop and think to yourself, I want to
remember THIS moment. And this
one…and this one…
Choose to find the Joy
And whenever you are tempted to
say ‘Whatever,’
Think of this Verse
Congratulations Class of 2014!
Hinweis der Redaktion
Good Evening - I’m so honored to be here and will be so relieved when my part is over:)
This upcoming weekend is one of those milestones in your life, in the lives of your parents All the work you’ve put in, all the work they have put in to get to this point - it all culminates in a milestone ceremony this Sunday. This is just the beginning of recognition and celebration that will take place. It is a time to celebrate your past - to reflect on the highlights, to look forward toward your future. It’s a time to reflect on the NOW WHAT?
I’ve been thinking of what I could say in a few minutes that would make a difference. I don’t remember anything from my own graduation - in 1975! I’ve asked several people if they remembered anything from theirs - nope. I did some research (of course) - graduation speeches & sermons - I’ve watched hundreds of minutes of Ted Talks (inspirational talks), PBS Videos - there’s a new one about being Happy - I discovered there is actually a Science to it: - It is fascinating. Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness. After studying so much info about being successful, what makes us happy, what give us joy, If I don’t get happier by the end of this, I’m going to be in trouble. one of my favorite Bible Verses together with an assignment that I had many of you do at the end of your 8th grade year, one of my friends suggested I might be a hoarder, an assignment where You were asked to take notes and star important advice/lessons you’d like to remember. I thought it would be very fitting for you to hear, four years later, what YOU thought would be important advice for your future.
A few years back, it was popular for kids to say “whatever.’ it usually wasn’t good when they said that lol
Some clever marketer turned it around to be a good thing in one of my favorite verses.
I’ve built this talk around one of my favorite Bible verses – a little verse that says so much with so little.
I’ve built this little talk around one of my favorite Bible Verses
Apply this to today
They have the same DNA," explained Lyubomirsky, "and so to try to explain why one is happier than the other you have to kind of look at other factors."We really see major differences between the level of optimism that they have," One reason for the happiness difference between the twins is their outlook on life.
Choose to SEE these and it will make a difference.
Say more personal things here…
Some of you have had decisions made for you that you wouldn’t have chosen.
Story of Video Chat with Riley.
Ironic. We are living in a new frontier. We don’t know fully the effects of all the time we spend on Social Media
Be careful: Research says multi-tasking, esp. with social media is robbing us of joy.
You are never to Old to Go to Disney and be in the Magic Kingdom lol!
You’ll be expected to write the thank you notes. Those notes are an opportunity to think about the people in your life who love and support you. Count them as blessings. Instead of thinking of the thank you’s as a chore, be thankful you have an occasion to write one.
Some of my most treasured possessions are handwritten notes from former students - or out-of-the-blue facebook notes thanking me for something I’d long forgotten.
When you don’t do the right thing, apologize
Rest of the Verse
Nearly everyone starred this one.
Divorce – that’s huge. Many are having two parties – but you can’t have two weddings. Get along for the sake of the children.
People are going to ask you – what are you going to do? You’re starting all over. Few are going to care about your GPA. Your character counts…
People are going to ask you – what are you going to do? You’re starting all over. Few are going to care about your GPA. Your character counts…