Here’s what Amber Escudero-Kontostathis who was struck by lightning in early August near The White House says according to a New York Times account:

Her heart stopped twice, her nerves continue to misfire, her foot sometimes feels like it is bare in snow and on the worst days there are 10,000 grains of salt moving through each pore of her feet – she walks with a walker and grieves three others standing beside her who were not as fortunate.

Her response is always – “I’m grateful, I’m grateful”.

Gratitude is not just a word, it’s a way of life that relieves the pain of adversity when it strikes.

A new study says most families only have dinner together 3 out of 7 days a week.

Wash your hands, don’t talk with a full mouth, don’t slurp your food or drink, chew with your mouth closed and don’t make noises with eating utensils remain the same etiquette but phone distractions are not studied.

Most want more dinners together but they can’t make them happen.

If there is one thing that must not be disrupted, it’s the entire family dining and talking together.

Self-silencing is repressing your feelings when they could threaten relationships or security and on-the-surface appearing agreeable.

I see it in my young students who are very concerned about affecting relationships by saying too much so they hang back.

An alternative to self-silencing is the good use of human relations – there is almost nothing that cannot be communicated in a civil way.

Asking questions instead of making comments is my favorite when feelings are in play – through questions you can make yourself clear and you get great input from others.

“A champion is defined not by their wins, but by how they can recover when they fail.” — Serena Williams

The Nonconformist reminds us that Bill Gates who founded and built the mighty Microsoft first flopped with a company called Traf-O-Data.

He reflected many years later in 2017 that failing helped him understand microprocessors which turned out to be crucial for the success of Microsoft.

Adversity is an opportunity to get better.

Don’t allow expectations to get too high.

Amp up your motivation to succeed.

Avoid the ups and downs of missed expectations.

The power to make choices is always the way back from adversity.

Whatever it was – however it hurts – it happened.

Now what are you going to do about it?

The past is the past but where you go from here is the power to choose.

When a baseball player is in a slump and they fail to get on base, strike out a lot or see their batting average decline, you would think they would dread their next at-bat.

But it works the other way.

They can’t wait to get a crack at it again – even if they fail some more until they figure out how to get back on track.

Now that’s worth borrowing in our everyday lives.

Avram Alpert sees it as a more reachable option than personal quests for greatness – in a sense it is about aiming lower for more happiness; you don’t have to pursue greatness to live a good life.

Another option is to look at life like a sporting event.

You wouldn’t play a major league baseball game to play less than your best, give 100%, learning when you lose, taking satisfaction when you win – relishing what’s next.

“…over time I learned that I can choose how to respond to the past. I can be miserable, or I can be hopeful — I can be depressed, or I can be happy.  We always have that choice, that opportunity for control.  I’m here, this is now, I have learned to tell myself, over and over, until the panicky feeling begins to ease” – Edith Eger

NOTE:  I am going to take a few days off to recharge my batteries before NYU resumes classes again in a few weeks.  This seems like a good time.  See you in a few days — Monday August 22.

The winner of the recent $1.28 billion Mega Millions Jackpot can take it in a lump sum of $433 million after taxes.

Financial consultant Don McNay who wrote Life Lessons from the Lottery says even large sums of money cause unhappiness, winners wind up broke, commit suicide, run through their money (easy come, easy go) and go through divorce”.

Happiness does not come from the outside, but from the inside.

All the money, success and recognition in the world can’t buy happiness — searching for happiness externally will always deliver disappointment.

The happiness lottery is won by every person with a losing ticket who can be grateful for all they have.