The Reminder

What does the pandemic, the current political situation in the United States of America, the disparity in financial distribution, and an alarm clock have in common? Reminders, but not just any reminders. Therefore, the common truth of having reminders day in and day out is important for us to grow from our challenges in life.

Many of us know of these types of reminders in our lives; so much so that we forget or largely ignore them due to the mediocrity of what they serve. Here's some of the more common reminders:

• Post-It Notes
• Writing on Calendar
• Timed Notes
• Notepads

However, from these common tools, we tend to overlook the benefits of using them to their fullest potential.

Let's start with the easiest of them, Post-It Notes. These sticky little things are constantly everywhere; most often associated with office workers that either try to micromanage certain tasks, or just throw out things to do at the last possible minute. First, it's important to realize that having these things are designed to give little reminders for what to do or what needs to be done. That's not a bad thing, so long as there is a handle on how often these are written. Only use Post-Its to deal with either an immediate task or some task that will need to get done that day.

Next up is Calendars. Much like the Post-Its, it's often used to make a specific day's events noticed. It also helps in facilitate a 'sense of urgency' to see tasks completed. Where this is overlooked is two-fold: that you HAVE time available thus delaying completion, and that you focus on the one task on the calendar instead of multiple tasks that need completion throughout each day. How you can combine this with Post-It notes is making an effort to use the calendar as a reference point to the notes themselves. A kind of "See Post-Its" per chance. Where one draws distinction from this is the use for this calendar as a time factor, acknowledging the need to complete a set of tasks inside a timeframe while also acknowledging the tasks done day to day. Time management skills take shape by doing this one action alone.

This leads into timed notes themselves. The technical terms is simply "deadlines" but these notes are given a slightly higher priority only due to the need to complete them above all. One thing to note: if everything is a Priority, then nothing is a priority and nothing gets done. This is what causes problems in completing tasks, unnecessary delays, and ultimately, failures and cancellations. If you must set a priority, continue to see them as something that can be done during that day. Next of course is the time that each note requires, such as an hour or 5 minutes, to give a few examples going.

These are the more memorable for what has happened in order to get them. These are the occasional "Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." Though not every mistake is something we WISH to remember. In fact, it's sometimes the troublesome, nay, traumatic mistakes that makes us mindful to prevent such actions in the future.

I have no business in delving into the history of my dear Readers, but each and every one of us have some things that are best kept in the past, but must also be a constant reminder to not repeat that mistake. We discovered a truth from those moments, and as such, we need to apply the lessons learned from that truth to become better people.

Failure to learn from these truths will inevitably leave us in either the same place as what put us there in the first place, or in an even WORSE position than before. Going backwards is never the way to go in life, so never forsake the lessons of mistakes; the neglect is detrimental, if not fatal.

While the previous section was a bit depressing, it leads to a much often overlooked reminder. The reminder of gratitude and understanding how well off we are. A simple "Thank You" to yourself, to others, to the circumstances in life.

Many underestimate the value and appreciation of gratitude and simply feel that saying "thank you" is beneath them. There are some that simply have bad experiences and have lost the incentive to show gratitude; perhaps they see this as weakness towards those that did them wrong. But the opposite is true. You are not showing gratitude to them, per say, but the simple truth of getting through the day, not matter how bad it is.

There is a blessing in showing thanks as well. It serves as a reminder to those around you that (on the positive side) you are grateful for the support received by others or (on the negative side) you are given newfound inspiration to strive even harder while not showing undue compromise to the point that it motivates you to not only seek better but be better yourself. Not bad for a bad experience.

This is our legacy, our mark in history, what we are remembered, and who we helped as we are left behind. It is an assessment of our mortality; the evidence of living for the descendants, be they your progeny or not, to weigh upon their lives.

Just as we discussed earlier, set aside time with simple tools such as Post-Its and Calendars. Follow up with past precedence that helped shape your today by referring to what got you HERE and let that serve as a guide (along with God's Grace and Purpose) towards your future. Finally, the ultimate reminder that your past only affects your present, but you shape your future and your descendants' futures today. There's no greater reminder than this; so don't overlook it!