My Happy Lists

Whether you are meeting your partner’s parents or extended family for the first time, you might be stressing out about impressing them.  If you are, hopefully this list will help you out a little.

Ways to Impress the In-Laws

1. Stop trying.  The harder you try to impress them, the less genuine and sincere you will be.  You’ll come off like a jerk and a fake.  So stop trying, or at least stop trying so hard.

2. Be yourself.  Assuming you are a kind, loving, and helpful person – just be yourself.  If you’re not any of those, count your blessing that you actually found someone who wants you to meet their family.

 3. Offer to help.  Offering to help is the easiest way to impress the in-laws.  You can offer to help cook, clean, serve, pick-up, run an errand, or anything else.  The simple gesture of offering your services shows people that you are outgoing and kind.  Nice work.

4. Avoid the booze.  I can’t say I’ve always been successful at this, but it would be best to avoid the booze while you’re spending time with people who haven’t had the chance to appreciate your drunken personality yet.  Give them time.

5. Leave or send a thank you note.  If they have you over for dinner or let you stay at their house, leaving or sending a thank you note is a very thoughtful and respectful gesture.  It shows them how appreciative and thoughtful you are.  Way to go.

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We’ve all been there.  You look in the rear view mirror, see those lights go on, and panic hits you.  Sometimes I blank out the previous couple minutes, was I speeding? did I run a stop sign? did I make an illegal turn?

Here are some ideas to avoid getting pulled over in the first place.

1. Drive the Speed Limit.  I know this is obvious, but if you aren’t running late, it might be something to seriously consider.  An additional benefit of following the speed limit (versus speeding) is an increase in gas mileage.  That’s a win-win reason.

2. Middle of the Pack.  Need to speed? Find a group of cars going the speed you want and hang out in the middle.  The first car is likely to trigger a cop radar, and the last car is likely to get pulled over first.  Hanging out in the middle is a safer placer to be if you need to speed.

3. Follow a Speeder. Put some distance between you and the speeder and let him trigger the radar.  The distance allows you enough time to slow down when the cop pulls out.

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We all get criticized, but sometimes criticism goes too far. Here are some ways to respond to the kind of criticism that drives you crazy.

1. Consider the Source. If you’re being criticized by someone who doesn’t matter to you, then why should their opinion matter to you?

2. Recognize online haters for what they are. And what are they? Pathetic. You know who these people are. They get their kicks out of antagonizing others. They think they’re being smart, but really they’re just acting like immature bullies. Recognize them for what they are, and don’t let their poisonous criticism get to you.

3. Just because someone is an “expert” doesn’t make them right. Granted, some criticism you receive may be accurate, but don’t take nasty criticism to heart just because the person dishing it out is perceived as an expert. Other people may bow down to them, but you don’t have to.

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