Collecting The Goodness I Notice

One of my favorite things about this whole "Noticing" thing is the overwhelming feeling of gratitude that I have just thinking about all of the people that I have gotten to personally Notice. It just makes me soooo happy!!!

If you are one of those people ...

Thank you for being your AMAZING self!!! My life is better because I know you!!!

So many of you sweet humans who I Noticed went on to create your own ripples by Noticing the AMAZING people in your own lives. Which led to more and more ripples. I may have started Noticing with a capital N, but it has certainly been a group effort and I am so tickled imagining everyone in the world who has been Noticed.

Did you know that The Noticed Network will celebrate its 10th Anniversary this year??? That's 10 years of creating ripples of goodness :)

You may already know the story, so I'll keep my reflection short, but did you know that this whole "Noticing" thing started with me making a list of the women I wanted to Notice? Yep. At first, I thought Noticing was just for women (luckily I figured out pretty quickly that Noticing is for all people of all ages), and I sat down and made a list of all of the women in my life that I wanted to Notice.

There were over 250 women on that first list!!!

Some of these women I had known my whole life, some long-time friends, and some new friends, some I didn't know well at all. The one thing that each of them had in common was that they had impacted my life in some positive way and I was grateful for that.

With each name that I wrote on that first list I thought about who that person was to me -- how she had impacted my life. What I didn't realize at the time was I was changing my own heart and mind by calling their goodness to mind.

That list (including all of the people I have gotten the opportunity to Notice since) is one of my greatest treasures.

Some people collect coins or stamps (Do people still collect stamps? LOL), I collect the goodness that I've Noticed. I actually keep that list, along with so many other special gifts in my treasure cabinet in my office. (Some people keep a treasure box but not me :) I have been blessed with so many sweet and thoughtful gifts from the AMAZIMG humans in my life that I need a treasure cabinet.

As I am continuing to pursue the study of human behavior, communication, relationships, business, social emotional learning -- LIFE 101 -- I understand clearly why Noticing has impacted my life in such a positive way.

Though I think I have a natural tendency to enjoy and be good at Noticing, it is a skill set and a practice, and we get good at what we practice. I have trained myself to Notice goodness. Not unlike Pavlov's Dog I get a reward for Noticing goodness. It feels good. The neural pathways in my brain are now very efficient, and my Reticular Activating System is always on the lookout for the goodness that's just waiting to be Noticed.

It always tickles me when science can explain what we inherently know as true. There's some really sophisticated research out there to validate why Noticing makes our lives and the lives of the people around us better, and one of my favorite examples was shared by Soul Pancake a few years ago (ok, so maybe it's not super sophisticated, but he is wearing a lab coat LOL)

I tear up every time I watch it.

I love how it is such a great example of how each person can share authentically in their own way, and when it's heartfelt like that it just means so much!

I wonder how many times the participants of this video have re-watched it.

Getting to experience it over and over again helps it anchor. That is why I created the Noticed Keychain and other Noticed products. That is why Noticing with a capital N really is as simple as sharing a heartfelt compliment and a tangible reminder to anchor for the recipient that they have been seen, heard, and that they matter.

So many people have shared their stories of how seeing the Noticed Keychain everyday has reminded them of their goodness and the kindness of the person who Noticed them. People have shared that it gets caught on the grocery store cart at just the right moment when a gentle reminder is needed.

These sweet little Noticed reminders have also been reported to help people remember to be on the lookout for goodness in the people around them. That's why we call it "ripples of goodness".

So, as I reflect on the impact of Noticing in my own life over the past 10 years I am so very grateful! This has been an AMAZING adventure so far! At this point over 30,000 people have been Noticed. That's more people than the official capacity of Madison Square Garden!!!

I imagine the faces of all of the people who have been Noticed, and among the crowd are the women on that first list, and every man, woman, and child that I've gotten to personally Notice since. Just thinking of all the people that I am grateful for makes me happier. And sharing that gratitude makes me even happier!

I love sharing the power and the skillset of Noticing. At the heart of it is my pure desire to love the whole world. The crazy cool thing about Noticing though is that it blesses the Noticer just as much or more than the person who is Noticed. It has been such a gift to have a list of so many good people. To know that they each have their own special way about them. To see their goodness and know that specific goodness is a part of my life.

I want to invite you to create your own list of people you are grateful for. You can do it in your journal or if you'd like to use it I have created a free digital resource, and it is available in our store.

Another really cool thing about the concept of collecting the goodness you've Noticed is that the list is always growing. I recently did some Noticing via mail to new connections that I've made over Zoom during this past year (and I still have more I can't wait to get sent),

And just last weekend I Noticed Ethan, the Deli Manager at Russ's Market in Lincoln, NE for being a ROCK STAR and taking such good care of us :) I'm adding these gems to my list!!!

Every night before I fall asleep I practice Noticing goodness by calling to mind:

• 3 good things I've Noticed about myself

• 3 good things I've Noticed about others, and

• 3 good things I've Noticed about the world

(There is a free resource in our store to help with this practice too if you'd like :)

Collecting goodness makes me happy and I bet if you've read this post it makes you happy too :) That's something else I love about The Noticed Network -- we are connected by the mission of helping people Notice the goodness in ourselves & others, and that commitment can't help but make us happier. We just see things differently <3