building morale
Wilbur Athey is all about morale.
Always has been. Always will be.

One of the manifestations is his inspiring series of Facebook posts, which began 18 months ago as an admonition to some young friends outside Collegiate but quickly evolved into an almost-daily eye opener, pep talk, and uplifting message.
“I was having a problem with kids putting negative stuff on social media,” said Athey, a colleague for 32 years who serves as manager of set-ups and special events.
“To turn them around, I started posting positive thoughts.”
The detrimental posts ended in about a week, Athey reports, but he continued to preach the gospel of positivity.
He hasn’t stopped yet.
His entries follow no rigid format. They’re often stream-of-consciousness vignettes triggered by conversations he’s had, news he’s heard, or random thoughts that pop into his head as he hustles about his day.
At last check, his Facebook Family numbered 465.
All benefit from his wisdom.
A few examples, culled from many.
Let's be thankful!!! We all need to learn to be appreciative and grateful for everything we have and everything we are going to receive. If we stop and look around, we would find endless things we have that others may not be as fortunate to have. We should be happy that we have good health, jobs, food on the table, a roof over our head, a car to drive, and clothes on our back. Life is too short to waste our time thinking about what we don't have. Things that truly provide happiness are usually right in front of us. So let's be thankful and have a great day.
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Family is a group of people who loves us and shapes and molds us with knowledge. Family is there when no one else is around. If we build our bond as a family of love and trust and focus on each other’s needs, the experiences in life and choices we make to do better grow into a lifetime of memories, Love, and Happiness. Nothing beats the love of a family.
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Why do we worry about what others think about us? Don't take things too personally. Don't let others guide you on how to do things. Be authentic. Let people see the real you. Let them judge you. It's good for self-knowledge. When being yourself, people see you at your best. This will make them think good things about you, and the few that don't will not matter anyway. Be open to what they think and feel and consider their opinions, but you decide for yourself how to act.
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Believe in yourself, set expectations, and know your values in life. Be a good person through your actions, have a positive attitude toward other people, and they will respond positively towards you. Your vision of yourself and your life is your greatest asset, so make it a good one and use it wisely. Use every bit of your belief to fuel yourself to take action towards your dream. If you believe you can achieve that dream, trust me you will. Once you believe, your mindset will be set for you to succeed.
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Before we compare ourselves with others, we must win the battle with ourselves. Let us strive to be better today than we were yesterday, and let's be better tomorrow than we are today. There is no one as strong as a person whose heart is filled with gratitude. The quality of our lives depends on our state of mind, so let's have a clear state of mind today. Today let's lead a life in which we are inspired and can inspire others. Even though the sun is not shining right now, a smile can brighten someone's day, so smile and have a great day.
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We all have a path in our lives that will take us exactly where we want to go. That path is there in all of our lives, but too often it goes undiscovered or overgrown with many distractions in our everyday activities, and it becomes hard to find because we have way too many things to do. We must not forget that our path exists, it will never be on any road map, but we must find our way. So as we journey along our path, be reminded that the old will become the new and our moment to shine is right around the corner.
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Life will throw us our share of curveballs. It's our choice and reaction that we can either get hit by the curve ball, swing and miss it, lean into it, or knock it out the park. There is no escape from these curve balls. Every one of us will encounter them whether we are rich, poor, young, old, successful or struggling, but it's how we choose to react to it.
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We all have to cope with the unexpected in our lives, whether we lose someone or something very precious to us. Grief can be intense, and it can and will affect all of us differently. We will have a lot of unanswered questions that could haunt us for days to come. Our lives will change and things may never feel the same again. Never be afraid to cry even if it's something you usually don't do. Please know that there is no right or wrong way to feel or express pain. Your thoughts do not need to be coherent or reasoned. They just need to be expressed. The secret to our lives is making our story as beautiful as it can be. As the pages take us through time, remember each new day is a blank page, and we control what is written about us that day, and what we want people to remember about us. Remember that Goodness will always be rewarded!!
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I got something fun for you today. I want you to give it a try. SMILE. It's not hard to do. Smiling is contagious. It changes our mood. It relieves stress. It lowers blood pressure. It makes you look younger and attractive, and the kicker...It's FREE. Doesn't cost a dime. When we smile we light up the room. Today let's smile. Just do it and see the results.
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Parenting has so many purposes in a child’s life. We have to be their guide, love them unconditionally, teach them good values, protect them from harm’s way, and support them throughout their lives. We made that choice to be parents, so we must accept the consequence of that choice. Being a parent is no easy task. We need to teach them that all people, including themselves, are imperfect. We will all make mistakes throughout our lives, but we learn from our mistakes. A parent’s relationship with their child/children will reflect their actions and behavior. We need to have a good relationship with our kids so that they will listen and trust what we say to them. We need to create our own quality time with them, play with them, read to them, and create lasting memories for them.
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Here is a five-letter word that packs a powerful punch in all of our lives: "TRUST.” Trust is the glue that bonds people together. Trust enables relationships to develop and flourish. Our actions must match our words. Trust is a fragile element in our lives and in a relationship. It comes from the nature of conversational engagement with others, so if you say you are going to do something, do it and people will trust your words and actions. Have a great day.

