Girls know how...

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Originally uploaded by Amy Lily.

to make other girls happy. My team and I have a ritual or maybe it's just something that we know we share in common: the love of chocolate. Whenever any one of us are feeling down, we know what to buy to make each other feel better again.

So Nikita bought me a big bar of Whittikers hazelnut block... my favourite. And her favourite too.

Thank you, Nikita.

And to all my other friends, thank you too! It's good to have a shoulder to cry on, an understanding (or maybe not so) ear... whatever it is. It makes everything a little bit better.

More appreciative...

This last conference NZMS made me become a lot more relaxed about different aspects of life and being yourself. I have definitely gained the ability to thank the people that I really care about and appreciate. I first realised that I was probably not strong in the area of appreciative expression when I spoke to my team, who sometimes felt that I did not communicate these feelings and then I watched a documentary that featured some similar aspects of "Asian-ness" the inability to express in words "thanks" or "love" - parents can be especially stoic in this area.

It really made me realise something... I am someone who shows appreciation by action, a smile , a hug, a nice gesture or a gift, but actually showing it through speech can also be very satisfying... because not only does the other person know that you appreciate them (without reading your mind) it also brings you to a higher level of understanding about the good things around you.

If more of us thank the people around us for their hard work and the people who made a difference in our lives... we would be living in a much better world.

The second thing I realised? Attitude to life and situations is also very important. If you want to be confident, give yourself an attitude of confidence. ;)