Talking Points:

• Joy is the love for life and those around you that can’t be dictated by an outside source. Joy differs from happiness in the sense that joy doesn’t depend on your circumstances or surroundings in life.
• You can be a joyful person, even when you’re going through hard times because you can see the bigger picture.
• Get more joy in your life by being thankful for what you have, surrounding yourself with joyful people and serving others. 

Talking Points:

• Self-control is choosing what’s right when you’re tempted not to. You have to resist and ignore your initial impulses and have the ability to stop yourself before reacting inappropriately in a given situation.
• Everyone struggles with temptations, but people who learn self-control can fight them. Self-control will also better your relationships with people, and they will respect you more because of your self-control.
• Use these three steps to improve your self-control:
  • Take a timeout. When you’re frustrated, take a moment and cool down before acting on anything. Gather your thoughts and think of an appropriate way to handle the situation.
  • Zoom out. Look at the bigger picture in and realize that this one event isn’t all there is.
  • Exercise. Practice self-control in small situations so that when in big situations come, you’re ready.

Talking Points:

• Ownership means taking responsibility for your part. It means holding yourself accountable for the things that you did (or didn’t do!) and not blaming anyone else.
• Not owning up to your actions and pointing fingers makes people lose respect for you.
• Try these steps next time you need to own up:
  • Admit where you finger-point and take more ownership in those areas.
  • Balance your perspective by seeing situations from multiple angles.
  • Commit to stop making excuses in at least one area of your life.

Talking Points:

• Diligence is about working hard and never giving up.
• Diligence helps you to develop good habits that will carry you through your life. 
• How to get more diligent:
  • First, don’t procrastinate. Know what you need to accomplish each day and make sure it happens.
  • Second: Set goals of what you would like the accomplish. More specifically, set a long-term goal as well as some short-term goals that will help you reach your overall goal.
  • Third: push yourself. In every situation there is an easy way out. Choose the hard way because in the long run the hard stuff is what will strengthen you by building your skills and character. You’ll be better off for it in the long-run.

Talking Points:

• Wisdom is knowing what’s right and acting on it. Wisdom is about good decision-making.
• Gaining wisdom means being thoughtful and patient. Use the W.I.S.E acronym.
  • W: Wait – don’t rush into any major decision.

    I: Inspect – what is your “good angel” on your shoulder telling you?

    S: Select –  Make your best decision, and take ownership of it.

    E: Encode – Remember this for next time you need to make a decision

Talking Points:

• Courage is facing your fears when you want to run.
• Courage helps you to stand up in the face of fear. Instead of running from things, you step up and face up to the challenge.
• Three simple steps to help you be more courageous:
  1. Identify where you are lacking courage and where you’re strongest at it.
  2. Try new things. Start small, even if it’s just ordering something different at a restaurant. Step out of your comfort zone.
  3. Stand up for beliefs. It takes courage to stay true to yourself when others don’t want you to.

Talking Points:

• Love is elevating others above oneself. Love should not be limited to words. Actions show true love. It’s easy to say you love someone, but truly loving them is shown through consistent practice of compassion.
• Without love, you can’t have real relationships with people. By loving other people, you make them feel valuable, and hopefully they’re return the favor! 
• To be more loving, pay attention what the other person needs, give freely without expecting anything in return and discover the love language of the other person and start loving them in their language.

Talking Points:

• Respect is about valuing someone as a human being.
• Being respectful will help you to garner favor with others and people will want to hear what you have to say.
• How to show respect:
  • Listen. It is always good to listen to whatever someone has to say. Listening is the easiest way to show someone respect.
  • Encourage. Encouraging others helps them feel important and respected. This can be as simple as saying a few uplifting words or even a smile.
  • Be Helpful. If someone you know is struggling, it is always good to lend a  helping hand. Even if they are not your favorite person in the world, it is good to show your respect by giving them some assistance.

Talking Points:

• Patience is enduring, often under difficult circumstances, and hopefully without complaining.
• We need to have patience with people and with difficult circumstances in life. Things don’t always work out on our timeline or the way we want.
• Grow patience in your life by being aware of what causes you to be impatient, find the positives in those situations and be okay with feeling uncomfortable from time to time.

Talking Points:

• Gratitude is appreciating what you have and who gave it.
• Gratitude helps us to be positive in life and enables us to appreciate all that we have.
• Ways to show gratitude:
  • Look for areas in your life that you are thankful for. Start simple, like the fact that you have a roof over your head and food to eat.
  • Give at least one compliment a day. Instead of complaining about how hot it is outside, talk about how good of a day it is to go swimming, for example.
  • Keep a gratitude journal. Look for one thing in you life that you are thankful for every day, then write it down. It is a great thing to go and look back on when you are having a rough day.

Talking Points:

• Generosity is giving willingly beyond your comfort zone and not expecting anything in return.
• Generous people make the world a way better place to live. Generous people are usually well-liked for a reason, and it’s because they are genuinely caring about those around them and not just looking out for themselves.
• Look to become more generous in your life and it doesn’t just have to be about money. You can be generous with your time and talents.
  • Identify some areas in your life in which you may lack in generosity. Why are these areas lacking? Who’s a generous person in your life that you can try to emulate?
  • Develop those areas where you may be lacking in generosity. Make an effort everyday to consciously focus on and do little things throughout your day to improve those areas.
  • Surround yourself with generous people. It’s a lot easier to be a generous person when everyone else around you is striving to be the same.

Talking Points:

• Loyalty is staying committed through adversity, putting in the work, and staying with it. With loyalty comes a lot of faith in a person or idea.
• Loyalty is important because it is a key aspect of having strong and healthy relationships. This goes beyond just being loyal in romantic relationships, and extends to your relationships with your friends and family. Without loyalty, there isn’t really much of a relationship.
• 3 Steps to loyalty:
  • Identify three of your most truly loyal friends.
  • Ask why they are your most loyal friends? What do they do that makes them “loyal?”
  • Replicate their behavior in you in your own life.

Talking Points:

• Forgiveness is “extending grace when it’s not expected.” Forgiveness is a gift that you give to someone whether they’ve asked for it or deserve it.
• Without forgiveness, people begin to form grudges and grudges become toxic and unhealthy both physically and mentally.
• Here are the four things you can give to help you be more forgiving:
  • Respect.
  • Acceptance.
  • Love.
  • Self Control.