Sick of Feeling Like a Helpless Bystander? 12 Ways You (Yes, YOU) Can Help Bring Back America’s Unity
BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV, USA, September 20, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- If you’re frustrated by the dissension and angst going on at every level of government and citizen life, you’re not alone. But Elaine Parke has a rather pointed question for you: What are you doing, right now, to change it?
“People feel powerless and hopeless, but we aren’t,” insists Parke, author of The Habits of Unity: 12 Months to a Stronger America…one citizen at a time (Outskirts Press, 2021, ISBN: 978-1-977-24276-1, $21.95, www.12habits4allofus.org). “We don’t have to accept self-interest, intolerance, and incivility as the new normal. In fact, if we’re not intentionally living in ways that counter these forces, then we are part of the problem.”
Parke is convinced we can create a better, more unified America even as we drastically improve our own mental health. We don’t have to be helpless bystanders. In her book, she lays out a solution that actually works.
The idea is that everyone is focused on the same branded behavior each month. The plan is easy to put into practice. It feels good, so people want to keep doing it.
Her book’s 365 one-magic-minute-a-day motivational format is designed to serve as “mental nutrition” for readers. (“We become what we consistently think and do,” says Parke.)
Here is a glimpse of the 12-month framework:
JANUARY: Help Others
January is the beginning of a fresh new year. It’s a great time to carry on the spirit of holiday giving, hopeful celebration, and goodwill, which too often just ends abruptly.
FEBRUARY: You Count
Appropriate for Black History Month, February’s focus is on knowing that you have a purpose and were born with gifts to fill that purpose.
MARCH: Resolve Conflicts
Even if you began this month like a lion, decide to go out like a lamb. Work on calming yourself down and taking timeouts when you feel your emotional temperature rising.
APRIL: Take Care of Our Environment
What we take care of today will be preserved for future generations. This is a time for us to appreciate and enjoy the beauty of the natural world.
MAY: Be Grateful
“Be Grateful” is a perfect mental health habit for May. During this month, we celebrate both Memorial Day and Mother’s Day.
JUNE: Reach Higher
June is the month to break free from boundaries. We are able to bloom and grow in direct proportion to our willingness to dream.
JULY: Become Involved
Good citizenship is more than just voting. July is a great month to give meaning to your Fourth of July celebration by volunteering your time to a cause that is important to you.
AUGUST: Know Who You Are
August is a slower-paced month of vacations—a time to relax and also to reflect. Encourage yourself to reflect on your values and where “you” are taking your own future.
SEPTEMBER: Do Your Best
As kids go back to school and vacation season ends, it’s time to anchor our resolve and begin again. September is a good time to celebrate our contemporaries and people down through the centuries who have contributed the best of themselves to us and to the world we share.
OCTOBER: Be Patient and Listen
Let the leaves remind you to enjoy the colors of each moment and to appreciate the treasure of “moment jewels” you will find when you are patient with yourself and listen to your heart.
NOVEMBER: Show a Positive Attitude
Sometimes it is necessary to “fake it ’til we make it.” When we do, we may find that a “true” positive attitude will come about more quickly.
DECEMBER: Celebrate Community, Family, and Friends
Whether finely seamed or tattered and torn, relationships are the threads that connect us to one another.
Parke’s dream is to spark a unity revolution that rises from the ground up and sweeps across the nation.
“If we haven’t learned much else from social media, we’ve learned that shared thoughts, for good or bad, become powerful beyond measure when they reach lots of people at the same time and are repeated over and over again,” she says. “Together, we can overcome the pain of a divided America with the power of goodness.”
# # #
About the Author:
Elaine Parke, MBA, CS, CM, NSA, is the author of The Habits of Unity: 12 Months to a Stronger America…one citizen at a time. For 30 years, her scalable and evidence-driven 12 habits of social unity model has transformed several million community citizens and youth across the USA’s Midwest and in Rwanda, helping them feel more caring and connected to one another. In 1993, her monthly branded and colorful habit-forming model was deemed a “Social Invention” by the London Institute for Social Inventions.
Parke spent 25 years fine-tuning her mass-market media skills in corporate America. Then, in 1987, she redirected her focus to helping people get along better. Her first book, Join the Golden Rule Revolution: Practice One Habit…Each Month of the Year, was published in 2000. She has won many awards and recognitions for her work.
Parke is certified in public speaking, violence prevention, conflict management, and mediation, as well as meditation, and has been a popular speaker in her field of driving health and positive social and civic engagement with managed media strategies. She has been an occasional guest marketing lecturer at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Carnegie Mellon University. To learn more, please visit www.12habits4allofus.org.
About the Book:
The Habits of Unity: 12 Months to a Stronger America…one citizen at a time (Outskirts Press, 2021, ISBN: 978-1-977-24276-1, $21.95, www.12habits4allofus.org) is available at bookstores nationwide and from major online booksellers.
“People feel powerless and hopeless, but we aren’t,” insists Parke, author of The Habits of Unity: 12 Months to a Stronger America…one citizen at a time (Outskirts Press, 2021, ISBN: 978-1-977-24276-1, $21.95, www.12habits4allofus.org). “We don’t have to accept self-interest, intolerance, and incivility as the new normal. In fact, if we’re not intentionally living in ways that counter these forces, then we are part of the problem.”
Parke is convinced we can create a better, more unified America even as we drastically improve our own mental health. We don’t have to be helpless bystanders. In her book, she lays out a solution that actually works.
The idea is that everyone is focused on the same branded behavior each month. The plan is easy to put into practice. It feels good, so people want to keep doing it.
Her book’s 365 one-magic-minute-a-day motivational format is designed to serve as “mental nutrition” for readers. (“We become what we consistently think and do,” says Parke.)
Here is a glimpse of the 12-month framework:
JANUARY: Help Others
January is the beginning of a fresh new year. It’s a great time to carry on the spirit of holiday giving, hopeful celebration, and goodwill, which too often just ends abruptly.
FEBRUARY: You Count
Appropriate for Black History Month, February’s focus is on knowing that you have a purpose and were born with gifts to fill that purpose.
MARCH: Resolve Conflicts
Even if you began this month like a lion, decide to go out like a lamb. Work on calming yourself down and taking timeouts when you feel your emotional temperature rising.
APRIL: Take Care of Our Environment
What we take care of today will be preserved for future generations. This is a time for us to appreciate and enjoy the beauty of the natural world.
MAY: Be Grateful
“Be Grateful” is a perfect mental health habit for May. During this month, we celebrate both Memorial Day and Mother’s Day.
JUNE: Reach Higher
June is the month to break free from boundaries. We are able to bloom and grow in direct proportion to our willingness to dream.
JULY: Become Involved
Good citizenship is more than just voting. July is a great month to give meaning to your Fourth of July celebration by volunteering your time to a cause that is important to you.
AUGUST: Know Who You Are
August is a slower-paced month of vacations—a time to relax and also to reflect. Encourage yourself to reflect on your values and where “you” are taking your own future.
SEPTEMBER: Do Your Best
As kids go back to school and vacation season ends, it’s time to anchor our resolve and begin again. September is a good time to celebrate our contemporaries and people down through the centuries who have contributed the best of themselves to us and to the world we share.
OCTOBER: Be Patient and Listen
Let the leaves remind you to enjoy the colors of each moment and to appreciate the treasure of “moment jewels” you will find when you are patient with yourself and listen to your heart.
NOVEMBER: Show a Positive Attitude
Sometimes it is necessary to “fake it ’til we make it.” When we do, we may find that a “true” positive attitude will come about more quickly.
DECEMBER: Celebrate Community, Family, and Friends
Whether finely seamed or tattered and torn, relationships are the threads that connect us to one another.
Parke’s dream is to spark a unity revolution that rises from the ground up and sweeps across the nation.
“If we haven’t learned much else from social media, we’ve learned that shared thoughts, for good or bad, become powerful beyond measure when they reach lots of people at the same time and are repeated over and over again,” she says. “Together, we can overcome the pain of a divided America with the power of goodness.”
# # #
About the Author:
Elaine Parke, MBA, CS, CM, NSA, is the author of The Habits of Unity: 12 Months to a Stronger America…one citizen at a time. For 30 years, her scalable and evidence-driven 12 habits of social unity model has transformed several million community citizens and youth across the USA’s Midwest and in Rwanda, helping them feel more caring and connected to one another. In 1993, her monthly branded and colorful habit-forming model was deemed a “Social Invention” by the London Institute for Social Inventions.
Parke spent 25 years fine-tuning her mass-market media skills in corporate America. Then, in 1987, she redirected her focus to helping people get along better. Her first book, Join the Golden Rule Revolution: Practice One Habit…Each Month of the Year, was published in 2000. She has won many awards and recognitions for her work.
Parke is certified in public speaking, violence prevention, conflict management, and mediation, as well as meditation, and has been a popular speaker in her field of driving health and positive social and civic engagement with managed media strategies. She has been an occasional guest marketing lecturer at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Carnegie Mellon University. To learn more, please visit www.12habits4allofus.org.
About the Book:
The Habits of Unity: 12 Months to a Stronger America…one citizen at a time (Outskirts Press, 2021, ISBN: 978-1-977-24276-1, $21.95, www.12habits4allofus.org) is available at bookstores nationwide and from major online booksellers.
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DeHart & Company Public Relations
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