You always have Influence

Especially for those people close to you

My granddaughter and I went for a short run last weekend. She is 8. She has been asking to run with me for a while now and we finally found the time to go out. The night before, we went through my routine of checking the weather, laying out the appropriate clothes and gear. We set a time to wake up. We both went to bed early to get good sleep, then the next morning we woke up and out we went.

Why did she want to go on a run with me? I pondered this question.

What I have concluded is that the people around you see what you do. They see what you do not do. They see what you say, and not say. Whether we like it or not, or even believe it, we have influence on people. My granddaughter saw me go on a run everyday. She heard me talking about it (probably more than I needed to :) ). She then wanted to do it too.

She also has watched her Grammy, go to and teach Yoga. So, she wanted to do that too. Grammy bought her a yoga mat and yoga clothes for her birthday. This was the gift she was most excited about.

During our run together, we talked, we laughed, we spent quality time together. We were both “present in the moment”. I truly hope that these are the memories of me she will take with her for the rest of her life. I hope that she is influenced by the things that I do.

I hope we all keep this idea in mind as we go about our daily lives and routines.

We all have influence.