Tag: Gratitude

THE MORE OF THIS YOU SPEND, THE RICHER YOU BECOME!

No matter what your situation in life, there are always trying time. With the price of everything going up, many of us live paycheck to paycheck. Another post about wealth being a mindset does nothing to pay for the loaf of bread you would want to buy. Keeping this in mind, there is a way to make the journey for a better life a lot more enjoyable and to keep from feeling like you are struggling. Does that make a difference? I believe it does. Having the mental fortitude to press on when it feels as though life is pressing you down makes a big difference.

Even more annoying than wealth being a mindset thing is people talking about feeling grateful when you are struggling. How can you feel grateful when you are working just to survive. I get that. The truth is, that is when gratitude has its biggest payoff. It can be hard to begin a journey of gratitude, but once you do it can change your life. That may sound like hype, but I am here to tell you that I personally know it to be true. Before I share how gratitude changed my life, it is worth mentioning that gratitude, unlike money, increases the more you give it. When you begin to focus on what you have to be grateful for in your life, you will find that you notice more and more things to be grateful for that you might have missed.

Here is my brief story of how gratitude literally changed my life. I was 23 years old when I started my day job. For reference, I am now 50. A lady who was a customer there taught journaling classes. She was trying to convince me on the power of gratitude and keeping a gratitude journal. To prove to her it didn’t work, I agreed to try it for 30 days. Starting something to prove it doesn’t work is the least motivated you can be. I made sure to follow her directions to the letter just so she could not tell me I did it wrong. After a week, I noticed my mood lifted…a little. After two weeks, I found myself noticing things in my life that I had taken for granted. After three weeks, I realized how amazing a lot of the people in my life were, how lucky I was despite my challenges. When the month was over, I found myself encouraging others to keep a journal. That was a far cry from proving it didn’t work. Shortly after the month was over, my car was totaled in an accident that saw me go through the windshield of my car. Less than ideal. The complete story is in my first book, A Happy Life for Busy People.

Just as I was learning this valuable new skill, life chose to test me in the most extreme way. Instead of deterring me, it actually proved the power of gratitude even more. It changed one of the most important conversations I had in my life. One that I had been ignoring for far too long, but one that had the biggest impact on my life. That will be a story for tomorrow’s post.  

YOU HAVE TO REMIND YOURSELF.

This is a very important point to ponder.  It can be so easy to ride the waves of negative emotions, but that just leads to am ocean of despair and depression. That is not to say you should not validate your emotions. Like the quote above says, “feel your feelings” To that i would add to look for the lessons and what you can learn from them. Then, take a walk outside. You will be greeted with all kinds of beautiful reminders.

A change in mindset is required. The payoff is even with all of the challenges, you will see, and more importantly feel, life is a miracle instead of a job. Walking in nature helps this. You see the beauty in the trees, the birds and other animals we share this planet with. I love seeing elderly couples out waking together. It not only gives you hope of lasting love, but let’s you know it is never too late to fall in love.

Miracles surround us everyday. Granted it can be hard to see them when we find ourselves down and out emotionally. That is when it is the most important to do. One way to accomplish this is to find as many things to be grateful for as you walk. It could be the fact that you can walk. Maybe not as well as you used to, but you still can. How about the fact we now have sidewalks and stop lights? Quite different in the 1800’s. Most parks have rest rooms available. If not, there are usually businesses in near proximity.

The world is full of miracles. Use the power of gratitude to unlock them. When you are feeling down, or even if you are not, take time to walk about, look up and notice them all.

THEY ARE ALL TEACHERS

It can be hard to deal with some challenging people. Maybe they are always negative and complaining. Maybe they are impatient or judgemental? One way to look at the situation is ask yourself, “What can this person teach me?” These answers can range from ‘how to be patient’ to ‘what not to be like as a human’. Either way, every negative person in our life brings us a gift in the form of a teaching. We should not miss the gift just because we do not like the wrapping paper.

We will end this on a positive note. Think about how grateful you are for the people who bring light and medicine to your life. This can be someone who always listens. It can be someone who always brings a smile. There are people who just make us feel better by their presence.

Everyone is a teacher. Which kind are you?

HOW TO BE GRATEFUL FOR EVERYONE

On the journey to self-improvement there are many tricky obstacles. One of the toughest is that we share the planet with people who have no intent, or desire to improve themselves. There are those who feel the need to treat others poorly. I have seem a man berate a coffee shop employee because he coffee was 5 degrees too hot. Not only was it almost impossible to tell that exactly, he could have waited a few seconds and it would have cooled down. That is enough to make someone watching that behavior upset. A more constructive approach is to let it remind us of how important our kindness and compassion to retail employees is and how much it is appreciated.

There are those who have no regard or care for their health. This is especially hard to watch if it is someone we care about. If these people persist in neglecting their health and lifestyle, it will remind us how impactful those two things have in our own life.

To me, one of the most frustrating is watching those individuals who make it their life mission to live in a world of self-created drama and terrible decisions. Lack of accountability and any actions towards improving their life can drive you crazy to watch, and certainly to listen to. What every episode can remind us of is how important working on ourselves and our life is.

All of these people can be a challenge, but they can also be a great reminder. We should be grateful when the universe shows us how important kindness, compassion and self-improvement are. These fine folks can be just what we need in our life to motivate us to take the next leap in our own development. Be grateful for the lesson they bring.

FROM MISFORTUNE TO MIRACLE

On New Year’s Eve, Margie and I had the pleasure of meeting some friends out. Normally, I am all about staying home, but we decided to go out as it was close to our home and plenty of our friends would be there. While there, I asked everyone a question we talked about a few posts ago. That question was, “What in the last year are you most grateful for?” It is a new tradition I have been wanting to start. Coupling the act of making resolutions for self-improvement with gratitude for many of the good things that have already happened.

One of the first people I asked was a friend of ours that is due to be married in 2027. As expected when asked what he was most grateful for in the past year, he pointed to his bride to be. That would have been a touching story in its own right, but when he added why, it drove home a point that we often discuss on this site. The gentleman had worked in law enforcement and was shot. Soon as he was healing from that, he had a rupture in his intestines. This landed him in the hospital for quite some time. As you can imagine, one happening right after the other was hard to take. His lady made sure to be by his side every day. In addition to working full-time, and taking care of the house and looking after his dog, she stayed with him at the hospital often foregoing sleep.

As terrible as this situation was, it proved to him that this lady’s love was true and strong. Something that could only have been displayed in such trying times. When someone tells you that they will love you through anything, that is wonderful to hear. When they show you that they will, that is something different entirely. Nobody wants to have tragedy thrust upon them. Certainly, nobody want to be in the hospital for a long period of time. It is through situations like this, we are shown the true depths of others love for us. That is something to be grateful for.

When reflecting on what we are most grateful for, it can seem contrary to think of our hardships, but as you can see, they often bring the greatest blessings. I heard a saying that many people never open their greatest gifts because they do not like the wrapping paper. In this case, discovering that someone’s love for you is deep and true was wrapped in medical emergency that included lots of pain and a long time of healing. Discovering a gift in that is a skill and an art that many of us could stand to develop more of. When thinking about what we are most grateful for in our life, maybe we should ponder our challenges as well as our triumphs.

WISHING YOU A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR

It is the first day of the year! 2026 is upon us. Let us start the year with intention. Everyone says “have a healthy and happy new year. ” What do we plan that puts us on the path to doing so?

This day, let us take a few moments to think of what we can do this year to add to our health and our happiness. It does not have to be a grand gesture. In fact, it is better to have something that you can do consistently. A small act that that can add just that little bit of joy, or a little bit of health.

What could these things be? It could be a walk after dinner. It could be taking 5 minutes a day to pause and reflect on what you are grateful for. We will take a closer look at that in the coming posts. What little thing do you feel you could consistently do to add health and joy to your life? Feel free to leave it in the comments below.

A NEW, NEW YEAR’S EVE TRADITION ✨️

Here we are sitting at the end of another year! We all made it through. That itself is an accomplishment! There are many ways in which people celebrate this occasion. Many people go out drinking. Not sure i see the benefit of starting the year with a hangover. To each their own i suppose. Another tradition is creating resolutions. This is better, but self-improvement should be a year-round process.

This year I’m going to start a new tradition. Quite simple. Before the clock strikes midnight, take a few minutes to sit down and record the 3 best blessings that happened to you in the last 12 months and what they brought into your life. You could even purchase a nice journal to do this in every year.

Ending the year with a grateful heart does more for your life than a hangover. Do both is that is your thing. Just be smart and safe about it. You could add things to your journal if you like. Maybe 3 blessings you are looking forward to coming in the new year. Either way, this would make a fun transition from old to new. Tell me what you think!

THE PAIN IS NOTHING COMPARED TO JOY 😊

Ah good ol’ Charlie Dickens! He has a good one here. Especially during the holidays. We see and connect with people we may otherwise not. In what seems like a flash, the holidays are over and everyone is lost in their life obligations. It is a bittersweet affair.

What Charlie reminds us of, is that reconnecting can be a joy that makes the  pain of parting a little bit easier to take. This is something I go through every morning. Leaving my hot lady and warm bed at 4am is quite a struggle. Soon, I hope to be a best-selling author and not have to deal with this. For the time being, leaving is required to pay the bills.

It seems the more fun we have, the harder it is to leave. Instead of focusing on how much I would love to stay home, I focus on how excited I am to return. In about a month we will be traveling to sunny Jamaica. I’m sure we won’t want to leave as we always make new friends and have a lot of fun. We must look forward to our next visit. Whenever that may be.

In your life, there will be parting that breaks the heart. Instead focus on the excitement of the next reunion. It will make life that much sweeter!

PICK A DAY

Now that the holidays are over for many of us, it is vital we pick a day to relax. We have spent days and sometimes longer, shopping, cooking, cleaning and generally stressing out. Add to that our normal work and household obligations.

Now it is time to sit back and relax. Cooking is probably not necessary with all of the leftovers we have. Plenty to ponder and be grateful for. There are, of course, the gifts we received. There is also time we had with family and friends, or maybe that our family and friends have finally left. Not sure where you stand on that one. Either way, plenty to be grateful for!

The stress we go through during the holidays can drain our body, our mind and our spirit. This can put us in a dangerous position when it comes to our immune system. Have you ever noticed the ‘flu season’ seems to come right after the holidays? Take some time to take care of yourself before your body forces you to. We all deserve health and happiness going into the new year.

2 GREAT LAST MINUTE GIFTS

Merry Christmas to those of you who are celebrating. No matter what holiday or celebration you are going to, there are always situations that can catch you off guard. Maybe someone you did not expect to be there shows up and you find yourself without a gift for them. Perhaps you thought everyone agreed to not exchanging gifts only to discover you misunderstood.

These situations can leave you a little embarrassed. Let’s face it, on Christmas day the gift options are limited. There are, however, 2 gift options that are perfect for anyone whether they were on your list or not. These gifts are not only guaranteed to be a success, they are so rare and priceless, they will be enjoyed by anyone you give them to.

These two gifts are being present and genuine gratitude and appreciation. Before you roll your eyes at the notion, give it some thought. How many times can you look around a restaurant and see a couple out to dinner with both of their faces buried in their phones? In a “look at me” world, how many people stop to tell you, “Do you know what i really appreciate about you?” How many times has someone genuinely told you what they are grateful for in their lives?

If you put your heart and soul into these two gifts, you will be the life of the party and make everyone’s holidays bright!