Have you ever had one of those reminders that give you that kick in the butt you need? We all can fall victim of some less than empowering thinking. On my way to write today i was lamenting that the sun was not shining and I was feeling tired and a little less than inspired. Then a song came on the radio that changed everything.
The song was Who Gets to Live Like This,by Jimmy Buffett. In the song, Jimmy describes his life and how grateful he is for it. Living in the beach, the mail, and money, come by boat. He just has to relax and write songs. Swap ‘songs’ for ‘books’ and that would be the life for me!
I almost fell into the trap of thinking of how far away from this life I was. I live in a climate that is anything but tropical. I must get up at 4am to go to a day job. Then I thought about a post I had recently written explaining how we should be grateful for the blessings we have and the troubles we don’t.
Suddenly, my thinking began to shift to what was amazing about my situation. This morning I woke up and had a cup of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. Which is my favorite. I had some breakfast my thoughtful sister brought me. I was able to share both of those with a beautiful lady who happens to be marrying me. Yes, I have to go to a job, but it is only 5 days a week and allows me to pursue my passion.
We often need these reminders. Even those of us well-versed in the field of self-improvement. Here is the quandary and the solution. What do we do when we don’t have an inspiring song come on the radio? We must craft and schedule tools of strategies that inspire us! Develop morning rituals that empower us. Leave the house inspired and grateful! What tools and strategies can you think of that would do this? Share your ideas with the rest of us!
Today is Friday! At least that is the day this post comes out. Let us go into the weekend refreshing our mindset. In a world where everything is available at our fingertips, or can be delivered to our front door, it is understandable that we live in a state of wanting more. There is always the ‘next big thing’. People want the latest phone, the latest streaming service or the newest thing.
It is not bad to want the best, but at what cost? It is one thing to feel this way with material goods, but seldom does emotion stay in one place. Suddenly we are wanting more from our friends, our family and even our spouse. This not only causes fractures in relationships, but has us living in a state of lack.
When you always want more, then you never feel like you have enough. You feel unsatisfied. Even if you do get more, you still feel empty. What is the solution? Gratitude. When you switch to being grateful for what you do have, you feel abundant instead of lacking. When you do get more, you feel blessed and favored. It is a much happier life.
You can increase that feeling of gratitude when you consider how many problems you do not have. You have an illness or disease? I’m not here to tell you to be happy about that, but consider what you don’t have. There are roughly 20,000 human diseases. We should be glad we don’t have more than we do.
The 2 secrets of happiness are not that complicated. Be happy for the blessings you do have and be grateful for the problems you do not have. If you were to focus on these two things before bed and when you arise, your life would be amazing.
Even those of us who enjoy the gym often have a hard time getting there. I heard a quote once, “The heaviest weight at the gym is the front door. ” Meaning that getting to the gym is the hardest part. I can agree on this point. I love working out. It reduces my stress and provides me energy. After an 8 hour work day, it still takes all the convincing I have to get myself there.
Why, if I know and enjoy all the benefits, do I still have to argue with myself to go? It has a great deal to do with mindset. Looking at the gym as something we have to do instead of something we get to do. So many people who are physically unable to workout would love to trade places with us.
Dick Van Dyke has a great outlook here. It has served him well and can do the same for us. How about you? When you face having to do something you don’t want, what is your attitude about it? Do you have to go to work, or are you grateful for being employed? Do you have to pay your bills or are you grateful you have the funds to do so?
To some this may seem like a small difference, but it will make a big impact on how your life feels and how productive it will be. What is your favorite hack to improve your mindset?
This, on the surface, may sound a bit material. I take it with the humor it was intended to have. In other words, life is better when you have something to look forward to. It does not have to be packages. If you are buying too many things, you could get yourself in financial trouble and your house could end up looking like an episode of hoarders. Same with vacation. Trust me, I would take a 6 month vacation twice a year if I could. It would make paying the bills a little tricky.
You can manage these. Small gifts to give to others are nice packages to receive. Even consumables that you can afford for yourself. A vacation doesn’t have to be a tropical getaway. It should, in my opinion, but it doesn’t have to. A weekend away with that special someone or a getaway with friends can be just as exciting.
The important part of this message is to always have something to look forward to in your life. Margie and I pick days to read together, watch a movie or maybe go to the movies or a special place for dinner. Many of these do not cost anything but a little time and commitment. The payoff is that we always have something to look forward to and makes getting through the day far easier. How about you? What are you looking forward to in life? Can you plan something fun?
Leave it to me to pick a month that has 31 days in it to do a 30 day gratitude journey. It didn’t seem right to end it with only 1 day left in the month. Therefore, we get a bonus day of gratitude.
This picture was taken a little over a year ago. It is crazy to imagine that last year at this time I reached 1000 days in a row of posting a blog. Unknown to me, my lovely lady gathered some close friends around to celebrate. That in itself was amazing. Each person said a little something as Margie recorded a video. That is a memory I will always cherish. In this one event there are a million things I can pick out to be grateful for!
This is blog number 1367. As you can see I made it another year! Still another thing to be grateful for. I hope this month was as powerful and enlightening for you as it was for me. If you missed any of the 30 days, you can go back and read those posts. If you feel the need for a month of gratitude, they will be here anytime you wish to take the journey. Next month we will be back to our regularly scheduled self-improvement content. You are welcome to join us!
Today is a day that could fill a book. What do I mean by that? Test this out. For just about 10 minutes, sit down and think of all the little things you use every day that you are grateful for. If you find this difficult at all, switch it up. Think about all of the little things that you could not, or would not, want to do without. It would be surprising if you ran out of things to think of in those ten minutes. There are, in fact, certain things that give you several things to be grateful for. This is an exercise you could repeat daily that would turn the mundane into a swelling of grateful emotions and feelings. This all sounds like a bunch of hype, so let us dive in and take a look at what we are discussing here.
One of the first things that pop into my head is my toothbrush. First, it was a wonderful gift from my lovely lady. Second, it helps keep my oral health up to date. This saves me money in the long run. I imagine the people I talk to throughout the day also appreciate it. In that same thought, how about deodorant? If you run out it can be a little of a touchy situation. If not for you, certainly for those around you. Clean water? Without it the toothbrush would be a lot less effective. It also helps me make coffee which I am extremely grateful for. When was the last time you turned on the tap and thought to yourself how lucky you were to be able to access clean water without much of a thought? Would you believe 26% of people do not have that same access? With war raging through the world, this number is sure to climb higher. Can you imagine being without clean water?
We really didn’t even leave the house, which is also something to be grateful for, and we have several things to be grateful for. Let us look at something that is often reviled – the cell phone. Yes, it is true that it has hampered personal communication. Yes, it makes for many distracted drivers, but think of all the positive things your phone allows you to do. It allows you to capture moments with friends without having to carry around a separate camera. It allows you to listen to your favorite song, or happy playlist, anytime you desire. You can get the answer to most any question within a few seconds. I even have an app that will tell you what song is playing in the background. This has saved me much frustration. Not to mention you can stay in touch with loved ones making sure they are safe. Even if your baker fiancée fails to tell you how many bags of sugar you need to get from the store…hypothetically. The cell phone has also help cut down on the amount of graffiti in public restrooms!
See how one thing can provide us with endless things to be grateful for? How about credit and debit cards? You do not have to carry large amounts of cash on you or risk running out and not having enough. Going back to our hygiene example, how about soap? Very good to have. Not many people stop and feel gratitude for soap before washing their hands, but might do so should they ever find themselves out of it. The ability to wash your hands helps cut down on the chances you will fall ill or make others so. It also helps remove the sauce from those chicken wings you just ate. Soap, very grateful to have you aboard! Locks on our doors to keep us safe? Clothes to keep us warm, dry or over-exposed.
As you can see, there are so many little things that we use daily that we should be thankful for. Any one of them could cause a great deal of discomfort and inconvenience should they not be there. Next time you turn on the tap, wet your toothbrush or put on that deodorant, stop and feel a little gratitude for those items. Without them our live, and social circle would certainly suffer. How many items do you use daily that you could be grateful for? There are endless things that we take for granted that make a very positive impact in our life. Expressing gratitude for them would only help improve our life.
Here is an oddly specific question. What moment this week are you most grateful for? My own life is a personal collection of moments I am most grateful for. It would be difficult to pick out just one. As I write this, reflecting on the week that has just passed, there are many moments to be grateful for. The first that came to mind was the day I just had with my mother. We visited the local museum for an in-depth look at some of the displays they had. Guides offered a little behind-the-scenes information. We learned a lot and it was a lot of fun. After which we stopped for lunch. Even though the server was a little sunshine challenged, it brought humor to us and we had a great time. Then we did a little grocery shopping. I came home and Margie and I cooked and enjoyed a delicious and filling meal together. After which we watched a movie and fell blissfully asleep next to each other.
That is just one day of my week. Which of those moments should I be most grateful for? It is really hard to say. As we develop an ‘attitude of gratitude’ together these 30 days, you will start to see that almost every moment offers something to be grateful for. Having a difficult time deciding what moment in that past week to be most grateful for is something to be grateful for itself. That means I have a life filled with moments to be grateful for. That is true of all of our lives. Being able to see that this is so, yes that is also something to be grateful for.
You can see how pondering what moment in the past week you are most grateful for can help you feel more grateful all the way around. It also helps us realize that in what may seem like a stressful week, there are still plenty of things that went right and that we can be grateful for. How about you? What are you grateful for this past week? Was it a victory or, like we discussed last post, was it a challenged that helped you learn something valuable about yourself or someone else? I would love to hear about it in the comments below.
This is both one of the most difficult as well as one of the most powerful days in our 30 day gratitude journey yet. When we all think of the challenges that we have in our life, the last word for many of us is ‘gratitude’. Who would be grateful for a challenge in their life? Would it not be better if everything ran smoothly? Our life as a continuing arc of improvement in all areas? On the surface, our quick answer may be a resounding ‘Yes!’ but upon further contemplation, we may think differently. Reflecting on asking my friends on New Year’s Eve what they were most grateful for in the past year, many of them listed challenges. Why? Some for what they gained out of them. The self-confidence that they could overcome. The resilience of pushing on. Some what they learned about themselves and others. One man had an extreme health challenge. He learned that even through that, the lady in his life was right by his side.
Some may be tempted to say, “Yes but you could learn these things through the other person telling you.” That is both true and not. Using the last example, your spouse could tell you, “Yes, I will be there for you through anything.” They may even mean it, but what happens when the chips are down? People’s actions say far more than their words. Going through a challenge can show you how much someone really loves you or how strong you can be. These are things that you just cannot know any other way. In the same way, your friend’s and partner’s challenges give you the opportunity to show them how much you really care. Again, even more than words. Being there for someone when they lose a loved one, or encouraging and helping them chase their dreams are great ways to show you care. It is an opportunity to be grateful for.
Have you looked at challenges this way before? It is certainly understandable if you have not. What can be empowering is starting to do so now. What challenges are you grateful for? How have they helped you on your journey?
Today’s gratitude post was one that made me stop and think. It is a powerful one at that. We have many sights that we view daily. How often do we stop and appreciate them? There are certainly ones that we lament about. Take my current example. I am sitting in a Starbucks right next to my day job writing this blog. Outside it is snowing like crazy. It is a little more than a week away from the first day of spring and we should be having temperatures more closer to that season. The trees still look dead and it is rather gloomy. Those things stand out to me. Can you guess how focusing on them has me feeling? I can tell you that it is less than inspiring.
When I first read that today we would be talking about what sights we were grateful for, I must confess to having a hard time with this. That will tell you what a great opportunity this is. Apparently, I do not spend enough time focusing on all of the good things that I lay my eyes on in a day. Take the picture above. It is my current situation. I have a laptop to write on, access to the internet to publish it so I can chat with all of the wonderful members of this community around the globe. Not to mention the delicious hot cup of coffee just waiting for me to take a sip! There are a few sights that many of us take for granted that instead we should be using as a moment of gratitude every day! Let us take a look at a few of those.
The sight I am always most grateful for is this beautiful lady right here. My love, Margie. Not only is she lovely, she loves me! Her smile, especially if I have anything to do with it, is the most beautiful sight to me. It means that I am living up to my standard of being a good man and taking care of my lady. How about the sight of your front door? When you come home do you think about everything that is wrong with your house or are you grateful that you have a roof over your head? The amount of homeless people is not only heartbreaking, but is growing. In an age where the cost of living keeps increasing, having a place to come home to is definitely something to be grateful for. How about the dinner or breakfast you are about to eat? How many people go hungry? Sure it might not be the dish that you want, but you can afford something. These things you might be grateful for but how often do you express that gratitude? Even just to yourself? We are all guilty of taking it a little bit for granted.
When we stop to express gratitude for things like a loving spouse, a place to come home to and food to keep us going we feel more abundant and full of good fortune. It is my belief that something more happens. I believe that being grateful for that spouse will help increase the love between you two. I believe that being grateful to have a place to come home to will make it feel more peaceful, even if it is a little chaotic. I believe having gratitude for whatever meal you are about to eat will make it taste just that little bit better. Do not take my word for it. Try expressing, and feeling, gratitude for these things in your own life. Before you walk in the door at the end of a hard day, say, “I sure am grateful to have someplace to come home to.” When you see your spouse say to yourself, or to them, “I am really grateful for you even if we occasionally drive each other crazy.” Pause before that first bite and express gratitude for being able to enjoy a meal when many do not have that pleasure. Try doing this for a week and see how it feels.
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.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 