Tag Archives: Gratitude

21

Grateful

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No matter what life brings you, each person can either be grateful and appreciative of the experience, or they can be angry and disillusioned. The choice is always in your hands. Always.

Things Go Wrong Sometimes, Be Grateful

This is an easy idea to cope with when things are going well. There is plenty of money to do whatever you want, all of those you love are healthy and happy, and the most significant decision you need to make is what form of entertainment is in store for you this evening. Of course, you can be grateful and appreciative of this situation. Yet, I know many people in just such a predicament, and there is very little gratitude or appreciation.

It seems like so many are focused on what they don’t have rather than what they do have in their life. They gratitudehave a house, but the problems with that house seem to stand out to them, and they only see the lack rather than the bounty.

When things are going badly, many people get discouraged by the pain, trouble, worry, or inconvenience. It is hard to see the positive and be grateful and appreciative when the cellar is flooded, possessions are being ruined, things need to be moved, and the plumber can’t come for two days. These situations make it difficult to appreciate, but in time the positive can be seen if you choose to look.  No situation is inherently good or bad except for the label that we apply to it.

 Appreciate the Good Things

Positives can be anything from being grateful for the times when the cellar isn’t flooded to the new closeness that your family has for working together getting through the problem.  Being appreciative of the simple things in life is much easier when taken away for even just a short time.  Today when we vibrationlose power for a day, we are lost.  But you sure as heck have an appreciation when the power is back on.

Choose Appreciation and Gratitude

There is a power that comes with expressing gratitude for what you have. When you have a heartfelt appreciation for what you do have, I believe that it opens the door for more of the same to show up in your life.  Be grateful for the comfort of the life we are provided each day.  Enjoy the people who make your life the wonder that it is each day. The family and friends who provide all of the delightful flavors to your life.

Being grateful is always a choice to appreciate what life brings you. Not for what it is, but for what it allows you to be. All events can be positive life-altering events if you choose to make them so.

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21

Grateful

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What are you most grateful for?

gratitude 111It is a difficult task indeed to start to think about what you are most grateful for. Many people will say money. Some will say, love. Some will say, family. Some will say something else entirely.

I am thankful for all these things, but to me, there is no doubt that showing your gratitude is the most important thing to do. The feeling of gratitude is important.  So for me, I guess the act of feeling grateful is the thing I am most grateful for today.  Here is why.

Taking things for Granted

gratitude-quotes-16I was the type of person who took many great things in my life for granted. Not appreciating the things that people did for me out of the goodness of their hearts. Yet, I was not grateful. In fact, I think I felt entitled to all the things I had in my life.

 The problem with that is that you are never pleased with what you have but are always angry or worried about what you don’t have. This is the problem with a lack of gratitude. No matter how much you get, you are never pleased.

When You Lose Everything, You are Grateful for Anything

GratefulIn my life, I had the good fortune to lose everything. In that time of turmoil, many feelings of self-pity and anger eventually will consume you or push you to make changes.  I decided to change.

 It started with a change in attitude. The sun didn’t rise and set because I existed, and I could make a decision every day to decide how that day to be happy.  Happiness started with a realization of how lucky I was to have anything at all.

That realization expressed provides the feeling of gratitude. When it comes to events that are difficult to deal with, your designation of either good or bad is your perception of the experience.  The experience is still the same. You might as well be grateful for it.

Gratitude leads to more Gratitude.

Once you take a moment to express your gratitude each day, it has been my experience that deepakthe momentum will build, and you will find more in your life to be grateful for.  I have read that the act of being grateful is one of the most important emotions that you can experience because it opens the door for more things to enter your life that will deserve gratitude.

So I am most grateful for the time I take each day to appreciate fully what I experience in my life every day.  Away from labels of good or bad, they are experiences that provide all of the situations that combine to teach me the things I need to know to follow my purpose.  It is the moments of thankfulness that we find what is great in ourselves.

What are you most grateful for?

 

 

21

A Gift of Possibility

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morning hope Sometimes we forget that every day we are given the gift of possibility. All people have a chance to make their lives whatever they want. Unfortunately, too many spend time ignoring this fact and choose to dwell on the negative. They are choosing instead to be weighted down by the predictable prison of routine and hopelessness of poor thought patterns. For today let’s hope the world may surprise you.  If you give it a chance and allow your focus and expectations to stretch just a little bit toward positive things, there is no telling what may happen. Greet each day with a heartfelt, Good Morning!! Let’s see what this day will bring to you. I know the days I focus on possibility, good things come my way, and the challenges I can leap over like an Olympic athlete. So I say, “Good morning to you!”  Loudly and with no tentativeness at all.

Focus on What you Have

It is easy to focus on the things that we lack. Fame, money, a brand new black supercharged Ford Mustang may be objects of your desire.  These things can make our lives seem like it isn’t what it should be or what you would like.  Yet, the facts are indisputable. At the dawn of each new day, the infinite possibility of accomplishment is open to you.

Whatever you dream of creating in your life or career, the path is before you every time the sun rises. Unfortunately, I have spent too much time in life looking at the flaws rather than looking for solutions to create what I dream should exist. This is a waste of time.

Believe it or Not

Now, as you read this, you are either thinking,   “Yes, a new day filled with ultimate possibilities. Time to be great!” or you are thinking, “That is a load of crap, I can’t possibly good-morning-quotechange this situation. I am in.”

If you have anything similar to the second answer in your head, I have one thing to say to you.  You are right; if you believe there is no changing your present situation, it will never be changed.  You will be living that reality until YOU decide to change the way you think about it.  I can speak to this from experience.  Looking at the new day and seeing nothing but minefields and problems. A life lived from that perspective has a desperate feeling of worry that never allows you to enjoy anything, even when the best circumstances are presented to you.

Possibilities

The unique opportunity that you have to put an imprint on life is presented every day. If you choose to embrace this thought, then your life will be an adventure. Life will be full of what you truly desire to experience. So take a step each day toward your dream. There is always something to do, a hurdle to jump, a skill to develop, or a deed to do.  Magic happens one event at a time.

The feeling of hope pervades a life practicing this mindset. Hope allows all things to be possible. In the way you define it, achieving the ultimate success is a possibility in each morning we experience. For this hope and promise, I am grateful.

Good Morning to you!!!! Have a great day, and remember who you are. A one of a kind wonder unleashed on the world. So be who you are, and the right people will love you and those who don’t lose out.

 

 

21

What If

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What If…….

what-ifThere are questions we ask ourselves all of our lives that can haunt us if we let them. What if that decision was wrong? What if I shouldn’t have done that? What if I had tried out for the chess team in high school? What if I said yes?

There are a million of these questions that can consume your time. Still, they don’t add up to anything in the end because the fact is whatever you are “what if-ing” about didn’t happen, will never happen, and so should concern you about as much as what the weather was in Borneo in the year 1656.

There are many other what-ifs you can worry about that could make a difference in the world, and I think I would instead focus on those.

What if ………..

kind wordsOne kind word from you could make someone else’s day or even save their life. You never know the storm that is brewing underneath the surface of anyone.

Their surface smile could be hiding a storm of emotions below.  One kind word or gesture could be the human contact they needed to keep moving forward. There are many words we let slide with no thought or regard for their destination and potential impact. Speak as if your words could save a life. What if that were so?

What if………….

gratefulInstead of thinking about the things we don’t have, we spent time being grateful for the things we do have. I have seen people make gratitude lists, and it changes the way they look at the world. Gratitude has the power to transform the way you feel about things.

They do not have to be monumental, giant things, be thankful for the little things.  Being alive, a peanut butter sandwich, coffee, or whatever little things bring you comfort and joy throughout your day.  In most philosophies, gratitude is the key to abundance. What if we all were a bit more grateful?

What if………….

Bring down the barriers that enslave us all freedom is priceless to all creaturesThere were no separations between people. That means that nobody grouped anybody. Instead of being sectioned off because of your age, nationality, economic status, or color of your skin, recognize we are all members of one group, human beings.

When you look for differences among people, you find separation. Separation is the first step toward discrimination because it creates us vs. them mentality. The smaller the circle of us becomes, the more likely we are to have a problem.

This is true for any conflict of every size, including the race riots of the 1960s to economic conflicts of today. What if there were no separations between people, just people?

What if………….

governmentThe people who were elected to represent the people represented the well-being of the people.  In the United States, the government and big business have become synonymous in a definition.

What if that wasn’t the case, and they were focused on helping people who live here as much as they are concerned about helping themselves.

Should any person in our country be hungry? Should any person have to fear suffering from domestic violence? Is there any good reason that the educational system is broken beyond repair? Children treated with kindness and hope would change the world.   What if we had a representative government that represented the people and not big business?

What if………..

urlPeople spent more time using the most potent force in the universe, love. Instead of choosing to participate in activities like gossip, discrimination, judgments of others, or worrying about what is in it for me?  Imagine spending their time focusing on understanding, kindness, acceptance, and what they can do for others.

How different would the lives of every person be if they spent all of their effort on spreading loving-kindness? Hatred can only be defeated by love, not more hate. What if people spent more time thinking and acting with respect?

What if it is a question that we can ask all of the time? Some inquiries can be used to hold us back or be used as a catalyst to find the best in ourselves and others.  

 

 

 

21

Toxic

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I think we are all trying to establish positive momentum in our lives, but we make choices that make moving forward with confidence impossible. That is when we allow thoughts, emotions, and actions into our life of a toxic nature.  These things will seep into all areas of our lives, destroy our confidence in ourselves and make us paranoid about life.  Each moment will become a worry something is going to go wrong, or the worst will happen.  What are these toxic thoughts? In a word, fear.  But we can overcome fear with some of the most positive tools in our mental toolbox. In particular, HOPE.

Fear of the Future

Where will I be tomorrow? What is going to happen to me? These questions and worrying about the answers can bring more toxic emotions to your life than you can handle.  Many people spend an awful lot of their time, energy, and thoughts on what the future will bring, and most are focusing on the negative things that might happen.  What may suffering be on the horizon?  Whatever there are, our minds come up with things that are much, much worse.  This misuse of imagination will take you out of the moment you have right now and ruin it with worry and fear about what could be coming down the road.

The moment is the key to defeating this fear. Look at what you have right now, for sure, in your life and find things to be grateful about.  Do you have some time off? Are there people in your life you love? And that love you back?  Be grateful for these things and focus your attention on these real things happening in your life right now.  Of course, you always plan for the future, but you can’t worry about it and carry fear in your heart.  Know there will be challenges in your life. That is what living is.  Have a hope that all things will work out for the best and leave the fear of the future behind you, and you will defeat one toxic fear.

Rejection

From an early age to old age, being rejected by someone is a difficult pill to swallow. There is no good way to experience it, and suffering is the result.  This causes many people to become gun shy about taking chances and going after the things they want.  Fear of being rejected can stop you from even attempting to accomplish things you dream about.  Everyone can establish this fear early on in their life, and negative beliefs about yourself and life can make this fear even more toxic.

The best way to defeat this fear is to stand yourself up, dust yourself off, and give it one more try.  Learn what you can from the rejection you perceive in life. Take those lessons and make your next job the best, your next relationship more solid and loving, or become stronger on the inside.  There is a strength inside each of us that can push us back to all challenges we face, including being rejected. You know the worth you bring to the world. Own it.   Hope again can empower you to be the greatest version of yourself and overcome the toxic fear of rejection.

What if you Fail?

We can take the same route with a fear of failure. Many projects, ideas, and creations are killed before they come to fruition because of the initial fear they might not work. What will people think? We live in a society that has no allowance for failing. Our school system rewards a lack of thinking and the ability to memorize and regurgitate information.  Rather than encourage people to attempt to learn things, occasionally, in the process, you will have setbacks, and in those setbacks, the potential for ultimate success exists.  Try again, with the new knowledge you have gained.

We created virtually every major accomplishment in the history of humanity through the process of trial and error. The Wright Brothers didn’t get their plane off the ground on the first try.  Thomas Edison certainly didn’t invent the light bulb on the first go.  No, it was a process of trial and error and learning. Information needs to be gained through our failure to create greatness.  Be confident in yourself.  Try what you think will work without a personal attachment to the outcome.  Then you can unemotionally evaluate the information you gain and use it to be better.  The toxic fear of failure will cause you to quit. The hope of creating anything will come into reality with this recipe.

Fear Nothing

So the challenge is made to you and me today, not to let the fear of the future, rejection, or failure become a toxic force in your life. Rather use the power of hope to guide you to becoming the best version of yourself.  Fear is a negative thought you give power to, and it will never accomplish anything positive for you.  It will only limit your potential and kill your dreams.  Even if the worst should happen, you can find the inner strength to grow from it and continue with your life.  Fear is a choice, and so is hope. It is up to you.

“Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.” —Helen Keller.

“One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do.” —Henry Ford

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” —Rosa Parks.

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” —Nelson Mandela.

 

21

Your Heart

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“Everyone who has the will can hear their inner voice. It is within everyone.”  Gandhi

inner voiceToday I am particularly grateful for my inner voice and the fact that I am learning to listen to it. I have thousands of thoughts every day, and most are negative and repeats of things I have thought before. The challenge of this writing is to find the ability to quiet the mind and listen to the voice within, the heart message that will NEVER lead you wrong.  Take a trip down this road.

Turn Down the Noise

Each of our minds is a nonstop factory of thought.  New thoughts are being created in all of our waking hours, old thoughts being revisited, and other people’s thoughts being entertained. 002_InnerVoice_AR_241_pg247_600x480_Eleesha_Inspiration_Quote_Affirmation2 We can’t help but think, and it is the job of the mind.

But if you listen to what the thoughts tell you, many of them are petty, jealous, and judgmental of others but more importantly of ourselves.  We spend a lot of time making ourselves feel bad about our decisions in the past, where we are in life, and what we like to do.   If you entertain that voice and its thoughts, you will lack self-confidence and not think much of your abilities.  It is below all that noise that you have to look for the real voice you listen to.

Calm and Let Them Go

When I have a lot of work to do or need an answer that will be youare voicesomething that I can trust, I have to get by those thoughts and listen to the voice in my heart. But how can you get by the nonstop whir of your never-ending mind? That is the challenge to most great things.

Finding this voice is simple, but it isn’t easy.  You have to learn to let the incessant thoughts your mind is producing slide by you, notice them but then just let them go.  As you do this, you will find an increasing sense of quiet in your mind.  As the mind quiets, only then can the voice in your heart be heard. Focusing your mind on your breathing and choosing not to get involved in your thoughts is the thing that will free you.  It is in the stillness of the mind when your heart can be heard or rather felt.

I Don’t Know Who You Are

There is no advice I can give you about where this voice comes 097_Your_Inner_Voice_AR_96_pg111_600x480_Eleesha_Inspiration_Quote_Affirmationfrom, except to say that it comes from inside of me, and it has never been wrong.  My mind is often critical and judgmental. This voice has an understanding and always pushes for my greatest good.  When I see disaster on the outside, the voice gives me a less egoic perception of the situation, and I know it isn’t the end of the world. In fact, even a bad situation can lead to extraordinary growth and learning.  Heights can be reached, which otherwise would have been unavailable to you without a tough experience. Suffering is not a good thing, but it can bring good things. LISTEN.

No, you aren’t perfect, but this is how things will play out, and here is what you should do.  Always this voice chooses the path that is best for me, yet I still fight against it.  I think I know more and am more intelligent, but clearly, I am not.

Almost all of my failures and shortcomings in life have come when I let my conscious thoughts guide me over my intuition.  Do this because it is safe! Do that because it is expected!  Do those things you know because they are safe! What will people think?  Yet, it is the things that I haven’t done that will take me where I want and need to go. To find the purpose of my life.

Today, I am grateful for this voice inside me, and I hope that I have the will to listen to the voice and the courage to do what I hear from that voice in my heart. Sometimes having the faith to do what you have never done is the secret to everything.

Don’t be shy, just let your feelings roll on by.

 

 

 

 

21

Gratitude Attitude

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Another holiday is upon us, and we are still faced with the same old choices of how to respond.  On Thanksgiving, more than any other day of the year, it is a natural time to pause and consider all of the great things we have in our lives and, more importantly, all of the people who make your life go.  In today’s minutia, it is easy to pass by these things and people without so much as a mental mention. My challenge to myself and you is to find gratitude deep inside yourself and allow the thoughts to bring it to you to surface.  Here is my quick attempt to capture my own gratitude today.

See

How much around you do you notice? Really notice and appreciate it? From the way, it feels when cold snow hits your face to the old, worn-out way a tree looks in late November, with a few stray brown leaves clinging to branches as the chill wind blows them around in the dance of the inevitable. Most moments, we are wrapped up in our thoughts too much to notice much of anything outside of us.  That is a shame and a loss of possibility.  Start right now and put the thoughts of gratitude for the things all around you.  The sunshine on your face shows you all will be ok,  The rainfall and how it feels.  Too many people rush through the rain as if it is a major inconvenience, and in some ways, I know it is, but think of life, somewhere a person is lying on their death bed, wishing that just one more time they could feel that rain on their face. Please don’t take it for granted.

See the world, and appreciate it.  We all will face challenges, and people will disappoint us, and life will push us. Yet, it always gives you these tiny reminders of beauty to help us along the way.  If your troubles are too big to notice the small salve of nature and the miracles all around you, then you are too wrapped up in yourself. I have been there, and unwrapping your mind and letting the meaningless thoughts go is the first step. Be grateful for all the things in your life you never notice.

See Your Cast

Shakespeare claimed all the world is a stage, and we are merely players.  You are the star of your production of life, and you also choose who is cast into the leading roles in your life.  Too often, we allow people who don’t deserve to be even minor characters in your life, assume staring roles.  You determine who these stars are or are not.  Be grateful for the ones who deserve to be in your life. You will know

You have a choice to decide which roles you play and who is on the stage with you. Choose wisely, and your life depends on it.

Because they feel like sunshine. Not just once in a while, all the time. Warm, comforting, and accepting.  A wise person constantly evaluates their cast and makes sure to make changes in the production if warranted.

People are good actors, so sometimes it is hard to know who to keep and who to move on from, which creates all the good drama in your live production. Those who are not what they seem will eventually display their true selves.  Be careful of the attachments you build to the roles you play, they will change, and the people with you may change too.  Allow change to happen, create your cast wisely, allow those who care about you, and contribute to your best self to be in your life. You cast your troupe of players every day and have the opportunity for change. I have learned this lesson the hard way.

You Decide

You make all of the choices in your life, be grateful for that ability, and take full responsibility for those choices’ results.  Too often, we want the choices but only claim them as ours if it works out.  If things do not happen as we envision, we point the finger of blame at the situation, other people, the weather, God, or everything else but us.  We are the driving force behind our lives, be grateful for this gift because it means you really can do whatever you want.

Our thoughts are the power behind the momentum of our lives. A thought leads to an emotion that then will lead to action, and the results of those actions are what we call life.  You are the creator of thought and, therefore, of emotion and action. Choosing thoughts that will help you and not harm you is the first step in accomplishing anything. If you don’t like the results of a certain thought, then it is time to make a different choice and think some other way.  It is a great day to appreciate that skill in yourself. If you are not where you want to be right now, you have time to think of things you would like to experience and start moving toward it.

Next year you will have more to be thankful for and different people to think about, and probably new adventures to embark on.  Understand that you are the creator of it all and with great power comes great responsibility.   I wish you well on your journey.

21

Give Them Kindness

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kindness-22744798One of the simplest treasures we can give to others is the gift of kindness. It cost no money to be kind, and it takes no talent. In fact, all you have to possess to practice kindness is a willing heart to undertake the action and actually be kind. Many are the person I have met who could benefit from putting the well-being of another, even in a small way, before the seemingly never-ending drama of their lives.  Drop a pebble into the lake that is kind and watch the ripples flow from it. Who knows where they will eventually reach. Your conscious choice to show compassion for another may ripple throughout the world.

There is probably no better method for improving a person’s outlook on life than to experience a little kindness. All people deserve your kindness, and like most things in life, the more willingly this gift is given, the more easily it is received. Are you the kind one today? 

Kindness is Contagious

One of the great things to see is that one act of kindness provides happiness that will be shared with kindness is contagioussomeone else, one way or another. You can’t help it when someone is kind to you, and there is a feeling of warmth inside that you want to share with someone else. And most people do.  Some people practice random acts of kindness and bring light to the world. Some people are just kind to others all of the time. It must be a wonderful way to live.

We can only be responsible for our behavior and choices and the example we set for other people to follow. Take control of your actions today and implement kindness into each interaction that comes your way. You will be amazed at how much difference it will make in your life and, of course, the lives of others that you come in contact with during the day. What is the alternative? To be selfish and self-centered, only concerned with yourself and how everything affects you? Let those things go and accept the chance to change the world in one small positive way, and it can be done just by treating the people you happen to come in contact with today with a conscious choice to be kind.

Kindness Defeats Mean

It is important to practice kindness with those who are unkind. They absolutely need it most. To be moving through your life and to consciously be unkind to others, a person must have experienced some awful things. Kindness can break through the darkness and bring light into those spaces where kindness countsmean, desperation once resided.  Some of the people I have cared about the most were tremendously unkind and callous to me. It took a while, but I had to forgive them because their life must be a miserable experience if they could treat other people with that kind of cruelty.

A mean person who does not practice kindness has probably forgotten how it feels when someone takes the time to be kind to them. Once they experience that, there is a chance that they will develop a more positive outlook and perhaps practice kindness toward others. Again it is important to stress that you can only be responsible for your actions. Others are responsible for theirs. If they choose to be mean, hateful, spiteful, and unhappy, that is their choice. Your choice is not to treat them like their condition is permanent. Kill ’em with kindness. That is all you can do.

Be Grateful

Look at your life and find the positives. I know there are many dark things and days in life. But there is always something good and positive too.  Always. You have to find it, recognize it, and be grateful for it.  Gratitude and kindness walk hand in hand in life.  Even if many tough situations come your way, even though you feel defeated, sad, and worn out, do you want to live in a world where there is no kindness?  Be angry for a time but then find forgiveness for those who hurt you, gratitude for what you learned, and the positive things in your life.  And, of course, find a way to treat someone out there in your life with kindness.  It is up to you to determine what kind of world you and your loved ones inhabit.  If cold, harsh words and actions are all you have, your world will reflect a shiny, cold hardness right back at you.

Amazingly, the people who look for good tend to experience good. Kindness brings more kindness.  Experiment today. Do something simple, like hold a door for someone, or let them go in front of you in line at the store.  Watch how that small action affects people. They often, almost immediately, pass the gesture on to another in short order.  Consciously thinking of others and their well-being first. That is the essence of kindness, you matter, and I see your value.  Remember that when you are contemplating your behavior.

Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.” – Jackie Chan

“Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.” – Harold S. Kushner

“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” – Princess Diana

“Because that’s what kindness is. It’s not doing something for someone else because they can’t, but because you can.” – Andrew Iskander

“Remember, there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” – Scott Adams.

 

 

21

Gratitude

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gratitude 1I have often considered that truly practicing gratitude is an important step into bringing more of what you want in your life into your life.  Every day, I am more and more convinced this is true.  I had often talked a good game about being grateful, really taking a moment, and appreciating the things in my life, but my process was off. The past year has taught me many valuable lessons. One of the biggest is to be grateful for every day you have to live and every person who brings something positive into your life. You never know when people you count on will be gone, or the positives will be harder to find.  List, think about and feel positive about the good things you have. They are always there; it is sometimes hard to notice them because our focus strays so far toward what we don’t have. Be grateful, enjoy those moments, accept your positive things.

What I used to do for Gratitude

I would take a moment and be thankful for things in my life, people I came across, and things that happened to me. I think this might be OK for others, but my problem was that it was inconsistent, and I might not recall something I had real gratitude for.  I also spent inconsistent amounts of time thinking of the blessings in my life.  I would try thinking of them on the way to work, but I am easily distracted, and one thing would drive out another. I was inconsistent and sloppy with my gratitude, and I met a lot of blocks in my life. Things that stopped me from achieving success or getting things I really wanted in my life.

It is difficult sometimes to maintain your gratitude when you have gone through a big shakeup in your life. Losing someone that matters to you, or having a job change, or just being put out of your “normal” routine, whatever that is.  When the negative entered my life, I had little focus for what I was glad to have and a lot of anger about what I did not.  That is a path to more frustration in life.

My New Process of Gratitude

gratitude It does not take a brain surgeon to figure out what to do differently. I was inconsistent, so I needed to add a complete gratitude practice in my life.  To build that consistency and to make the topics of my gratitude consistent.  I had to take a moment each day to write it down. I didn’t try to write down a million things, just three to focus on and get my energy of being grateful to flow through me.

I always try to have my gratitude notebook with me, so when I have a moment each morning, I jot down my list of things I am grateful for. I would suggest this for everyone for this reason. Even though it seems a simple thing, there is a contemplation moment that happens when you actually write down your gratitude.  The thought has to travel from your mind through your arm to your hand and onto the paper.  My lists are not all that elaborate because I am pretty grateful for the little things in life.

I am grateful for good cups of coffee, good conversation, something interesting I read on a blog, a book I read, having money in the bank, a text from a friend who made my day, or a long, verbose Facebook message was awesome to read. The list gets a bit long, but I have tried to keep it to what comes to mind.  I can always look back to see what I wrote before.

The Blocks are Disappearing

It may just be a coincidence, and those who are negative will say that is all it is, yet I don’t believe that. After a short time, I mean a matter of days,  blocks I was having in life was melting away.  I could give specific examples, but they will only mean something to me.  Making a gratitude list for me has become something real and powerful.  I know how it sounds, but I can feel the difference.

Being grateful is the key to accepting more things into your life. Whatever it is.  If you are lonely, look for when you don’t feel too lonely during the day and be thankful for those.  If you are poor, be grateful for the things you do have. If you are not feeling well, find the moments you don’t feel as bad and be grateful for them.  If you are particularly down, find the little things around you all the time, the weather, a smile from a stranger, flowers, and unexpected fortunate turning. Whatever you come in contact with, be grateful for it.  A momentary contemplation of thanks is all it takes.

The worst thing that will happen is you will feel better about life. The best thing that will happen is that you will open yourself up to more of the same experiences.  It doesn’t really matter if you believe what I am telling you or not.  Just contemplate what will happen if you do nothing different? Nothing different will happen. If you are lonely, sick, poor, or just generally unhappy, what the heck do you have to lose? Give it an honest attempt and see what an increased awareness of gratitude does in your life.

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” —Gilbert K. Chesterton

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” —Zig Ziglar

“Learn to be thankful for what you already have, while you pursue all that you want.” —Jim Rohn

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” —Oprah Winfrey

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The Message

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what messageWho hasn’t wanted to spread a valuable message to a large number of people all at once?  That is the draw of blogging and writing.  It is alluring to share advice because you hope all of your mistakes and bad experiences can help others.  It would be great to have my thoughts and ideas broadly help other people.

I am stating my message. I want to make it one that a reader might remember and might have a positive effect on them.  We can only deliver the news, and it is up to others to decide if they want to hear what we have to say. Here are three big messages from me to you!

1. You Have Greatness In You

post-4502-Motivational-Quotes-The-Greatn-j0b6Every person in the world has the seed of greatness planted inside of them when they are born.  Life spends a lot of time trying to make us forget this greatness, but it exists inside each one of us.

 If you are not feeling great right now, don’t worry because, although this power can lay dormant for years, it is never too late to develop the talent that you have and allow your light to shine on the world.

 There are countless examples of people who lived much of their lives only to find a latent talent in their later years and to not only use it but to excel at it.  All of you have this authentic power inside of you, and the talent only has to be remembered and applied.

 How do you remember?  That is where creativity comes in. Engaging in something creative seems to allow you to creep behind the veil that the years have raised to hide your talent.

 Being creative and allowing yourself to become completely involved in something, like writing, drawing, fence building, architecture, or any creative activity, will allow you to remember your authentic power and talent.  It is there, it always has been and always will be, just waiting for you to remember. You possess greatness, and I can’t wait to see how it manifests itself in the world.

2. Be Kind to Yourself

You need to be your own best friend. Treat yourself the way a loved one deserves to be treated. We spend much too much time being critical about our looks, behaviors, choices, relationships, or any other aspect of life.

Don’t spend your time berating yourself for mistakes you have made or for things you haven’t accomplished yet. The past is the past, and it can’t be changed. Learn from it, but don’t let it beat you up and take away your happiness.

There is no need to spend time worrying that life is passing you by.  Life is never passing you by. Life is just passing.  When you are young, it is often like jumping from stone to stone to cross a river, and you concentrate so much on the path you have to take to get across safely that you can’t kind to yourselfappreciate the road until you are safely on the other side and look back.

 Chastising yourself too harshly for where you are now is being mean to yourself unnecessarily.  You may be setting things in motion with your actions, that ten years from now will allow you to be a millionaire, or famous, or the inventor of a new gadget that we don’t even comprehend yet.

 If you are not happy with your relationships, change them. If you don’t like your job, as soon as you can, change it!  If you want to live somewhere else, move there.  Nothing is stopping you from doing these things but you. We are all full of reasons we can’t, should, could have, but in the end, the only thing stopping you is you.

 Be kind to yourself, you are doing the best that you can, and we all lack the vision to judge our situation correctly accurately.  Time will reveal the wisdom or folly of any decision, and that is the beauty of life.

3. Be Grateful For What You Do Have

It never ceases to amaze me the power that gratitude possesses.  We all want to achieve things and have things in our lives.  Money makes it easy to do anything we want. Yet many of us focus on the money that we don’t have and dream about that, rather than be thankful for the amount we do have that allows us to survive.

230937_368883386533410_1322779775_n There are entire philosophical movements and religions based on this premise.  I can only speak of what I have experienced and to be grateful for what you do have, seems to open the way for more of the same.  It can be health, wealth, or wisdom, whatever you want, be grateful for the amount you have, and more will come.

  Unlike a magic genie, nothing is going to happen instantaneously, you have to do it with sincerity and feel grateful for things.  There is no faking this in your mind or your heart.  It is a feeling and thought that you experience every day.

That is the quick message that I would give, but I could make it a much longer message if I had to.  I would hope the kindness and the heartfelt concern would come through, and hopefully, others will not only read this but listen to the message.

“If you put your fears and doubts behind you, you would surely discover that you too have the seeds of greatness in you.”― Edmond Mbiaka

“You will never speak to anyone more than you speak to yourself in your head, be kind to yourself. ”  

“Be kind to yourself, you are doing the best you can.” 

“Being grateful for what you have will keep you happily busy while waiting for your other heart desires.”

A message to YOU!