I am truly blessed to have people in my life who will tell
me when I have made a mistake, because it means they care enough to see me
improve.
When children make mistakes we usually comfort them and tell
them to try again. We work with what they know and help them to gain more
knowledge. The goal is to keep helping them improve. However, as adults we give
ourselves and each other much less leniency when it comes to not being perfect.
For some reason there is an age where everyone is no longer allowed to make
mistakes without being ridiculed for them.
Our goal for today is to learn to be grateful for our
mistakes instead of frustrated or angry. Our mistakes open our eyes to things
that we can change and learn for the better. In the book, “The Magic” the
author Rhonda Byrne uses the example of being pulled over by the police. More
often than not we are more upset with the police for pulling us over than
grateful for the fact that they raised our awareness of the lack of concern for
our safety and others on the road.
Today, consider a mistake that you have made and find ten
reasons to be grateful for that mistake. This would look like a list of things that you
learned from the outcome of the mistake.
Hopefully by taking the time to appreciate you lessons you will also
decrease your likelihood of making that same mistake in the future.
I am grateful today that I understand oneness, because I know that I have the power to effect change for my fellow man.
Lately in the news we are bombarded by all of the division our world is experiencing. There is political division, color division, gender and sexuality, and division of nations. Everyone seems to want to have distinction in who they are, but these distinctions simply bring about more and more discrimination. It seems the one thing we are forgetting is that no matter what distinctions we ascribe to we are all still have something in common, our humanity.
Regardless of our differences we are all one. In many spiritual and religious traditions they discuss the concept of oneness, but often the oneness is only including those who believe in their particular teaching. The truth is belief in traditions or not no one is exempt from the oneness that we just naturally have.
So what does that mean? That means that you have the power to effect change in yourself and others through your understanding of oneness. This concept is a bit hard to try to explain in a short blog post. But here goes. When you encounter, people in your life that are struggling you have choices in how to help them. You can give them advice. You can leave them alone and let them figure it out. You can pray for them. Or your can help them. But, I bet you didn't know that you could effect change in their experience.
It may sound crazy, but when you feel and understand the concept of oneness, you realize that we all have the opportunity to change the life of others. Oneness means that if a brother or sister is hurting, you are also affected because they are a part of you. They are not separate from you. When you truly understand this you will be able to start feeling gratitude for the positive experiences of others because you realize the connection you have with them. When you begin to feel gratitude for their positive experiences you will start to see the lives of those around you start to improve as much as your own.
For today, your goal is to practice feeling gratitude for the well being of others. Choose three people in your life. Imagine them as happy and healthy. You may not know exactly what they want out of life but you do know that you are connected with them as you are with everyone. Feel the gratitude of being blessed by your connection to them. The more you acknowledge blessings for them and ultimately yourself, the more you will see change.
I am grateful for magical cues, because before today I never knew they existed.
When I read today's practice I was intrigued, because I never even thought like this before. The title of this chapter is Cue the Magic. In it the author talks about seeing things in our lives as cues to be grateful. I am going to share directly from the book because I cannot say it better:
The Universe knows you have to feel gratitude to bring forth your dreams, so it plays its part in the game by giving you personal cues to remind you to be grateful. It uses the people, circumstances, and events that surround you in your day as magic cues to be grateful. It works like this:
If you hear and ambulance siren, then the magic cue form the Universe is to be grateful for perfect health. If you see a police car, your magic cue is to be grateful for safety and security. If you see someone reading a newspaper, it's your magic cue to be thankful for great news.
The author goes on to talk about how seeing things in our day should remind us to be grateful for things in our lives. One of the others she mentions is seeing and ATM should remind you to be grateful for plenty of money. I am excited to try this practice because, well, you can never have too much to be grateful for.
So today let your world inspire your gratitude through magical cues.
I am truly grateful for the world that I live in, because life is an amazing experience.
There is an older woman at my church. She is a church mother and everytime she is asked to share a word with the congregation she just says "Grateful". At first you might think she is taking the question to literally or maybe she just has a ritual she wants to stick to, but one day it hit me. I felt what she was saying. She has lived over 80 years here in this life and on this earth. She has seen many historical tragedies and victories. She has experienced joys and hurts with her family and friends and she knows the wonder of life.
We will all experience ups and downs joys and hurts in our life, but life itself is intricate and amazing. Think about all of the things that have to happen in order for you to be born. Your parents must be fertile. You have to survive many weeks in the womb. You must exit your mother's body with no complications and then you get to take your first breath. That first breath leads to a lifetime of breathing. No matter what you go through in life, breath is with you. It sustains your life from the time you are born until the time that you die. Breathing sustains your bodily functions and allows you to experience everything that you experience on a daily basis.
But the fact that you can breathe is only one piece of the puzzle there must be air for you to breathe. So that means that the earth is perfectly placed in the universe and the elements on the earth are more than adequate to support the breath that you need. WOOOOOW!!! When you really get a hold of the concept of the intricate nature of life, you will be amazed. You may even be grateful.
Today, just breathe and say thank you for your breath. Be grateful for all that your breathing has sustained you through. Feel gratitude for the divine order of the universe that allows you life here and say Thank you.
I am very grateful for personal days, because they allow me to focus on things and activities that are important to me.
So yesterday, I took a personal day from writing and today I am taking a personal day from my job. To be honest, most of the personal days I do take involve me not doing something I want to do(writing), rather than taking time away from the things I have to do (job). So today is just about me what I want to do. One is to offer you another gratitude practice, continue to write, meet up with a friend, and then maybe catch a movie! I'm excited just thinking about it.
So first let's talk about today's gratitude practice. It is essentially the other half of the last exercise we did. Last time we thought of 3 specific things that we wanted to see a great outcome for. The practice I offer today is simply and add on to that.
Up until recently, I always had a negative reaction to people saying they needed to see me or talk to me. If a boss would say, "we need to meet", I would instantly begin thinking about all the things that I may have possibly done wrong and try to prepare to defend myself. One day I realized that I was creating unnecessary fear in myself so even though my initial reaction my have been instant fear, I began working on hoping for the best in all situations. It took a bit of practice and understanding of myself, but now I am at a much better place. If someone needs to speak to me, instead of invoking fear, I can invoke gratitude for myself and peace in who I am. Believe me, it is much less stressful to live this way.
Anyhow for you if you experience, what I have experienced, try the same practice that I discussed last time. You may get anxiety when you have to work with certain people. Or maybe dealing with particular family members bring you stress. When these situations occur, say grace. Feel gratitude for a positive outcome. Know what outcome you desire and then hope for it. Now remember immediate results don't always equate to final outcomes but patience will bring you the desires you seek.
I am grateful for this day, because I believe that everything will work out for my good by the end of it.
How often in your day do you say grace over something? Some of us say it when we eat hoping that there will be an outcome of health and safety in what we consume. But that idea or practice of grace and prayer could be extended to many more things in our lives. Grace is essentially expressing a belief in a positive outcome.
Today let's use that same concept to believe in the best for everything within our day. Think of at least three things today that you have to do and believe for a positive outcome. Try saying, "Thank you for a magnificent outcome to____________". Here's the trick. You must believe that you will receive that positive outcome and not be tied to the immediate results. Often times we believe we know what the best outcome is and become disappointed in our initial results. However, if you truly believe you will get the best out every situation then ALWAYS hope for it. Don't give up hope when results look negative.
This past August my father ran for Police Commissioner. He ran as a write-in candidate. That is usually not the best way to get in office. Yet he campaigned and shared his views. He got lots of positive support, but did not get the votes needed to be put in office. He expressed gratitude to his supporters and moved on. Well just last week, he was appointed to the position! Well just imagine what his outcome would have been if he suddenly started spewing negativity about the whole thing.
We actually have access to our desires through our own mindset and gratitude. If you know what you want, there is always a way for you to have it. The real trick is keeping your belief positive and being grateful for the process of it coming to you.
So today, I hope you all have a magnificent day and hope for the best.
I am very grateful to have my daughter, because she is truly a blessing in my life!
I know I disappeared for a few days. I just took the weekend off from blogging about our challenge. But hopefully that did not stop you from your daily practice of finding things to be grateful for. As you can see in my opening gratitude statement, I'm pretty jazzed today about someone special, my daughter. It's her BIRTHDAY!!! Kids are something special and if you have any give them all big hugs today and be grateful for them (hopefully they will take care of you when you get old.)
Anyhow, I skipped a few days in the book. I want to get back on track with day 18. It is inspired by the following quote by writer, William A. Ward:
"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used any of them to say thank you?"
Well, if you have been following along with our blog then I hope that you are spending at least a few moments or your day saying thank you. However, today we are going to walk out our gratitude. It's a very simple practice but hopefully can increase the gratitude you feel within this day. Simply take a walk and each time your foot hits the ground think and say in your mind "thank you". No need to be specific about what you are thankful for, just feel the feeling of gratitude for life in general. Today we are not concerned with what doors are opening and what we get in return for our gratitude we are just grateful. These past 17 days we have found many things to be grateful for so we will continue on that trend and just say thank you. Make that thanks and gratefulness a part of your day today.
Thank you all again for reading and sticking with me through this challenge.
Well today we are back to the subject of money. Thus far you
have been asked to be grateful for what you have had in your past and thankful
for what you currently have been afforded. The difference in today’s practice
is that we are going to envision what we can do with our money in our future.
Not too long ago, I read a book about 30 Law of Attraction
practices. One of them was called the prosperity game. Every night you would
write yourself a check. Lay it under your pillow and then retrieve it the next
morning. The game part was that each day you had to list out all the things you
would spend your money on. I believe the prosperity game is on our list of 30
day challenges for this year but just for today. Here is a check that I want
you to write to yourself:
Write in an amount that you could have plans for. Such as
the amount of a new pair of shoes you have been wanting, or the cost of a
vacation you would like to go on. The goal of this exercise is to change your
focus on your perception of money. They happier you are about your financial
situation, feeling gratitude for what you have and the money you are allotted,
the more opportunities will be open to you to receive more of the positive.
When we are thinking positively about money our senses are more aware and in
tune with possible money increases.
Enjoy this practice today and feel the joyfulness of not
having to worry about finances. Feel the peace of all the other practices that
we have done so far. They have all shown us that we may not have had all that
we wanted in life but we have been given many financial blessings already.
I am grateful for a body that has the ability to achieve all
of my fitness goals.
If the scientific and medical communities came out with
information today that stated that all physical illnesses and ailments are
actually psychosomatic and curable through mental and emotional wellness, would
you:
Work on your mental health and heal yourself, or
Try to prove them wrong by reciting all of the
physical issues you have experienced in life?
My guess is many people would try to do the latter. The fact
of the matter is that there have been several studies that prove that your
mental health plays a huge role in your physical wellness. Yet and still people
want to focus on what ails them rather than what could potentially heal them.
Our gratitude practice for today focuses on being grateful
for our health again. But today we will focus on past, present and future
health. Take some time today and think about times in your past where you have
felt amazing; you were in good health, felt great energy, and just felt good.
Thank feel and say thank you. Next take some time to be grateful for your
present health. Even if you have some aliments you also have body systems that
are working perfectly well. If you are reading this you have your sight. If you
are sitting at a computer, then you are probably breathing on your own without
the use of hospital ventilators. Finally,
take some time to visualize your ideal state of health and be thankful for that
as well. By expressing gratitude for a future state you are also exercising
your faith.
Improve your health today by being grateful for the health
that has brought you this far in life and where it will take you to if you just
believe.
Today I am grateful
for all my haters, because they had a hand in shaping who I am today.
I know that one is a weird one but often we lose sight of
the fact that everyone has a role in our development as a person. Often times
relationships go sour because we neglected to pay attention to the terms of the
relationship. I heard a powerful sentiment several years ago, that everyone that
comes into our lives are meant to be there for a reason, season or a lifetime.
The problem is sometimes we confuse which category those people should be in.
Some people should only be in your life for a specific reason to share
something with you or for you to share something with them. Others have a
seasonal term in your life, meaning they are in your life for a reason, but
that reason will take some time to manifest. But often times we as people try
to make everyone a lifetime commitment. When we do that with the wrong people
we end up with failed and bitter relationships that we don’t know how to
handle.
We can become so angry and resentful that it impedes our
growth as a person. But if everyone is in our lives for a reason, then we
should be able to find gratitude for that person and release whatever bad
feelings we harbor for them. In the book “The Magic” there is a quote from Gautama
Buddha (Founder of Buddhism):
Holding on to anger is
like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing at someone else; you are
the one who gets burned.
Today’s practice is finding forgiveness wrapped in
gratitude. Today, look at the relationships in your life that you have strong
negative feelings about. Your goal is to find ten things that you are grateful
for in regards to that relationship. For instance, if you are a single parent
you might not like the other parent however, you can be grateful for the child
that you conceived together. Or if you are struggling with a relationship with a
parent you can be grateful for the fact that you have life because of that
person.
Finding opportunities to be grateful for a person allows
forgiveness to ensue in your life. Forgiveness and gratitude will again (as I
have said in almost all previous posts) open doors for you. The more you hold
on to your hot coals of anger for another the more you get burned and miss out
on more fulfilling relationships that are looking for you.
So today, let’s not only be grateful for our haters, but
also those who we have been hating as well.
Today I am grateful for the warm bed that I am going to
enjoy tonight, because I am physically and mentally exhausted.
Well, as you can see, I am soooo late with today’s post. But
it is all about being grateful in advance for your day. Our practice today is
really adding on to our faith practice that we tried yesterday. Instead of just
visualizing things that you want for your future, practice having gratitude for
what you expect to happen in your day.
So for instance, if you know you have a long day full of
meetings, envision yourself having successful meetings that are efficient and
fast. Then take time to be grateful for those experiences and say thank you
before it even happens. When focusing on your desired outcomes you make it
easier to achieve those outcomes.
Try this tomorrow (since your day is probably almost over at
this point). And watch your outcomes magically appear in your experience.
Today I am grateful for my future, because I know that I had a role in shaping the desires I will receive.
Do you know what you want it life? Have you ever taken the time to write down your desires or create a vision board of those things you want to happen in your life? Or do you let life happen to you without your consent or input?
The last one was a trick question. Whether you have created a list or vision board, we all play a role in what happens in our lives. We all get more of what we concentrate on. If you concentrate on the bad things that are happening in your life you will attract more of the same. However, when you shift your focus to the positive things that happen you will also see more of the same. Many of us only focus on things after they happen and we react to them. Our unconscious and subconscious thoughts have been running the show without our explicit input.
So today we are going to change all of that. If you have not taken the time to figure out the desires for your life, today is your day. In your journal list out everything you desire for your self, whether it be financial, health, or love related. (I actually have a separate journal for this).Don't worry about if you can have it (you can), just write it all down Write every detail you can think of. For example:
I would like a home on the island of St. Maarten on the mountainside with a great view of water. It have 8 bedrooms for my family and friends. It has a patio with an outdoor kitchen and a pool. It will have a house manager who will run it when I am not on the island and will maintain it while it is being rented out to island guests and travelers.
There is a lot of detail there and in my journal I can add more an more as it comes to me. But that is not the entire focus of your practice today. As you may well recall our challenge is all about being grateful. So our goal today is to feel grateful for our desires. Writing them down is one thing and it is nice to imagine. However, if you write them down as wishes that are unattainable, that is what they will be. So today we will practice what many religions and spiritual practices deem as faith.
Once you have taken the time to write our your desires, pick the top 10 and list them in your gratitude journal. But this time when you write them down use this format: Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for ______________.
When you practice gratitude for your desires, you are also practicing using your faith to see those desires. Being thankful for what you want opens the door to your receiving it.
A few years ago, my brother helped me get a car. I wanted something bigger but was grateful for what I had. It got me where I needed to go. Last spring he called me and told me he had an SUV for me to try. At the time I had been working on a love journal challenge (our next one). When I got to the dealership, I tried the vehicle he had for me. But it wasn't what I wanted. My desires were for a white car larger than what I had. I tried a few more and there was one I really liked. While waiting in the showroom, I sat in a white Chevy Equinox I thought to myself, this is nice. I had never considered that model before and my brother gave me every indication that I could not afford it. So I left the dealership with the following feelings: I am grateful for the vehicle that I currently have. When the time is right I will have a new vehicle of my desires and that I can afford and I am thankful for that too. In my love journal I had written, I love my new car. Well, in less than a week my brother showed up to my job with a brand new White Chevy Equinox that were within my payment requirements! If you could see the video of him showing it to me you would have thought I won the lottery.
Anytime you believe you will receive something it will happen. The act of having gratitude for something before it is received shows that you have a positive expectation for it to happen. So today take sometime to believe in some good things for yourself. After you have listed your top ten. Some time during your day ask yourself the following 3 questions about each of them: What emotions did you feel when you received your desire? Who was the first person you told, and how did you tell them? What was the first great thing you did when you received your desire?
Activate your faith today in conjunction with your gratitude and watch amazing things happen in your life.
I am so grateful for all the people in my life who have taken time to share with me their wisdom and knowledge, because I have learned so much and become a stronger person with their influence.
Today we are acknowledging those people who have made a difference in our lives. We all have those people that have shown us things, or revealed the secrets of life to us. People that really have had or do have a great influence on the direction of our lives. Well today is the day to say thank you for them.
I have always moved around. I rarely stay put for too long and on every leg of my personal journey there have been people in places that have really helped to shape my life experiences for the better. They are people who gave me that advice to turn around, or look at how I was investing money or helped me while raising my daughter (and now son). And even if I said thank you to them at that time today is the day that we will take to feel gratitude for them and their influence.
For our practice today. Pick 3 people whom you feel have had a positive influence in your life and if you are in a private space say out loud why you are grateful for them. There is something about speaking and hearing those words. However, you may also take the time to write these words down in your gratitude journal today. Try to do all three people at once. We are growing our stores of gratitude and by doing this all at once you can evoke a greater feeling in yourself because you have so so much to be grateful for.
If you feel led and you have the opportunity you can also share your gratitude and thanks with that person by contacting them or connecting with them spiritually. If you are using your journal also write a short entry today about how you felt about this practice.
Thank you Sunshines! I hope you are still enjoying our challenge. I have a little surprise next week. So if you haven't joined the FB page @beautifulbriez, go ahead and like and follow for the details coming up.
Today I am thankful for another day, because I get to enjoy people and things I love one more time.
What are your first thoughts as you wake up every morning? Do you start thinking of all the things that need to get done or issues and concerns you had before bed. (If you have been using your rock your last thoughts should be all about what you are most grateful for 😉).
Every morning should begin and end with gratitude. Gratitude is a powerful emotion that can lead to so many positive and wonderful things in our lives. When you wake up in the morning start to say thank you for everything that you do as you are getting ready. The ability to do things should outweigh the fact that some of those things may not go as planned.
Say thank you when you wake up. You were able to sleep in a house, maybe on a bed, or sofa, possibly on the floor, but you had shelter. Say thank you that you had clothes to sleep in and you have clothes that you can wear today. Be grateful for the shower, bath, or sink that will provide water for your cleansing. And be thankful for the toothbrushes and toothpaste you have access to use. If you eat breakfast or have coffee or have that available for other family members find those feelings of gratitude. We have so much to be thankful for even before we walk out of the door.
So for today, take the time to really get your day started with gratitude by being thankful for everything that gets you going today.
I am truly grateful for all the people who provide services for me, because with out them I would have many unmet needs.
Today we our focus will again turn to the people in our lives. However, we will not be focusing on our closest relationships but rather the one's that we often take for granted. Everyday we interact with people in our lives. Co-workers, store clerks, mail carriers, cleaners, wait staff, city workers. They provide services that others are not doing for themselves. You don't go to a rest stop and clean the whole thing when you go in. But there is someone who has to go in and clean those stalls that you skip by because a previous person was just to nasty to clean up by themselves. Now anytime you see those people in a bathroom doing there job do you take the time to say thank you. I know I rarely even think of it.
There are many other jobs in this world that people have taken on that just seem under appreciated. Not long a go I traveled to NYC with my BFF. While we were walking around the streets at night there were mountains of trash that needed to get picked up. I remember on pile that made me sick just looking at it. But here was the deal. There were businesses being serviced by cleaning staff who had to gather all of that garbage and get it out to a trash location so that the morning garbage trucks could pick it up. I doubt people stand outside every morning just to thanks for that.
There are so many people who provide jobs, that seem thankless. The store clerks that check you out at the grocery store may be slow, but they came to work so that you could purchase what you needed at the store. Today is their day to get a thank you. If they don't get it from anyone else then at least they could get it from you. Today make it a point to thank ten people directly who provide a service to you. Tell them thank you and why you are thanking them. For instance, when buying your morning coffee say thanks for coming in today. I really need my coffee and I appreciate your service. It may seem like a lot but if you don't often show your and you are there everyday they are probably owed a little extra.
When you show gratitude to people you create connections. Who knows the service you get could start coming with perks or benefits. So start this practice today and keep it going.
I am so blessed to
have bills, because it means that somewhere in my past I was able to get a product
or service that I needed or wanted without having to wait for it.
Recently, I just paid off a personal loan. It was a loan
that I had struggled with paying for years. I didn’t get it to buy a house or
car, when the loan officer sold it to me he talked about all the things I could
take care of with it. Now I’m sure that I must have used it for some useful
things in my life but the most notable experience that I can remember using
that money for was a trip to Italy with my daughter.
So many of you who are responsible with your money are
thinking how foolish I was and in hindsight. I doubt I would do that again. Over
the years, I had come to resent that bill. I paid it when I was able. I stopped
paying it at times and eventually it ended up in collections. I finally decided
last year that I was going to put the bill on a regular payment plan and get
rid of it. (Just to clarify this picture for you my daughter was in first grade
when we went to Italy. She will graduate from COLLEGE in May this year.)
Well, I was reading a book by Louise Hay last year and one
of the things that she mentioned was to be grateful for our bills. WHAT?!!? How
could I be grateful for these things that are looming over me and in some ways
binding me? We can be grateful because the bills represent things that we were
able to do or have without having to wait for them. Now I know delayed
gratification is a good practice when it comes to things that we don’t need.
However, there are things that we do need like education, medical assistance,
shelter, and transportation. For many of us, we do not have cash on hand to
support all of our needs up front. And even if we use credit to purchase things
that we wanted to have like clothing, vacations, or other luxuries. The real
reason we can be grateful is because we are enjoying the things we desired to
enjoy.
So today’s practice is again about money. We are going to
turn our thinking around and be grateful for what our bills represent. The idea
is finding more ways to be positive about our situation. That positivity and
gratitude will turn into opportunities that will open doors of change for you.
As my story started, I told you I just paid off that bill. But it wasn’t by
continuing to pay regular payments until payoff. I actually received a bonus at
my job and negotiated a discounted payoff with my creditors. Not having an
account in collections and having access to more residual income allows me to
tackle other things financially.
Take some time today to say thank you for your bills.
So yesterday I found out that I had never shared this blog with the group that I had been writing for. I feel so foolish. However, I am grateful to the participant and friends who cleared that up, because without them I may never have made the changes.
So thank you Sunshines!
Anyhow, today's practice is all about being grateful for the things that we eat. I know I've always grown up saying grace before eating. However, I don't really think that I was being grateful. I was just saying what I was taught. When I started doing this gratitude practice, I realized how much goes into me being able to sit in front of a plate of food that will ultimately nourish and fuel my body.
Just think about it, anything that we eat goes through a process of creation just as we do. There are people who grow food There are people who prepare and package food. Then they transport and deliver food. There are people who stock food in stores and restaurants and then serve you in some fashion to get your food. That is quite a lifetime for you food as well as a host of people that are involved in making sure that you are fed. I don't know about you but that makes me feel a bit more grateful for having a meal to eat. I suppose you could do it all yourself, but the fact is you probably don't.
So today when you have your meals, really take time to be grateful for the food that you are going to eat. Be appreciative for all that it took to get it to you and be grateful that there are millions of people in this world that care enough about the hunger of others to provide food services to this world.
Today, I am truly grateful for this practice because it embodies what I am all about.
Today is our day to shine!!!
I'm calling this one the Suzy Sunshine Day.
It's really how I got the nickname Suzy Freaking Sunshine in the first place. Today's focus is all about finding gratitude in a negative situation. We all experience negativity, almost everyday. But I can guarantee that if you just take a little bit of effort you can find something to be grateful for in any situation.
One of my favorite movies is Pollyanna (and the remake Polly). The movie is about a little girl who lost her parents and goes to live with her rich and disconnected Aunt. In the movie Pollyanna turns a whole town from being disgruntled and disheartened to kind and joyful. The best part is how she did it, she helped everyone by playing the glad game. Each time they presented her with how terrible things were she found something to be glad about.
I play the glad game all the time. When people call me to vent they literally have to give me that warning in the beginning, because if not I will automatically find the silver lining. I suppose that could get a little annoying if you just want to be angry in your life. But think of it this way. When negative scenarios happen in your life and you dwell on how terrible they are does that change your situation? Not usually. However, if you are able to change your demeanor when they occur and find something positive to be grateful for at the very least you will feel better. And who knows feeling better could lead to finding a solution to your situation.
Today, think of s situation in your life that is negative. Then in your journal list 10 things that you can be grateful for in regards to that situation. For example, when I had my son, I was released from my job and could not find work for a while. But here were a few things that I would list:
I am truly grateful for having a home to live in.
I am grateful that I have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom.
I am truly grateful for the opportunity to go to water aerobics.
I am grateful for friends that are helping me during this time.
I am so grateful to have family who I can count when I really need them.
So today get your sunshine on and turn those frowns around.
I am truly blessed to work at my job, because I have an amazing team and I really feel that my work is valued there.
Many people get up every morning and dread going to work. If you look on the internet there are plenty of memes that depict the disdain of having to get up and spend however many hours working at our jobs. When you only see or think about the negative aspects of your job it makes it that much worse to go in and spend most of your time there.
Today we are going to work on finding all the reasons we have to be grateful for our jobs. Here are just a few options:
It provides me with a paycheck to take care of my family.
There are great places around to get lunch.
There are some really great people here that I enjoy talking to.
I know my job well and I have confidence that I am good at what I do.
I have health benefits
I accrue vacation and personal time.
There are a host of things that you can be grateful for. Take a minute to think about all the positive aspects your job today. You can list these things in your journal or simply say thank you each time you come up with a new one.
At the end of the day see how many things you could come up with and try to continue to focus on those things daily. You may find that when your focus is positive on the job more doors open up for you.
I am grateful that I always had everything I needed growing up.
For today's practice we will look at money in terms of what we have had in our lives rather than what we do not have. Take some time to reflect on your childhood. If you, had a roof over your head, clothing to wear, were able to attend school, participate in activities, ride in a car, watch television, and so on an so forth, you were and ARE blessed. Most if not all of your needs as a child were taken care of with money. So much money has been poured into your life already. If you learn to reflect and remember all the abundance that you have experienced in your past you will begin to allow more abundance to come into your future.
Today reflect on the blessings of your past and appreciate the money that has provided for your needs thus far in life.
As an exercise today, take a dollar bill and write:
Take a few moments today to pull out that dollar and just say thank you for all the financial blessings that you have received.
I am truly blessed to have physical use of my body, because I have the privilege of moving and doing anything that I desire.
Our bodies work perfectly. We don't have to think to take a breath, or remember to keep our heart pumping or our other body systems work. Everything just works. Yet we often have complaints about our bodies. We look in the mirror and talk down about ourselves. We know what we want to change about ourselves but are not often grateful about what is good about ourselves. Which by the way is everything.
Today is all about being thankful for our bodies and how magnificent they are. Our bodies do things that we have no control over and don't need to put in effort into. We process air through our lungs, food with our digestive system, knowledge with our brains. Our bodies work just as they are supposed to. When you become more thankful for your health you may be more likely to do things that will help your health improve. But even if you don't guess what, your body will put up its best effort to give you the life every morning. So you can still be grateful.
On a card write the the following words. "The gift of health is keeping me alive." Leave this on a desk or in a pocket and throughout your day just take a moment to look at it and be grateful for your health and body.
I am truly blessed to have friends and family, because they love and support all of my efforts.
Today is all about relationships. Isn't it beautiful to have someone that you can talk to, call on, or share your feelings and hopes with. We all have relationships. Some of them are positive, some not so positive. But the more you focus on the good of your relationships the better they can become.
Today's practice is all about really feeling gratitude for the relationships that you have in your life. Find pictures of 3 people that you are close to. Take some time to look at those pictures and feel gratitude for those relationships. In your journal list five things/reasons that you are grateful for each person. When finished re-read your list and just say thank you. Keep those pictures with you during this day and look at them often. Feel thankful for those persons and say thank you a few times today.
Today, I am grateful for a roof over my head to shelter me from this East Coast Snow Bomb Cyclone, because I am not an outdoors girl.
I am also grateful for another day to experience this challenge with this group.
Today we will add the gratitude rock to our experience. If you saw the FB page there was a video clip from the move The Secret. Click here to see the video. I hope you were all able to find something that could be your own symbol to remember to be grateful.
In our daily practice, you will continue to list 10 things you are grateful for each morning and in the evening you will hold your rock and try to pick the one thing your are most grateful for. The beauty of adding this to your daily practice is that at the end of the day you must recall all the best things that you have experienced and choose one. Instead of going to bed recalling the worst of your day, you will be going to bed feeling grateful and positive. This will allow you to have a more peaceful and calming sleep.
So find your your rock and add it to your daily practice.
Day one - List 10 things that you are grateful for.
Each morning, our minds often wander to what we have to get done, where we need to go, or who we need to talk to. Our sleep is interrupted by alarms, children, or spouses. We may even feel like it's difficult to roll out of bed and get our day started. But if we take just a few moments to focus on being thankful, we can turn our morning and days into positive and joyful experiences.
It is not mandatory that you do this practice first thing in the morning, but research shows that when we record positive experiences we improve our mood, health and general well being. When you incorporate this practice early, you set the tone for positivity and peace throughout your day.
This practice is our foundation for the next 30 days. As early as you can, take a few minutes to focus on what is good in your life, what you are thankful for and jot it down.
Here's and example of a gratitude statement:
I am truly grateful for the people who signed up for this challenge, because it shows me that there are people who could benefit from what I have to offer.
When you have written your list of ten, re-read the list and take a moment to just experience the feeling of gratitude for each one of them and say Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
When I first started this experience, I was little nervous about not knowing what to be thankful for. I know I have a lot to be thankful for so I didn't know where to start and would I be able to come up with things for almost 30 days. But each day with each of the exercises it got harder.
Hold the phone?!?
Yes. I said harder. It became harder to narrow it down to just ten things. And as much as I like to write I haven't turned that into my full-time job, so I couldn't spend all day listing things I have to be grateful for. You will find that once you really focus on what you have and what you have access to that you feel more and more blessed and thankful. Those positive feelings will open doors for more positive experiences to show up and give you more to be thankful for.
Good Morning Sunshines! Welcome to our first challenge, 30 Days of Gratitude. This challenge was inspired by a book that I recently picked up called The Magic by Rhonda Byrne (the author of the secret).
A Journal - You can also use a notebook or simply type your thoughts on your PC
A Gratitude Stone - You can find a stone from outside, or get a river rock from a craft store.
Daily Practice:
Every morning when you rise, use your journal to list 10 things you are grateful for and why. For instance, I am so grateful for this new year, because I have an opportunity to grow personally and professionally. After you have completed your list you will reread each statement and say thank you.
Every evening you will hold your gratitude stone in your hand and think of one thing that you were most grateful for that day.
Each day I will share with you a gratitude practice that will help us focus on all the things that we have to be grateful for.
Thank you again for joining me on this journey!
Like my FB page @beautifulbriez to get access to our sunshine group.
