[This week's blog by Lisa Main - TotalWellnessDefined.com]
Do you find yourself more overwhelmed at this time of year?
Extra workload, the holidays, time change, weird weather, plus all the usual responsibilities...things can get a bit chaotic. When I get too overwhelmed, I get crabby and overly emotional. How about you?
That's when I have to take a step back and figure out how to change the narrative (you'll see me use that phrase often). My go-to method is practicing gratitude. When you learn how to appreciate the blessings you have, you start to focus less on the things you lack or the situations that steal your joy. I think most of us would say we are grateful for our blessings, but I'm talking about a more intentional practicing of gratitude, a focus on the things that we might take for granted.
Did the light change to green just before you got there when you were running late?
Do you finally get to wear your favorite winter boots again?
Did you have a little extra time to sip your coffee before rushing out the door today?
What if you woke up tomorrow and had no ability to see? Or hear?
Time, sight, hearing, weather...they're all gifts. You didn't somehow earn any of them. These past two years, many have discovered how much of a gift the senses of taste and smell are! When you practice intentional gratitude, you'll find so many gifts throughout your day that likely outweigh all the yucky stuff. That's not to discount the trials in life, but you can choose to look for good even as you honor and acknowledge those going through struggles (including your own).
It can be difficult to put into practice at first. Let's be honest - misery loves company. When you're in a miserable mood, you tend to want to sit and stew in it, even when part of you wants things to be better. This post I found in the Lavender Life blog helps make it easier to practice gratitude daily. Print the Gratitude Calendar and put it somewhere you will see it every morning as soon as you get up. Do a gratitude task each morning, and it will eventually become as involuntary as breathing. I like to journal my gratitude whenever I can. On the particularly rough days, it helps to go back and read the list of blessings I had written down.
When you start each day with a grateful heart, it's hard to be in a bad mood. When things do happen that set a negative tone, you'll be much more likely to immediately turn to gratitude and look for the blessings in every situation. This will also help others around you stay more positive. Your positive outlook will bleed into everything you do, and you'll attract positive situations, including better health (stress = health problems).
When you start each day with a grateful heart, it's hard to be in a bad mood. When things do happen that set a negative tone, you'll be much more likely to immediately turn to gratitude and look for the blessings in every situation. This will also help others around you stay more positive. Your positive outlook will bleed into everything you do, and you'll attract positive situations, including better health (stress = health problems).
What do you say? Will you commit to 30 days of gratitude? It doesn't have to be the 1st of the month to start. Just get started!
I'd love to know how you feel when you're done! I'll even send you a little gift if you reply back to me when you're finished, because it means so much to me that you see the life-changing benefits of practicing intentional gratitude .
~Lisa
I'd love to know how you feel when you're done! I'll even send you a little gift if you reply back to me when you're finished, because it means so much to me that you see the life-changing benefits of practicing intentional gratitude .
~Lisa
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