Everything you Say, Do and Create, begins with a thought….
The deeper I embrace this Gratitude Practice that I began some weeks ago, the more I find myself rattling on about it to everyone who’ll give me air space!
I have kept a gratitude journal for years and found great benefits, however I have to add that something quite wonderful and unexpected happens when you take your Gratitude practice out of the pages of your journal and onto a wider audience.
I am now 37 days in and still counting.
I must say this is not the easiest practice I have ever done, and that is partly because I am posting daily on my facebook page.
The deeper you go into any practice the more you notice ALL of the things that can trip you up.
Like bad days.
Or tired days.
Or not feeling like it.
Getting caught in a negative story line.
More practice – I have to “boringly” say, helps with this!
Fortunately there is a much more enjoyable up-side of practicing Gratitude – and that is – feeling good a whole lot more often than when I started!
The first thing I really noticed was this surprising Steadiness I began to feel daily.
STUFF doesn’t knock me around so much anymore
I feel good more often than not.
Really Good!
I cherish the happy moments a whole lot more.
And notice them so much more quickly now!
My heart feels more open.
My sense of wonder is growing.
My taste buds are more alive than before.
I FEEL alive in a whole new way!
Many days I am giggling fool, and even to me – quite startlingly happy!
This is not the me that I am used to.
I was content to be content.
Often I just prayed I could say – “yes! that was a good day or even just, an OK day.”
This practice has given me such a change in attitude and feeling that I really want to share with you all some of my observations and encouragement to start your own practice or maybe take it up a notch!
Anchoring Your Gratitude Practice
What if you could wake up each morning, and instead of planning your day, your first thought would be
“I’m feel so blessed and grateful for today – and every day.”
Obviously waking up happy and optimistic is preferable to any other mood. And if you are looking for a way to live a healthier, happier life,
Gratitude is a choice that can become a life enhancing habit.
1. Take one step at a time without worrying about the journey.
One of the best things I have discovered along the way is the value in having a “beginners” mind.
It stops me getting too caught up in all the good I feel.
Thinking I have this practice nailed!
It’s so easily done and then you tell yourself…oh I can relax now.
And you stop!
So each day I renew my willingness to do my best, to expand the goodness I can notice each day and in each moment.
I practice continuously allowing the habit of appreciation to show me and to teach me how good life can feel.
We tend to think in blocks of time ahead of us.
For example, when we go grocery shopping, our mind is on what we need to buy and where to shop.
We’re likely to skip over all the little experiences on the way:
grabbing everything we’ll need
locking the front door
seeing the neighbour standing at the window
the sun shining through the windscreen
the traffic lights that all turn green for us
the parking spot that magically appears
and so on.
The same thing happens when we begin a new practice.
We’re always looking towards what we’ll know or be able to do in the future, instead of focusing on what’s in front of us now.
So stay a beginner. Do the easiest simplest practice you can do to begin with, until it naturally expands. Learn to really love being at the beginning!
2. Anchor your practice with all the things that make you feel good, and make you smile.
One of the biggest drawbacks I found to begin with, as do many of my clients, is trying to be grateful to lots and lots of different things.
This is a good practice, but it gets wearing after a little while at the beginning, and can turn into just a list making practice.
Your practice will naturally expand completely effortlessly, so just simplify to begin with.
What I noticed quickly was taking note of what made me FEEL good, or happy was all I needed to get started and sustain this practice.
So every day I started with my favourite LOVES.
My bed. My morning coffee. And galaxy chocolate -my anchors
I imagined them first, really visualized or felt them or tasted them until I started smiling… that is a sure sign you have nailed it!
Once I had the feeling, it was SO easy to notice what other things were good in my life. But don’t get complicated
You’re not going after a World Guiness list.
You’re looking to train your mind to stop seeing whats going wrong and start really paying attention to all that’s good.
Even if it’s only 1 thing a day to begin with. That works!
Go back to your anchors often, visualise and use them to shift your moods with ease.
You’re looking to teach yourself what it feels like to feel good, and how to be able to sustain that feeling.
If you’re looking for encouragement and support with your own practice just find me on Facebook and jump in!
I’d love to see you there!
I can’t guarantee that your life will change immediately, but I can absolutely guarantee that YOU will change dramatically.
And when YOU change, that’s when magic begins to do its work.
You naturally see your life differently and then the Universe can truly begin to re-arrange itself in your favour!
Work with Me!
Are you ready to make this year, the one where you intentionally make better and more empowered choices for yourself?
To risk more, to be wiser, more committed to changing your life for the better?
Would you love some support and accountability to start accomplishing more of what you say you want to do, and you’d love some guidance for where to begin?
Here’s your chance to stop settling, to discover and create what it is you really want in your life. Let’s just talk and see how we can work together, and get you clear, confident and back in the Game!
Isn’t it time you discovered and claimed what your heart longs for.
Please do GET IN TOUCH with me here, I’d be delighted to talk to you.
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