Daily Gratitude: ‘Tis the season. Yes, it’s the season of holiday spirit, New Year’s resolutions, cold winter days (and nights), and new beginnings. But, it’s also the season for great depression. Sometimes it’s due to the darkness and less daylight and sometimes it’s because or another kind of darkness. What’s important is not what causes it, but that it’s there and often very well hidden. So as the countdown to the new year begins, pay close attention to your friends. Look in their eyes and listen to their words. If you know they’ve had some loss in their lives (no matter when), let them know you understand that this may be a difficult time for them and you’re there for them. Check on them frequently. Make sure they have a place to go so they aren’t alone. Write them notes. If you make donations, make them in honor of the person they lost. Include them. It’s a busy time of year but never be too busy to take care of those who aren’t as fortunate as you.

Daily Gratitude: When you’re filled with fear as i am, this is an important instruction albeit an extremely frightening one. The way to conquer anything is to confront and do something that gets you to the other side of it. I have plenty of fears such as fear of meeting people or talking on the phone (which I’ve written about before). I know (intellectually) that if I just do the thing I fear, and do it often, it will eventually no longer be frightening. Knowing that and being able to do it are two different things though. I have to force myself to delve into it. Do I really want to get over this? What’s the up side of getting through it? What’s the downside? Which is mor important to me? Why? What’s the worst that can happen? Will it really be that bad? You have to go deep because these are usually long standing fears and we are skilled in burying the bad things as deep as possible. We have to be aware of that or we’ll only clear the surface and never really figure out the meat of why we’re afraid. Then using breathing techniques and meditation will help calm our nervous systems to help ease stepping up to the fear. “Oh my. Why is it so complicated?” I’m sure you’re asking. Because of our defense systems and the length of time we’ve had these fears. The fact that it is so complicated is simply testimony to our brains ability to have these fears totally embedded deep within. If you really want to conquer the fears, you need to develop techniques like this for yourself.

Daily Gratitude: Happy Thanksgiving! Gratitude is a powerful force and I encourage you to express more of it in the coming year, not just one day. Perhaps that would be a good goal – daily expression of at least one thing you’re grateful for? Today I want to add more along the lines of putting positives in your life. It’s what you focus on that counts. Things may appear to be bad but as I’ve said so many times, there is always a seed of equivalent benefit in every adversity. I reiterate that you can develop this type of outlook by practicing finding the positives all around you every day. Look for them. Stuck in traffic? Look around you. What do you see? How do you interpret everything you’re seeing. A bit low on money? What are you learning from it? Is there someone you can ask for help? Is asking for help difficult for you? Then maybe your lesson is to learn how to ask. Take some time at the end of every day and look around you and just list all the positives. Make up your own games or challenges for you or your family trying to find a positive. You can write out a list of scenarios. Put them in a jar and your family can pick out a scenario and their task is to find as many positives as possible. The winner is the one with the most. It can be fun as well as habit forming. Whatever you do, just keep cranking out the positives.