Daily Gratitude

Daily Gratitude: It took me a long time but i’m so much better at this in the last couple of years. Better late than never I guess. However, i can definitely attest to the truth of this statement. As I’ve become more at ease entering new situations and meeting new people, my anxiety level has dramatically decreased and i go into these situations looking foward to what’s going to happen instead of dreading it as i did for decades. Once again, i have to credit Internal Family Systems (IFS) for my success at that. I don’t have to be defensive any more because i know that if i make a mistake at something, that just relects that one thing at that particular moment. it does NOT reflect anything about me. If i can’t so something, i now know to follow it with the understanding that i can’t do it yet and know that it’s because i haven’t learned and practiced enough. Again it doesn’t mean I am a bad person. I can’t tell you what a difference in my life this has made. I find loving myself makes it easier to love everyone else and that’s a big goal. I have received so much in my life that it’s time to give back. I encourage you to look at everything you do in “chunks” so that you can analyze them as individual items, not as a part of your entire self. It’s so much more calming and relaxing.

Daily Gratitude

Daily Gratitude: How do you summon this courage? Starting simple. Get a piece of paper or your phone/computer and record just one thing you are grateful for. One tiny thing. That’s all. It will help your spirits even if just a tiny bit. Put down another small thing and so on. If you can hold on and do this for 10 things, no matter how small, your mood will be better. Once you feel better, you can continue listing the things you’re grateful for. Trying to think of them will take your focus off the hard times. Once the focus is elsewhere, that will also help your mood. Keeping your mind off the bad things is key to altering your outlook. And making you happier, even if just for a bit.

Daily Gratitude

Daily Gratitude: Wow, if we could all adopt this attitude for the next year, what a change we’d see in ourselves, others and even the world. I know that we are up against times where people will have totally opposite opinions which could lead to blows. What if we tried to just accept whatever happens without complaints and criticisms. What good do they do anyway? If you disagree with the way something is being done, i’m sure you know that your complaints and criticims won’t change squat. They just make for more dissension and hatred – and it makes you upset, angry, furious, sad, whatever. I am not saying that we should condone what we don’t agree with but we don’t have to continue to feed negativity into the universe’s atmosphere with things that won’t make a difference. Take some of that energy and put it into a charity or cause where you can make a change and help people (or animals). This is why i don’t bother with the news anymore. If there’s something major, it pops up as a “breaking news” alert (which is usually bogus – i don’t know how the media defines “breaking news” but that’s another matter). Otherwise, things that are happening will most likely be issues i can’t do anything about. I want to enjoy what’s left of my life and being upset by stuff happening thousands of miles away. Again, this is not a defeatist attitude, because if you can take some constructive action, then you should. Otherwise, spread love and joy.