Daily Gratitude: Are you still painting by numbers? Maybe you no longer need the numbers.

If something’s not to your liking, change your liking. I read this in Patricia Ryan Madson’s book (Improv Wisdom) and it struck me as something I wanted to share with you.

If we change our perspective, our thoughts, and our attitude about things, then those things change.
Take a man or a woman (we’ll use a woman here) who wanted to change her spouse and they try and try and nothing happens.
Nothing except she gets more and nore frustrated and upset…even angry.

But then, she stumbles on the secret of life – they begin to work on changing their life and all of a sudden they notice changes in the spouse.

The woman changed her liking and began to focus on things for herself – things she could control.

Once that happened, there was greater room for the man to breathe. What he started to observe in her became more to HIS liking and he changed.

This happens repeatedly and you can make it happen in your life.
Here’s some other parts of the 13th maxim from “Improv Wisdom” – enjoy the ride
• Find joy in whatever you are doing, including ordinary tasks.
•   Look for ways to play. Play is essential to human growth.
•   Learning is enhanced when we lighten up.
•   Give away smiles every day.
•   Do something just for the fun of it.

People wonder why I retired when I did. It was because it no longer was fun. I was 71 and all my life my job had been fun except for two times. The one time I was a keypunch operator – don’t ask. That was the time I was told to quit or be fired. And the other time was when I finally decided it was time to retire.

I have done everything I could in every job I’ve had to make it fun. That’s actually pretty easy when you deal with people every day. Sure there are some jerks but the majority of time, the people help you have fun.

Do you take the time to look for ways to enjoy what you’re doing or do you just wait until you’re engaged in a pleasurable task?

How much are you missing in your life then?

Joy seems not so much dependent on the conditions of our external reality as it is on our way of looking at life.

Enjoyment is a way of approaching an activity, not the activity itself.

What can you do to help promote the concept of fun and enjoyment in your life or work?

Can you schedule some event either with your family or at work that is all about fun?

Or try this cute project. Pick an everyday object like a spatula and pass it around. As each person holds the object, he suggests a possible use. Keep it going as long as possible.

When you wake up ask yourself, how can I have fun today?

Daily Gratitude: Do you agree with this as you look back over your years? Sometimes it’s hard to separate out what happened in which year. That’s why I recommend doing frequent reviews and at the minimum review what happened in the previous year.

Keeping a journal helps with this. It doesn’t have to be a journal of feelings or deep thoughts although I think those are quite useful. Maybe your “journal” is your daily calendar. Don’t throw them out until the end of the year when you’ve reviewed them.

What did you learn? What questions came up? Let me give you an example that fits with this quote.

2017 was a year that asked so many questions. It started with the Shingles in 2016 and the horrible pain of postherpetic neuralgia (post shingles nerve pain). Then in 2017 it all came to a head and I was in the hospital for 5 weeks and missed 3 months of work. I couldn’t solve my problems or even recognize what they were so the universe stepped in and took care of all that. But it left me with so many questions about my life and what it all meant. I began my reflection and my journey into my inner self. The questions of 2017 led me for the next 8 years.

2025 was a year of answers and not just answers to questions from 2017 but from my entire life. It’s fascinating to look at it this way. This year has provided more answers than I could imagine. So many doors opened for me in so many ways.

See if you can see any of these patterns in your life. I bet they’re there

Daily Gratitude: Another technique to help you get to sleep

There’s lots of ways to help you fall asleep.

You know you’re supposed to have a set Schedule even on the weekends , minimize screen time before bed, keeping your bedroom cool, dark and quiet.

Limit caffeine after 2 pm or even earlier. Minimize alcohol because it fragments sleep.

Do relaxation and breathing techniques.

Do a brain dump before bed. Get everything bothering you out on paper. That way it won’t be rumbling around in your head keeping you from getting to sleep.

Put the clock somewhere else so you’re not just watching it all night like you see in some of the ads for sleep meds.

If you can’t get back to sleep after 20 minutes get up and do something else – in another room. And not on your phone.

Often when things are bothering me and I can’t sleep I get up and do expressive writing. That means just fervently writing anything that comes to your mind. Even if it’s just one word over and over again. Or a bunch of curse words. When you’re done you throw it out. It’s not a journal. There’s something about sending the thoughts from your brain to your hand and out.

Do all your physical exercise before 2-3 hours before bed.

Limit naps to 20 minutes and before 3 pm.

Despite most of these things when I have a lot of trouble sleeping. I revert to my old standby. I came up with this in 2004 and it’s worked every time I’ve used it.

I go through the alphabet with one goal – to come up with something I’m grateful for – one thing per letter.

I have yet to make it through the entire alphabet. The last time I was asleep by the letter O. This focuses your mind on something specific but also something very positive. It also does a remarkable job of soothing your nervous system. Another favorable condition for falling asleep.