Daily Gratitude: Can you read this enough times that you understand it? I mean truly understand it. No, I’m not making fun of you. I just know from experience that it’s easy to read something without really seeing it. Most people think that excessive stress leads to illness and I agree. But often what leads to that excessive stress is the need to “get it done right now” (or yesterday would be better). It’s rushing from this activity to the next and then to another. No room to breathe. Are all these activities necessary? If they involve our kids, what are we really teaching them is important? Why do they have to be into everything? Is that healthy for them? I was just sitting here thinking about how I don’t feel great this morning (no, nothing major is wrong. I’m just old) and then I realized there could have been plenty of mornings when I felt that way in the past BUT I was always moving on to the next task. I never allowed myself to feel anything let alone not feel well. Of course that’s what landed me in the hospital for 5 weeks in 2017. I never stopped to think about what was going on in my life. Even the post shingles pain hadn’t made me stop to analyze that and let me tell you that pain was horrific and constant. How numb can we get ourselves? And then how dumb is it to be numb? In my case it was very dumb. I had missed all the signals and messages and there were many. I didn’t know how to slow down and be patient. So the universe taught me. Why don’t you look at your life and see where you could use a bit more patience? Then see what you can do about it? Hopefully preventing you from becoming a patient.

Daily Gratitude: You don’t even have to have a goal of wanting to he extraordinary to use this “tip”. Next time you think about doing something, think of whether there is just a little more you can do. If not, that’s ok. At least thinking about it will get those “brain muscles” working. If there is something, though, do it but just file it away in your mind or in a private journal as “extras”. Don’t brag about it or even mention it to anyone. Just do it. The more you try that little extra, the better it will feel and the better something feels, the more you’ll want to do it. Write about it privately and write how it made you feel. Then think about what tiny bit more you can do and so on. Keep this up and your life and your attitude will markedly improve.

Daily Gratitude: This one saying is something that can help us through many a tough time. Here’s where we have to use our conscious brain to help us separate what’s going on around us. We have to he able to examine our circumstances and our feelings to determine if safety or comfort is the issue. Once we know that, we can respond appropriately. If we are safe, then we can address the discomfort and remember that most of the time growth requires some discomfort or it won’t happen. By making the distinction that you are safe, it becomes easier for your brain to behave in a rational manner. If your brain thinks you’re unsafe, the primal functions will kick in and during that time, the cognitive portions of your brain are not working well, if at all. Often all it takes is your analyzing the situation and then telling your brain “we (or you) are safe. There is no danger”. I remember saying this repeatedly and even creating a song incorporating it, during one vol state race when the nerve pain in my back was intense. It didn’t take the nerve pain away completely but it definitely helped. Copy this saying down and put it somewhere you can always gaze upon it and then remember that your brain needs to know the same thing.