Hopefully you are enjoying reading all of the past Thoughtful Thursdays posts. If this is your first, welcome to the movement towards a more positive perspective in life. Thank you for accepting the challenge. The purposes of Thoughtful Thursdays posts is to encourage the people of the world to live life at 100%. The hope is that people will focus their energies on the positive, and give back that positive happy energy to the rest of the world. So as a whole, we all grow to appreciate life more.
I chose to write this post during the coronavirus pandemic of 2019-2021. Now more than ever, I feel it is best to express gratitude for what we do have versus focusing on what we do not. Innovation and technology help bring us together. I’ve never seen people so active on social media talking about self-improvement and self-help before the pandemic outbreak. People actually are banding together to help in whatever way they can to heal the world.
Our lives tend to be full of adventure, never-ending events with scheduling conflicts, taking care of loved ones, eating, drinking, and being merry. When do we find the time of ourselves though?
The CHALLENGE: For this challenge, I want you to intentionally set aside 10-15 minutes of time to focus on writing down a list of things that you are thankful for.
I’ve included a link to a printable gratitude journal from Brooklyn Active Mama that may help jumpstart you in your recognition of great things. The image below if from Brooklyn Active Mama.
It is important to recognize WHY it is important to be grateful and recognize great things. Once you become more proficient at recognizing small things that bring happiness to you daily, you start to understand what REALLY matters and brings meaning to your life.
You may be saying to yourself, “When am I ever going to find time to do this? I have to take my kids to football practice, and cook dinner, attend my women’s empowerment workshop, work my second job, wash dishes, learn a new language, go to the gym, take a shower, be a good husband or wife, march in the Black Lives Matter protest, listen to my show on NPR, catch up on my TV show……”
All of those things are important. People often make excuses to intentionally avoid focusing on pouring themselves into one thing.
I always say,
“The cup is never half empty or half full if you pour yourself 100% into life”
-Josh Bayard
It doesn’t lessen your value as a person if you stop and take 10 minutes to appreciate things that make you happy. You have to take the time to understand and appreciate those things and people that add value to your life. The point is to find the time and FOCUS your attention for 10-15 minutes, hopefully uninterrupted. Don’t ask for permission to take time for yourself. Don’t feel guilty about taking the time. The world will not crumble in 15 minutes.
It’s also important to write it down so that you physically are making the effort to write down what you’re grateful for and think through why you’re grateful for those things. Take your time and think through why you’re thankful and why these things make you happy. Start each line with “I am grateful for…”. Then add one or two sentences as to why.
You may even want to post it in a visible place like a whiteboard by the door of your house or on the refrigerator or as the desktop screen saver on your computer or phone. So that you can always see the things that make you thankful to have the life you have. The list can be as long or as short as you’d like as long as you finish the list in 15 minutes or less.
You might ask, “Why only 15 minutes?” Well, this won’t be the last time you do this challenge. It’s about quickly recalling in your mind things that make you happy and grateful so that if you come into moments of tough times, you can recover by remembering and focusing on a series of things that brighten your day. Every time you think about the items on the list, your mood will change and hopefully more toward the positive.
Try to write down different things on your list each time you attempt the Gratitude Challenge. So when you look back, you’ll have so many things to be thankful for. Each time you look at your lists, you should smile. If something on the list no longer brings you joy or just doesn’t have the same effect on your well being that it previously did, replace it. I encourage you to do it at least twice a month or more frequently if you have a lot of tough moments you’re trying to get through.
I mentioned in a previous Thoughtful Thursdays regarding Self-Love, that if you’re having a tough time, it’s all about how long you allow yourself to fester in that moment that prevents you from recovering to the wave of positivity you may have had prior to that moment. If you weren’t that positive before, don’t worry! You’ll get there. Embrace happiness.
Over time, you may start to reduce the number of lists you’re making and instead speak your moments of gratitude out loud. Focus on saying something in the moment even if it seems weird. If you’re hanging out with a friend and you appreciate them listening to you with being judgmental, tell them how much you appreciate them. You may go for a walk and see flowers that you like, say it out loud how much you appreciate the bright colors and sweet smells. If you eat a wonderful meal at a restaurant, tell the waiter, waitress, or chef why you liked the meal or how much you liked the meal and/or the service.
This is how you give positive energy back to the world. Some people might be having a bad day and by you outwardly expressing appreciation or smiling at something you’re thankful for might just change that person’s mood even if that wasn’t what you intended. Together we can change the world!
Have a great day everyone!
Wow! This is so true!