“To be grateful is to be rich” – Tony Robbins
Okay, stop right now. No matter what is going on in your life, what’s ONE thing that you can be grateful for? Just one. Now that you have thought of that one thing, the list can easily flow to the second thing, and the third and on and on. It’s like once you are on the roll of listing things that you are grateful for, you find that you have a lot that you can be grateful for!
Gratitude changes everything! An example of gratitude is the Blake Leeper story. Born without fully developed legs, this young man is a 8 time Paralympic track and field international medalist. He is a double amputee. Growing up he used to say, “why me”, now he says,”why not me”. “What was his disability is now his ability”, he says! Sure growing up was not easy. His ill fitting prosthetic worked just fine, until he is running in a T ball game and one of them fell off. One thing he knew for sure – He loved the feeling of the wind against his face. It was heaven!
Daily gratitude journal sets the pace for your day. Finding sometimes, the little things to be grateful for, is all that is needed to start your day out right. I usually write out 5 things minimally. I like to ‘bookend’ my day by doing this morning and evening right before bed. If I don’t have a journal, I enjoy writing these out in a notebook.
A few things on my gratitude list this morning, 1) I am so grateful and thankful for the magnificent feats that my body does for me without me thinking about it. 2) I am so grateful and thankful for my loved ones and friends 3) I am so grateful and thankful for healthy food to eat and clean water to drink 4) I am so grateful and thankful for great night sleep last night 5) I am so grateful and thankful for dependable vehicles.
No matter how big or how small, acknowledging things that you are grateful for is probably one of the most empowering things you can do for yourself each day. When you are mostly in an ‘attitude of gratitude’, life seems to support your dreams, your aspirations and your goals. It’s something about riding this wave! It’s a ride I never want to get off!
Here’s to not taking anything for granted! Now, this is a great new habit to start.
