Gratitude Archives - Page 45 of 56

Deciding What Is Important

Posted on May 31, 2021

What is the deciding factor for relative importance in your life? For most people it is their values. Deciding what is important is an ever-shifting game you play in your head.

Do you remember what was important when you were three days old? Perhaps it was food, warmth and comfort. But when you were eight, 16 and 21, what you prioritised may have been different. I am almost certain that it would have been.

What is valued by a 30 year old is unlikely to be the same as that valued by an 80 year old. Time, location, wealth, health, education and family will all have an impact on what you think is valuable. In addition, what you value can shift as your life shifts or with new information. It is inevitable.

A good way to discover what is truly important to you, is to check how you spend your time. If you spend your time at the pub with friends, family may not be as high on your list as you thought. However, working everyday to bring in the income, so your family can be fed and safe, may take precedence over spending time with them.

Deciding what is important can be tricky and have many layers.

Action Gratitude Health & Fitness Reframe your thoughts Time

Have A Fabulous Day

Posted on May 29, 2021

I love great days. It’s brilliant when everything is firing on all cylinders and everything is feeling right. Have a fabulous day like I did and it will make you feel 10 years younger.

Clear the decks from all responsibilities and go enjoy. Be present and let the day unfold. Attack it with a lively and positive attitude. Let little things slide. Give every moment a smile. Do it even if you would rather flip it the bird. Life zips by as we zoom around the sun.

Take advantage of every moment you have. You will reach a moment in life when it will get quite difficult to do things. Even thinking or remembering could get difficult. So pick a day here and there and dedicate your life to it.

It does not have to be expensive or difficult. We went for a family walk / hike at Box Hill. It was a brilliant day out. We brought water and snacks. So a bit of petrol and a small car park fee were the only costs. Pretty awesome for five people to have a fabulous day.

Use a simple outing to create a great and lasting memory. Maybe book one of these days in every month. I’m looking into it now.

Gratitude Progress

Reaching Magic Numbers

Posted on May 24, 2021

Certain numbers feel good. They look right and have meaning. Reaching magic numbers can make us feel great whether it’s a significant date, time, score, weight, income or something else.

Hitting a certain target is fun and exciting. Roger Bannister cracking the four-minute mile is one of those moments. Three minutes and 59 seconds for anything else is not very stirring. But that barrier, at that time, for that distance, will be remembered by many.

Birthdays have this appeal too. Celebrating one’s 10th, 16th, 40th and 65th birthday seems to have more emotional and social significance than many of the other milestone figures, before, during or after these.

I hit some magic numbers this week which felt good. Yesterday I posted my 500th daily consecutive blog post. Staying with that 500 milestone, my Instagram account has attracted that number of followers from a dozen in January. There may be some relationship between those two milestones.

I’m grateful for all the follows and hope everyone is getting good value from my daily posts. It is interesting to see things grow and develop. It will be nice to see what numbers will be significant in three and six months from now. In addition, I’ll be interested to see what milestones will be reached in 5 and 10 years.

Reaching magic numbers is exciting. What numbers are you getting excited about?

Gratitude Observe Think About It

Know When You Are Done

Posted on May 23, 2021

We can push ourselves too far or beyond the point of enjoyment. We must monitor our own feelings. Know when you are done so you don’t go overboard.

This idea is the same for eating ice cream as much as it is for finishing a work project. You can also use it to decide what you like in life and what you do not.

You can eat too much ice cream. The taste is so good it is hard to stop. But you need to know when you are done. The unintended consequences of not paying attention can be significant.

Although it seems so important in the moment, the longer term ramifications are not justifiable. If you eat a 500 ml tub of ice cream every day, it will have an impact on your weight, insulin, heart and overall health and fitness.

Similarly, if you work too hard or too long on a project, you risk burnout. Often we have done the job very well and could stop. However, perfectionist tendencies and fear of our peers can keep us toiling away longer than necessary.

Know where the boundaries are. Know where yours are. Keep an eye on them and act accordingly.

Know when you are done.

Action Gratitude Reframe your thoughts Time

Undoing History

Posted on May 17, 2021

The desire to undo things done must be as old as civilisation itself. People say and do things they wish they could take back. Undoing history would be lovely in some respects. However, there is no giant red rewind button to facilitate this.

Wouldn’t it be nice if such and such had happened or hadn’t happened. The musings of those not wanting to accept the brutal facts of reality. Things are as they are today. They are like this precisely because billions of people did trillions of things and they can’t all be undone.

By constantly living in the hope of the past being different, we can drive ourself to madness.

It may give us some comfort to hope that we will be young again. Or even that wars will not have been fought and past transgressions never occurred. Spending time on trying to right the past uses up energy we could use to improve the present and the future.

Sure it would be better if certain things were a certain way today. Anyone whose family has had a difficult past would probably agree. However, it has happened a certain way and we must make the best of it now.

Rewriting history might make you feel better about the story but the results are in.

Undoing history is still not possible. Best to focus on what is.

Gratitude Observe Reframe your thoughts

The Work Of Others

Posted on May 15, 2021

Look around you. Everything in your home, office or neighbourhood was the thought or effort of someone else. The work of others surrounds us.

Look around your living room. Perhaps you have a sofa, rug, fireplace, TV, chair, ceiling, light fixture and many other things. You may see several books, pictures in frames, tissue boxes or potted plants. All of these things were thought up by one person or a group of people. Then some people did the manufacturing of it.

It is amazing. All of those people you never met, but whose creative handiwork surrounds you. Then there are the things you can’t really see like electrical wires, plumbing and WiFi.

Out in the streets you have roads, sidewalks, pavement, cars, trucks, sewers, bridges, trains, traffic lights, buildings and buses. People imagined life with these things and there they are! Isn’t it a wonder? It is amazing beyond belief.

Someone conceived the idea. Another person organised it into existence. And you get the benefit of it. Things were dug out of the ground for you. Or they were chopped down. Either way, they are in your world and you get the benefit of their beauty or utility.

Be grateful and appreciate the miracle and wonder that is our modern world.

The work of others is mostly a blessing. Treat it that way.

Gratitude Reframe your thoughts Think About It

A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney

Posted on May 13, 2021

Who had an impact on your life? What do you remember of them? I fondly recall watching, “A few minutes with Andy Rooney” every week on TV.

From the age of eight until probably 14, I looked forward to those three minutes with Andy every Sunday night. My parents would watch 60 minutes and I quite enjoyed it too. But the bit I relished the most was that time with Andy.

He was grandfatherly and spoke his mind. A lot of it made sense to me. He was easy to understand. Occasionally he would come on and correct himself or apologise for something he said the previous week. I liked him more for having considered it and then mentioning the point.

He spoke from his perspective, as all of us do. It’s a little difficult to speak from someone else’s perspective. And as such, you can only say it one way. Odds are very high though, that other people listening will have a different perspective. That’s ok. If they politely note that difference, it can be mentioned. Although, you don’t have to reference or note all the different perspectives that you didn’t have or became aware of after.

Andy’s whimsical commentary of everyday life, amongst other things, intrigued me. I liked his delivery. He made people reflect and think a little. I enjoyed that.

A few minutes with Andy Rooney will always have a home in my heart and my mind.

Gratitude Health & Fitness Observe Time

The Calming Effect Of Clouds

Posted on May 11, 2021

Have you ever sat back and just watched the sky change? There is something therapeutic about it. The calming effect of clouds is one of natures truly simple pleasures.

Lie down on your back, on your deck, in your garden or at the local park. Get comfy on a blanket or nestled in the grass. Allow yourself some time to relax and enjoy it. Maybe 15 minutes or half an hour will work for you. In addition, bring your child or children.

Lie down with your heads near each others. A circle may be the best formation. This way you can speak to one another and all hear what is being said. Just try to not to get too chatty. Stay focused on the clouds and their ever-changing formations.

My favourite time to do this in the park is in the summer on a warm day with a little cloud and light breeze. The warm air is relaxing. The blue sky punctuated with the puffs of clouds being moved around by the gentle breeze is lovely.

If you have a glass ceiling in the house, this can be a great year round activity. It can be especially enjoyable on stormy days and windy days. If you haven’t done this for a while, do it today. You’ll get up feeling 10 years younger.

Enjoy the calming effect of clouds.

Action Gratitude Reframe your thoughts

Prime Your Mind

Posted on May 6, 2021

Today will be amazing! So many things are going right already. I am certain more great opportunities will arise. Prime your mind for success and you may just find yourself having more.

Life can be a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you live with hope, keep a positive attitude, follow proven processes and take immediate action, you are likely to succeed.

Oh yes, there will be speed bumps-a-plenty on your trip to the ideal life. However, if you focus on the big dreams and the excitement of it all, you are more likely to make it happen.

You see, your mind is a solution-seeking, target-tracking machine. Once it understands something, it sets about trying to confirm it or find it. If you say, “Oh no, not Monday!”, you may find your brain working overtime to supply you with photos of drudgery, pain and distress.

But, if you wake up and say, “I am going to have a wonderful and productive today.”, then you are more likely to do so. Most of the time, most of us aren’t paying attention to what we say. This is a real shame, for this is where the magic is.

If you prime your mind, every morning and evening, with good thoughts, positive reinforcements and strong affirmations, you will not only enjoy your life more, but you will probably get a lot more out of it. Try it.

Action Gratitude Observe Time

Life Changes Fast

Posted on May 3, 2021

A lottery win, new contract, new partner or a promotion can be wonderful. Especially if they were unexpected. Life changes fast. Sometimes it changes for the better and sometimes for the worse. I guess that is the reason for the marriage vows being written that way.

We all hope for the good kind of life changes. Although the other kind show up sometimes too. We need the resilience to deal with those.

Whether it is one of those Friday afternoon meetings which ends with your job gone or simply an unexpected injury, its rarely pleasant. We want to get through this pain point as quickly as possible and have everything running smoothly again. However, with most of these events, it does take some time, and work, to improve on the situation.

Amazingly though, life can turn on a dime and you can be moving forward again. I wish this for you. I hope your troubles are few and you manage them with personal strength. Hopefully you get more of the good changes and can let go of the other kind.

Moments are the creator of our destiny. Those moments will stay with you. They are usually easy to spot if you reflect a little.

Life changes fast. Roll with the punches.