Being away can be helpful in recognising the people and things you appreciate. You don’t need to go away for this to happen though. You can make the effort to find things you appreciate everyday.
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Tag: Gratitude
Merry Christmas!!
Celebrate it or not, I hope you have a fabulous day of joy and friendship. Happy holidays to everyone!! Enjoy the time with your partner, family, friends or on your own. Be grateful for all that you have and all of those that you know.
Best wishes and Merry Christmas. ?
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What Are You Grateful For?
Can you write out a list of 20 things you are grateful for in under five minutes? Try it. Right now.
I am grateful for….
Here are a few ideas to get you started. I am grateful for my good health, all of my formal, school-curriculum education, my spouse and children, my warm house, our comfy furniture and the peaceful country I live in.
The more items you note on the list, the more calm and relaxed you are likely to be. You will realise how great your life is. This isn’t compared to the wealthiest 1% today but rather against the difficult circumstances of living in 621. A life back then was quite different.
So what are you grateful for?…..
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You’re Having A Great Day When….
I’ll say mine down below. What about you? Do you distinguish between a regular day, good day and great day? What would make your day great? What warrants noting, appreciating and celebrating in your life?
Are you targeting these things, attracting them or completely oblivious and hopeful? A surprise here and there is always great.
But you can also attract great things into your life by thinking and doing great and appreciated things. For example, you help an older woman up some stairs in a building, and later find out she told her daughter about you. The daughter happens to be the Board Director you are interviewing with for your next job. Be kind. Do good.
You can also target things to happen. For example, I could apply for a book award competition and see how that goes.
Why am I having a great day? Friends started receiving their book orders yesterday and today and sent pictures and videos to me. Very cool. More of that please ?.
I also had Rory Sutherland of Ogilvy Group follow me on Twitter today. He’s brilliant and I’m delighted.
Also, more people keep contacting me about my new book from around the world. That’s pretty cool.
Finally, Roxane finished updating the new website for the book (Achieve Anything) and it looks great. Find out more about this life-changing book so you can achieve amazing results in your life in 2022 and beyond. Get your unique signed copy or find links to major booksellers at scottsbook.com
So I’ve been having a great day. Fantastic really.
If you want a great day too, reflect on why yours is great in the comments below.
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Immense Appreciation
Thank you to all of the well wishers, book buyers, sharers, likers and commenters. I greatly appreciate your time, attention and support.
Now that the publication date is here, I feel I can rightfully say I am an author. We celebrated my first official day of being a published author on Sunday. (And if you have skipped ahead to Step 7 in the book already, you will know what I am referring too.)
The next step is to be an author with readers. We know there are already some readers in the crowd and that is greatly appreciated. You will have bragging rights when the book hits 1 million copies sold. You can say, “I bought on the first day”, “I knew him when”, and “I was there at the beginning.”
Regardless of where this goes, thanks to all of you who are here at the start. Your likes, comments and messages keep me energised. Thank you.
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It Could Be Worse
Yes, it’s not how you want things to be. However, it could be worse. Look at others around the world or even around your neighbourhood. There are probably several people that are having challenges in their life that you wouldn’t want. Many you wouldn’t even know about.
Just remember, things can get better with time and some effort. Nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain. (As GnR would put it).
I’m not saying your situation is easy or that I know anything about it. I am saying though that you should look at the positives, regardless of how insignificant they may seem. From that will grow strength and greatness. In time, wounds heal, thoughts improve, lives change.
What you think is or isn’t manageable or good, is simple a thought or perception. Perceive things differently. Flip those thoughts on their head. See the upside and be grateful for it.
It could be worse. Focus on those slivers of good.
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Gratitude Is Great
When was the last time you said you were grateful for something? Who did you say it to? Gratitude is great if you actually do it. Writing it down and speaking it out loud are two great ways to express it well.
My daughter’s bedtime routine includes reflecting on the day and discussing what we are grateful for. Usually this part is done between my wife and daughter. This time was one for me though.
She asked me what three things I was grateful for today. Being asked the question by someone else creates a different level of importance on the question. You don’t really have to think about the question if you are doing it on your own. Just thinking about the idea of gratitude is enough to get you going. But it is not the same.
It was better to have the discussion. And I couldn’t be lazy or cop out with just one or two. It made me really think about what aspects of the day made me most grateful. It was such a good experience, I might try to do that more often with her.
I do write in a gratitude journal most mornings, though it is a little different. With my daughter it is out loud rather than written. Also, reviewing the day in the evening before sleeping can certainly help with recall.
Gratitude is great.
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Start With ‘That’s Wonderful!’
When a person does something well, try not to top them or criticise. Start with, ‘That’s Wonderful!’. Then maybe ask them how it felt and what was their favourite part.
It is not always easy to be gracious, especially after a loss. But to see good examples of how it is done, we can look to the sporting world. It is very common now to see interviews after a match. Usually someone from the losing side will be asked how it went.
They acknowledge how the they did and that they need to work on some things. They often cite the other side and note how well some individuals played or their whole team in general. It is very sportsmanlike to make these comments. Gracious in defeat.
The winning team also makes comments and they are usually restrained and fairly objective. They too usually reference the other side. Most of the time these comments are appropriate and supportive in their defeat. Many times they note how well the others played and some particularly good aspects of their game.
More people should take note of these post game interviews. Especially politicians. Politicians need to remember we are not enemies. And not really opponents. Both sides want the best. They want peace and prosperity. Health and education.
More of them should start with, ‘That’s wonderful!’, when they do well, rather than find something to criticise.
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Looking Back At 80
How will you look back on your life? What will be in it? What will have been worth the price you paid? Looking back at 80 is an important exercise to do many times when you are younger.
Imagine you are 80 years old. Can you look back over the span of 80 years and be filled with joy and contentment? There are a lot of tough questions in there. You will have to face your expectations versus reality gap and hope there is positive gap (reality ended up better) rather than a negative one.
It raises some helpful thoughts that should be considered throughout our lives. You might ask yourself the following questions. Am I living a good life? Should I spend more time and energy on family, career, finances, mental health, physical fitness or my community? How can I do more for others or myself? What will I accept or be happy with?
Its going to be harder to achieve anything once you reach your 80’s. There are many that keep going like Warren Buffett. However, you’ll have to have good genes, stay healthy and have a little luck on your side.
You may wish you had worked harder, studied more, saved more money or maintained better fitness. There is still time to change the outcome but you’ll have to put the effort in.
Looking back at 80 should be a delightful experience.
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Has Life Become Too Easy?
The Mayflower took 66 days to cross the Atlantic Ocean in the autumn of 1620. Concorde took only 2 hours and 52 minutes to cross. Has life become too easy?
On the Mayflower there were about 30 crew and 102 passengers. You could fit about the same number of people on Concorde.
The ship was challenged by rough seas and difficult winds. The passengers spent most of those two months seated and seasick. One person was washed overboard. Hard to imagine what the dining service was like.
Meanwhile, the Mach 2 turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner had seatbelts, champagne and a very good reputation.
Also, in the Mayflower era, it took about 3 months to get a message to a transatlantic loved one. Today, you can simply FaceTime, Zoom or Skype them. With these video calling options, people can actually speak to, see and hear their dear friends and family in real time. Amazing!
There is so much efficiency and so little effort required today. This may be getting our expectations way ahead of our realty. This creates the ER Gap. This can be quite a dangerous place. It can even bring with it various mental health challenges.
Has life become too easy? Perhaps for many it has.
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