Gratitude Archives - Page 2 of 3

Catch People Doing Something Well

Posted on September 9, 2020

It’s so easy to criticise. Especially if you continue to practice doing it. Of greater benefit to one and all is to catch people doing something well.

I think I read about this in a parenting book many years ago. It really struck me. Although we want to guide our children and others well, it can mean we provide a disproportionate amount of negative feedback.

What builds confidence and leads to greater capability is hearing good and positive feedback. For most kids, they will do 99% of things in the good zone. Check whether you are giving 99% of your feedback on those good things they are doing.

This is the same with colleagues, other family members, the government, health care workers, police and teachers.

Every day, one hundred thousand things have to go right, at the right time. That’s just for things to go smoothly. If one thing isn’t right, try not to focus on that. Focus on all the other things going well.

There are various ways to address this. One is to recognise several of the good things that they have done, especially any they did particularly well. Often you can leave it there. A lot of times they already know what they could have done better.

Catch people doing something well and you’ll see more smiles.

Gratitude Reframe your thoughts

Life Is A Value Hierarchy

Posted on September 6, 2020

Throughout your life, you will need to choose between two or more options of value. Life is a value hierarchy and you are the constant decision maker.

A simple example of this is what to eat for breakfast. You may have the luxury of choosing between eggs royale or Cheerios. Some people will have more exciting choices and some far fewer. Some don’t have anything to choose from.

Whatever your situation, you then need to make a choice. First you make a choice of your preferred meal. Second, you make a choice about how you see your situation. What’s fascinating is how people perceive their situation.

Some will have all the best cooked, freshest food in the world and be happy. Others will find something to disparage. Those with poor, few or no choices, can find happiness or discontent too.

Extrapolate this out to all of the decisions you make in a day. You are constantly deciding what is more important and less important. Then you decide how you feel about it. Be careful though. Those decisions about how to feel about things, soon will become a habit.

You might not notice, but you may stop appreciating your moments of good fortune. Things may start to seem commonplace. You may become disenfranchised with imperfection.

Life is a value hierarchy. But you are at the controls.

Action Gratitude

Loving The Great Outdoors

Posted on August 28, 2020

It’s great to get back outside and enjoying the spaces, sounds, smells and sights our world has to offer. Loving the great outdoors can be a very easy thing to do. Though sometimes the conditions have to be right.

Despite having done some exciting outdoorsy things, I tend to be a fair weather outdoorsman. I can handle some pretty big extremes. However, I do enjoy my creature comforts.

I’ve endured skiing in -40 Celsius conditions in Eastern Canada. I’ve also picked grapes in 40+ Celsius weather in the outback of Australia. Night diving on The Great Barrier Reef was exciting. As was hiking to the top of Africa by reaching the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

I’m generally a fair weather camper. Though listening to tonight’s rainstorm from inside our tent was fascinating and a real delight.

Hearing the wind howl and rain lash down and sweep across the tent was quite something. It’s not often enough that we stop and just admire the natural world.

Although nature can be tough, cruel and destructive with its hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and hailstorms. There is such awe in those things and beauty in its kinder, gentler aspects.

The wind and rainstorms are more exciting when you’re not stuck out in them. So from inside my tent, I’m loving the great outdoors.

Gratitude

Thank Goodness For Doctors And Politicians

Posted on July 31, 2020

Some people know what they want to be when they grow up. Some never figure it out. Thank goodness for doctors and politicians. Whether they fell into the roles, or they were determined from their youth, they are making it happen.

There are also a lot more people I am grateful for everyday. These include military personnel, coroners, public transport drivers, police, teachers and engineers.

Actually, there are so many more people I appreciate. I am grateful that there are enough people interested in, or willing enough, to take on all the different roles in our society. I am grateful for all of them!

You see, when I was younger, I knew I didn’t want to be in many of these professions or have those jobs or careers. They didn’t interest me. Fortunately, other people were drawn to those roles. Also quite fortunate is that most people are reasonably good at their job.

Of course there seems to be a normal distribution for everything. There are people who are exceptionally good at what they do. There are also people that are clearly not up to it. And of course, each industry has that 0.01% ish that might even have bad/criminal intent.

Thank goodness for doctors and politicians and every other job out there. Most jobs are necessary and few are easy. I appreciate every one of you because my life, in general, is better because of you.

Action Gratitude

Celebrate! ?

Posted on July 10, 2020

When you have been working at something and reach a milestone, you need to pause and Celebrate! ?

This is such a critical factor in continued success.

Take a moment to reflect back on what you have done. Look at what you have achieved. Remember those moments of joy you had along the way. And reflect on all the challenges you had to meet and overcome to reach this point.

For me, I am celebrating with this blog. This is my 183rd daily blog in a row. I’ve completed half a year of daily blogging. At an average of 250 words per blog, this means I’ve written approximately 45,000 words. That is roughly the number of words in a bestselling non-fiction book. ?

I’ve enjoyed the process and had a lot of great support from people. So thank you to everyone who has given me feedback! Whether it has been tips, suggestions, thumbs ups, comments, shares or very kind words of support, it has all been great encouragement and has kept me motivated to press on!

There is another significant milestone happening on the 11th July. My in-laws are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. That’s quite something. Congratulations Clare and Don!

Celebrate! ?

Whatever the milestone, big or small, it will feel great to have reached it.

Action Reframe your thoughts

Spend Today Only Saying Good Things

Posted on June 11, 2020

Are you a cynic? Are you adept at finding the problems with things? My challenge to you is to consciously spend today only saying good things.

You may not want to read your favourite paper today. It might make the challenge easier. Frequently news outlets and social media will highlight the negative, so you wouldn’t want to get primed by that in the morning.

Each time you go to speak today, check your intent and the sentiment you were about to express. When your spouse speaks, or your child, parent, friend or coworker, pause and be sure to frame your comment in the positive.

You could try using one of the following: ‘I appreciate that observation’ or ‘How kind of you to notice’ or ‘You’re looking very fine this morning’. In addition, you could make up some good comments yourself and use those.

If you spend today only saying good things, you will create a ripple effect in the universe. Some of those good words will help others feel positive and say good things to more people. This will spread out and more people will feel good and encouraged.

Wouldn’t that be nice.

What will you do with this knowledge and power you possess? Do you really want to make a difference in the world? It’s something so simple to start with and is within your control.

Go ahead, make their day!

Gratitude Observe

Where Do You Get Your Greatest Joy?

Posted on June 7, 2020

This can be a tough question to answer. Though for others, ‘Where do you get your greatest joy?’ is very easy to answer. Either way, it’s a great time to get the answer(s) clear in your head. Your life depends on it.

There are several different ways to answer. It depends on who is asking, what I am thinking about at the time, what the context is and where I am.

For example, if my friend asked me the question while we were having a brilliant day on the golf course, and I had just sank an incredible put, I might say, ‘Playing sport in the fresh air with my mates’.

However, if my boss was asking me during a discussion about my promotion potential, while we were at work, I might answer, ‘Pitching for new clients’.

Context is so important. Although, so are environmental factors, what’s on your mind in that moment and what memories or visions come to mind.

Recently, my greatest joy has come from warm days, great weather, morning jogs and time with my family. Fortunately, I have been able to have all of these, most days, for the past few months. For this, I am very grateful.

Where do you get your greatest joy?

Food, friendship, tv, sport, exercise, kids, partner, toys, puzzles, work, family, other?

Be clear on the greatest joy you have in your life and be grateful for it. Things shift, time passes, changes happen and those moments will be memories. Enjoy them while they are here.

Action Gratitude

Write Down Your Favourite Moments

Posted on May 4, 2020

It’s a great thing to do. To write down your favourite moments in a list, such as a top 10 favourite life moments, is very powerful. Adding some ooomph to that is reading it when you wake up in the morning and when you go to bed at night.

I write a lot of stuff down. I have lists of ideas, words, to do’s, notes from calls etc. When did you last write down your favourite moments? I’ve done them before and done an updated one recently.

It’s a great way to remind yourself of amazing or wonderful moments in your life. It’s a great pick me up to read that list in the morning. Similarly it is a lovely way to re-frame your thinking as you are about to doze off to sleep and your brain goes on auto-pilot. It’s a good idea to give it something brilliant about you to ruminate on for 6-8 hours.

Amazingly, you can quickly become your own powerful content creator. You can start, or continue, to be a powerful, positive driving force in your mind and your life. You have the power to do it. Take control of how you start and end the day.

Running the highlight reel, twice a day, is a great way to get a smile on your face and keep your enthusiasm up.

Action Gratitude Reframe your thoughts

Waste Not, Want Not

Posted on April 17, 2020

I eat what is on my plate, so I don’t take more than I’ll comfortably eat. Waste not, want not is a phrase that I reflect on frequently. I really don’t like to waste resources, whether it’s food, financial, energy or products.

Having grown up on a farm, I am clear how much energy and resource is used to create milk and then get it to your fridge. The amount of tractor fuel required to cut, rake, bale and transport hay to a barn for storage is significant. There is also an amount of energy consumed in running a barn, such as lights, milkers and gutter cleaner.

We would then have a milk truck collect the milk and bring it to the factory. Here it would be processed and packaged and shipped to a store near you. You can then simply pick the milk off the shelf, take it home and pop it in the fridge.

I have seen people then drink some but not all of it. If it then sits out and gets a bit warm, some people will throw it down the sink. I find that tragic, as I know how much has gone into getting that milk there in the first place. It seems like a complete waste of our earth’s resources. I would rather drink it, chill it in the fridge again before consuming it or use it some other way.

I think like this for all resources. Whether it is using all the toothpaste in a tube or all the ink in a pen, it makes good environmental sense.

Waste not, want not, is a proverbial saying that was first noted in 1772.

Perhaps these unusual times will encourage us to be more appreciative of each resource we have and use it more efficiently.

Action Gratitude Progress Think About It

Can’t Wait To Celebrate

Posted on April 15, 2020

Are you someone who can’t wait to celebrate when you get good news, big or small? It’s a great way to live. Celebrate every little success and every big one too. Don’t just wait for the big moments though. Sometimes they never come, or they don’t come soon enough and you’re not around for the party.

You can celebrate with a smile, fist pump, high five (with your family or when wearing gloves), fancy dance, arms over head, music, a favourite food, drink or person or whatever you fancy. Just be sure to acknowledge the good news or success. It’s a great feedback loop.

Celebrating successes, large and small, yours and others, builds confidence and brings joy to your soul. You’ll walk taller and feel more powerful. And it can be sooo easy to do. Try it.

Don’t wait to celebrate. There is not just one big finish line. Be delighted with your every step forward. It’s practically a miracle you are making any progress at all. Have you ever stopped to think about how many little tiny things have to go absolutely, stupendously well just for you to get out of bed, eat, digest and physically move your body to your work place?

Maybe this lockdown era will help us all appreciate all the little conveniences, daily miracles, and successes a little more. Remember, you don’t know what you have, until its gone. Ask anyone who is finding lockdown difficult or has recently had an accident and found their body parts not working so well.

Decide from today that you can’t wait to celebrate. Train your brain, from today, to find at least three reasons to celebrate every day. Maybe you’ll get up to 10 times a day by the end of the year. You’ll feel better for it. And so will everyone around you.