Gratitude Is The Start To A GREAT LIFE
“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.” – Ann Frank
The goal of living a GREAT life daily is to start the day in Gratitude for all I have. The GREAT life is a philosophy that is lived one day at a time. Here is how it works for me.
I start my day being mindful of all that I am grateful for. Being grateful does not mean I think of all I love about my life. Being grateful is more of an inventory of all I have. I’m grateful for a lot of things, my health, my home, my reliable (but not so cool) car. I’m even grateful for the fact my life is not where I thought it would be at this age. I’m 38, single, no kids, and financially I could be better! I’m grateful for the awareness. I’m grateful for the courage it take to look at my challenges (or problems) and know I can choose to accept it, or take action to changing it. Living a GREAT life means always choosing to take the path that will make my life better.
I once had a client tell me she could not think of anything to be grateful for in her life. She was convinced that there was nothing in her life that made it worth anything. If you feel the same try this exercise. Imaging lying in bed and waking from a deep sleep. You open your eyes and as your eyes focus you realize you are not at home in bed, but in the hospital. You don’t know how you got there of what happened. Imagine a doctor standing over you and saying to you “relax, you’ve been in an accident.” You respond, “what happened?” Imagine for a moment what is the worst thing the Doctor could say. Be grateful what you imagine is not what is happening to you. Can you find gratitude?
Try this exercise: Imagine your phone ringing in the middle of the night. Your gut tells you something is wrong, there’s been an accident. Imagine the call that would come in the middle of the night of news that someone you love has been in an accident and is no longer living. Who is that person? What do they mean to you? Be grateful they are well. Better yet, call them and let them know how grateful you are to have them in your life. Tell them you love them.
Gratitude is a powerful tool to starting your day in perspective. Life is beautiful, the GREAT life is more than you can image when you start the day being mindful of all that is in your life.
