The Gratitude List

THE GRATITUDE LIST

I would say that almost every night for the past few years I have written out a gratitude list. It is basically a laundry list of all the people, places and/or things that I am grateful for in my life. This exercise was suggested to me by my spiritual mentor and it has shifted my mindset into another dimension.

By focusing on what we have - those people, places and things become brighter and more prevalent in our lives. WHATEVER WE FOCUS ON GETS BIGGER. So for example – if I focus on the stack of bills on my desk – they become more daunting and ominous. On the other hand if I focus on getting another job or focus on who, what, when or how can I bring even more money in than I already am bringing in – my energies automatically shift to the solution and the solution gets bigger.

There are some nights where the gratitude list never ends. I am in such gratitude for the people in my life, the opportunities that are afforded to me, and the beauty I see and experience everyday. But such is life – there are days when it is a complete struggle to get a list of 10 on paper.

For example: I was in a bad mood and I couldn’t find anything I was grateful for. I got up to get something to snack on and realized that if I didn’t have a handle on the fridge door, I wouldn’t be able to open it. It then dominoed from there. I was grateful to have food in my house, to have electricity to keep it from spoiling. There was gratitude for the fact that I had a home to store this fridge and electricity. The home is a place where people I love come to visit and it is my sanctuary.

Life is full of incredible gifts if we just open our minds to see them.

What are you grateful for today?

M

Surviving the Holidays? Really?

Yes – it is that time of year folks. Time to be jolly, eat tons of food and spend money. Woo Hoo – Bring it on! As soon as we see those Halloween costumes and candy for sale at Target – we know on Nov. 1^st the Turkey paraphernalia and Christmas/Hanukah push is upon us.

Let me start by saying: PRESUPPOSTIONS!!! A presupposition is a term or word that implies a meaning or feeling. For instance – If you say “I really want to make money to take away my stress.” The presupposition is that you have no money and that you are stressed. If you focus on scarcity and fear - that will show up in your life until you change your thoughts and language.

What I am getting at here is even having the title SURVIVING THE HOLIDAYS presupposes that we have to fight to enjoy – struggle to have peace – find a way to trudge through this season.

So – because I am your resident LIFE COACH/NLP PRACTITIONER… I’d like to give you some tips on ENJOYING THE HOLIDAY SEASON.

1) Pay attention to your thoughts. If you start to have thoughts of dread, stress, and frustration – those situations will present themselves. Your brain is extremely powerful – your subconscious will always give you what you are thinking. If you are having those thoughts – write down the complete opposite on a piece of paper. Even if it means you are writing it down 20 times a day on random pieces of paper – you are actually rewiring your thoughts in order to attract what you want into your life.

2) Holiday Vision Board - Start leafing through magazines or books and see what you are attracted to for the holiday season. I am going out on a limb here but would say most people think they should gravitate to the colors of orange and brown for Thanksgiving and red and green for Christmas. If you find yourself leaning toward pics of a beach in Hawaii – acknowledge it – cut it out – paste it on what will become your holiday vision board.

3) Budget Budget Budget…. If you decide you want to spend Christmas at the beach – go for it and know – YOU DON’T HAVE TO GIVE ANY PRESENTS ON CHRISTMAS OR CHANUKAH. Take time for you and your loved ones by creating memories – not clutter.

4) I will leave you with this:

Watch your thoughts – they become your words. Watch your words – they become your actions. Watch your actions – they become your character. Watch your character – it becomes your destiny. Words like “looking forward to,” “excited about, “ “an opportunity to” are great presuppositions to attracting joy and peace into your life.

JOY AND PEACE come from within.

Much Joy and Peace to you and yours….

M