Gratitude

I have gained so much perspective over the last few years. I've always been grateful for how good my life is, in a "could be worse" kind of way. What I've come to realize is that adversity creates true gratitude... in a "thank you, Universe, for the amazing gifts, opportunities in life and the simple good health of my children" way.

The last two weeks have been just about the most challenging in my life. And I'm so incredibly grateful each and every morning when I wake up and every night when I go to bed. Yes I may cry several times during the in between sleepy times but I am still thankful. At the end of the day, everyone is where they need to be and doing what they need to do to. 

If there is one thing I could drill into my kids it would be to start taking a moment each day to just be thankful. Oh and good lord, stop complaining...there's always someone worse off than you. Vent if you must but then change your inner dialogue and find the positive. Start by writing down one thing every night that was great that day. It could be something amazing like getting a dream job or as simple as being thankful for a soft pillow and a warm bed. On my worst days, I make a point to acknowledge my gratitude for my health or a good friend who texted to ask how I was doing. There is ALWAYS something to be grateful for. Always be grateful. Your attitude about life will change forever.

A great little book to help with accountability is "The Five Minute Journal". It literally takes no more than 5 minutes to fill out a list. I've actually put "my cats" in what I'm grateful for when I'm struggling to be positive. 

A great kick in the pants about getting motivated and to rethink how we work, check out "The 4 Hour Workweek" . I am not working my way through "Tools of Titans" . I'm a Tim Ferriss disciple.

And I can read "You Are A Badass" by Jen Sincero once a month. This is a refreshing and humorously written take on The Law of Attraction and an updated "The Science of Getting Rich" by Wallace Wattles written in the early 1900s.

So in summary, stop being a whiner and start being a ray of sunshine. Even when you want to curl up in bed and not get up (sometimes it's okay to do that too) but just make sure you at least say thank you for the blankey you're wrapped up in.