We Have Lived to See December- Be Grateful.

December 10, 2020

We Have Lived to See December- Be Grateful.

December rocks

We can disagree in a lot of things but come on! Even you have to admit that December is by far the coolest month ever.

The decorations, the music, spoiling of family and friends… Just fantastic!

Today, let us review gratitude. I once did an appreciating life series on YouTube which happens to be my favourite videos.(Link below)

I enjoyed the shooting of the series, it shouldn’t come as a surprise, I do love life.

Appreciating living…

…and…

…experiencing the human journey in this realm as we know…

Is a blessing.

Thankfulness

It is important to note that a life full of gratitude isn’t reserved for the chosen few or special people, per se.

Everyone should practice gratitude regardless of their circumstances.

You may have noticed how easy it is for you to be grateful when everything seem to be going well. Trust me we all do it, it needs practice to always be thankful.

Something wonderful happened? Yeah, Thank you, Thank you.

Oh! No! Something bad happened? Mop. Moan. Cuss. Hate. Be jealous and resentful. Blame.

It is human, forgive yourself.

Our brains are wired to spot the negative hence “protecting” us from harm. But this becomes, in effect, counter-productive. We instead, dwell on the past, stuck and depressed, or in other cases, live in the future, worried and anxious.

At least now you know why we tend to feed stressful situations, we are just engineered like that. It was mainly for survival back in our hunters-gatherers days.

Anyway, remember that you reap what you sow. Be wary of what you plant.

Practising gratitude

Gratitude Practice

Practicing gratitude has changed my life. I found myself living on the stress hormone day in day out, always anxious. Anything could provoke it, even running late stuck in traffic was enough trigger.

You might relate to this, if you asked people all they will tell you is that, ” That is life, get over it”

Spoiler Alert! It isn’t. Doesn’t have to be that way.

With gratitude all is calm.

For bible lovers, you know the story of Jesus sleeping through a storm? That is what a heart full of gratitude can help you achieve.

Gratitude is just practice. Take sometime everyday and just focus on different areas of your life and really be thankful for them. I said really be thankful.

Smile at the storm.

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity is a dynamic process that allows us to learn from and adapt to different experiences.

This means of us that when we learn something new, we create new patterns and new combinations in our brains.

We, in essence, rewire our brains to adapt to new circumstances. The process happens daily but can be influenced by our change of behaviour and habits. Hence the need to practice new and better habits of success to ensure they stick.

Practice makes perfect, right?

Soon gratitude will be a way of life for you, and indeed once you change your way of thinking it will show in your surroundings. From your choice of friends, to places you go, to a beautiful and tidy home.

Try it.

5 Tips on staying grateful

Reinforce positive behaviour: Reward yourself in inexpensive ways for your achievements. Take sometime to celebrate with friends for the little milestones you make.
Spoil yourself silly on a shoestring budget: Say for instance, you noticed yourself being thankful and being aware of your surroundings and the blessings you have, take sometime and give yourself a full bubble bath complete with candles and relaxing music.
Becoming: Remind yourself of who you are becoming. Reminisce on your accolades, share them with close friends. We tend to dwell on things that went wrong enabling forgetting our accomplishments. Look in the mirror and tell yourself what you are becoming. The world might not do that for you.
Let go of your old stories: The only way to make room for new stories is by letting go of the old ones you have been telling yourself. Don’t let negativity dwell in your mind, make it pay rent.
Meditate: Meditation quiets the mind, in turn you get to live in the present. It also helps you put everything into proper perspective. You don’t have to be an expert, just close your eyes for 10minutes a day, every day, and see the benefits of it immediately.
Remember: The Universe loves a vacuum.

Goodluck!

Ps; Share with your friends and leave a comment, you never know who it might benefit. We are in the month of sharing, ain’t we?

10 ways of staying happier this season: https://nicollehanselmann.com/a-butterfly-landed-on-your-shoulder/

Appreciating Life Series on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8zaHddpCrGc

Photo by Any Lane of family on Christmas

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels