Week #47: What are you most grateful for?
November 19, 2007
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This Week's Topic: What are you most grateful for?
This week, I'd like to share a simple, but
important reminder. It is an excerpt from the first chapter of my first
book, Rich Minds, Rich Rewards: 52 Ways to Enhance, Enrich and Empower
Your Life: "The
difference between 'not enough' and 'more than enough' is your
attitude," noted Bishop T.D. Jakes at a conference I attended in July
1999. That quote seems quite fitting for this mini-chapter. As we live
our lives from day to day, it can be easy to take so much of what we
have for granted. For example, when we are unhappy in a job and we are
looking for a new one, sometimes the last thing that we think to do is
to thank God for the job that we dislike. When we want to purchase a
new home, it is too rare that we stop to appreciate the roof we
currently have over our heads. When we are working to get a "new body,"
we should not fail to be thankful for the fact that the one we have
right now is able to walk, talk and breath. We can get so wrapped up in
trying to get what we don't have that we don't take time to appreciate
what we do have. I know these things may sound very basic, but
it is the most "basic" aspects of our lives, those things that we often
don't even give a second thought to, that we should be most grateful
for. It is these "basic" things - people, places or our well being -
that could devastate us most if we had to live without them. When you
come to understand what is most important to you, and then make it a
priority in your life to honor and take care of those aspects of your
life, then you find your center. Your center is that place you discover
when your life is healthy and balanced. It takes some true soul
searching to find it and it takes practice to maintain it. But once you
find that peaceful, joyful place called your center, you'll always feel
off balance when you leave it. One way to stay centered is to
count your blessings every day. Why is it important to do it everyday?
Because it can be too easy to fall into the habit of taking life for
granted and feeling sorry for yourself when things don't go the way you
had hoped. By counting your blessings, you remember just how rich you
are - in spirit, in family, in friendships, in health, in career, in
education, in personality, and the list goes on. Count your
blessings in the mornings. It is a very uplifting way to begin the day.
After all, a new day is just one more blessing that you have to be
thankful for. Try this exercise: Turn off all the noise around you, and
go to a place where you can find as much solitude as possible. Close
your eyes. Breath deeply and slowly. Now think about all that you have
to be thankful for. Stay in this quiet state for at least five minutes.
When you finish, write down everything that came to mind. My Blessings: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
It's a pretty good list isn't it?
Journaling assignment:
What
do you consistently complain about? What aspect of your life do you
choose to see the negative without balancing it by acknowledging God's
blessings in the situation? What do you need to be more grateful for? My challenge to you this week:
When
you find yourself feeling down or feeling sorry for yourself, take out
your "Top 10 Blessings" list. Read it and be thankful for what you do
have instead of focusing on what you don't have.
Until next time ... Warm wishes,
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Burton, a life coach and speaker, is the author of Listen to Your Life,
Rich Minds, Rich Rewards, What's Really Holding You Back?, and her
latest, Why Not You?. Subscribe to her FREE, inspirational e-newsletter
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