Life changing habits: Practice gratitude

I’m grateful for so many things in my life.

One thing in particular is my right hand because I use it to write and writing is something that I attribute to so much of who I am as a person, like that’s how deep it goes.

I usually do a morning gratitude when I’m still in bed, when I’m brushing my teeth or when I’m walking to the bus stop.

I even do it when I’m in a bad mood. It never fails to lift my spirit because it reminds me that I have so much goodness that I can focus on and so much that I easily forget or look past because it’s always around.

I never thought something as simple as being grateful could actually have that much of an impact.

When it comes to things that are life changing we often fall into thinking it has to be big and dramatic “just like they do on the tv” but more often than not that’s not the case.

I’m grateful for my hope, curiosity, resilience, laughter, my job, my friends, my right hand, the park by my house, my grandparents…

The list goes on because my life is overflowing with things to be grateful for.

When I truly learned how to take that in, it changed my life.

You should take your own advice

One of the easiest ways to gain trust is by doing exactly what you tell others to do.

People are much less likely to listen to what you say if it’s not what you do.

And that’s why I’m careful about the advice I give and the words I share, the truth is I’m still working on all of it.

But I’ve tried it which is why I’m comfortable telling you to try it.

But people that sit around dishing out advice that they themselves don’t practice, those people might not be worth taking seriously because if they don’t even take the advice they give, why should you.

The ‘Do It Now’ approach

Here’s to taking the bull by the horns and actually getting things done.

A couple of months ago I became aware of my own small-scale procrastination. Putting off: making meals, doing the washing up, returning orders, making phone calls, booking appointments, raising issues etc. Granted I was only putting off the washing up by maybe an around an hour but there was an impact to putting it off.

When you’re doing small scale procrastination you can feel within your body that you should be doing your task rather than re-watching season 2 of Felicity and swooning over Ben Covington.

But what if you changed your ways and took the ‘Do It Now’ approach?

I’ve been playing around with this idea for a while, it’s about shaking procrastination and getting things done.

It starts with the inner monologue, the voice that says just 10 more minutes needs to be trained to want to do it now.

It starts with a conscious effort of regular self-talk and you can even say it aloud. Eventually that voice will become more and more prominent until one day it’s your default because you’ve been practising it for so long.

It’s something I want to implement into my own life as I look to take my life by the horns instead of passively watching it pass me by.

Testing the theory

Giving advice is easy but practicing what you preach takes commitment and belief. Especially when you as a reader don’t know what I do day to day so for you to take in or use what I say means I’m building trust.

A big part of that is being honest and living what I write. In a recent challenge that is set to become my biggest growth point I felt myself dwelling and wondered how long it would last.

That is until I remembered my post titled bouncebackability and I them started to think not about how dreadful the situation was but instead what I would need to overcome it.

A simple way to become more confident

Practice.

I think the problem many people face is the feeling of overwhelm when the compare where they are with where they want to be.

Instead of focusing on what they can do from where they’re currently at they focus on the gap.

And sometimes that gap is vast.

But like I said at the start it’s just a matter of practice. And that might be to practice voicing your thoughts in a group setting when someone asks of anyone has any points they want to add.

Practice going to events alone and making an effort to talk to strangers despite the discomfort or nerves.

Pick what you want to work on and see how it goes. It might be challenging the first time but don’t be put off because we all know that practice makes perfect and if not perfect it makes you better than you were yesterday.

It’s more than what it is

This blog is more than just a blog.

It’s a daily blog.

It’s a writing practice.

It’s a come as you are space where I feel free to write as I please.

It’s a habit.

It’s a commitment.

It’s a hobby.

I’ve been blogging for years and but I never considered how I would feel about having a daily blog where the sole focus was on words. Turns out I love it, I could happily stop writing my lifestyle blog that’s how much I enjoy this blog.

It’s so much more than what it is. After over 7 years of writing online I’ve finally given myself permission to share my words in my own way.

I like a mixture of serious and silly. I can write about feeling afraid, the inner monologue and the importance of exploring yourself. But I can also write about creating a dream life and make up analogies based on cars.

And then there’s references to Seth Godin, someone who has had a major influence on me alongside pieces that are about moments I’ve experienced.

It’s hard to summarise what this is but it’s definitely more than just a blog.

Here’s the process

I feel like knowing I have to contribute something everyday makes me a little more alert, curious and introspective but in the best possible way.

I’m not just ruminating and pondering over things for my own sake but to catch the spark of what is worth sharing.

I have specific times of my day where writing has been ingrained into my physiology where I am able to write hundreds of words with ease.

It doesn’t feel like effort, it could be compared to pouring water from a teapot into a cup, or perhaps water down a hill.

And so I’m learning to make the most of my peak writing times so when I go to actually schedule my posts all I have to do is edit for spelling, grammar and clarity and pick what to post when.

My aim is to batch schedule posts at the weekend which means I still have time to live my life without worrying what to post each day so that I’m open to seeing and allowing my curiosity to be piqued.