I hope this email finds you well. This month I like to practice 30-days of gratitude to really bring out the theme of the month along with the holiday of Thanksgiving.
When we focus on what we are grateful for amazing things happen. And, there have been more studies done within medical research to show the impact that practicing gratitude can have on our lives. Gratitude has been linked with improved health and well-being, strengthening our connections with people, and helps us see the "good stuff" that already exists in our lives but that we typically overlook.
So what does this have to do with your WLS journey???
Soooo much more than you ever knew!!
How often have you compared yourself to someone else's journey??
How often have you felt resentful of your body? or frustrated with a stall?
How often have you been angry because "it's not happening fast enough?"
How often have you eaten so fast that you didn't get to fully "appreciate" your meal?
How often have you asked "what's wrong with me?" rather than celebrating the successes?
How often have you taken for granted fully functioning body parts?
How often have you taken for granted running water, clean water, a roof over your head?
How often might you have taken for granted insurance approval (if you went that route)?
What else might you be taking for granted on your WLS journey for feel resentful of rather than grateful for?
In other areas of life..
How often have you been resentful or angry because things didn't go your way?
How often have you been upset for ONE reason or another, or expect the worst instead of expecting the best?
How often do you expect "the other shoe to drop" rather than expecting joy?
And.. Many of us in our society have an "entiteld" view of things and as a result this can leave us feeling resentful, frustrating, and angry.
Over time there can be a habit of mentally preparing for the WORST, or expecting disaster, or upset that things aren't going our way, which over time DULLS our capacity for experiencing JOY. Dr. Brene Brown says that "when we lose our tolerance for vulnerabilty, joy becomes foreboding."
In response, GRATITUDE which can be very grounding, can help shift our perspective away from future worries or past regrets and guide us into experiencing experiences with appreciation and awareness.
And... when we shift this perspective, we can see that there are SOOOO many things to be grateful for even if we don't have EVERYTHING we could ever want in life.. Yet it's the small simple things that sometimes mean the most.
And still, there are many things we can be grateful for.. even during difficult times.
Gratitude has a way of shifting your perspective to see something differently.
The late Dr. Wayne Dyer is credited with saying "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."
The point of this is that often we take for granted this SECOND CHANCE that I like to refer to it as, and instead of living every day to the fullest, we can forget that this is an opportunity to reconnect with our bodies, start fresh, do things different, and really LIVE...
Instead of focusing on where you are NOT yet, start to focus on what's going well, and what you ARE doing well...
Sure, there's always room for improvement, and yet this is part of the MINDSET shift.. to start seeing things in a more positive light and knowing that growth comes over time with consistent efforts, not overnight...
Also, instead of asking "why is this happening to me?" start to shift that to.. "what can I learn from this?" or "what can I do differently?"
This will help you shift your perspective and also see what GROWTH may need to happen WITHIN you, before it can happen OUTSIDE you...
With this.. I invite you once again to join our FREE 30-DAY GRATITUDE CHALLENGE...
Come join us in the Mavens group and share what you're grateful for each and every day and how this practice is changing how you feel, live, love, and work in your life and on your WLS journey...
Helping you ONE mindset shift at a time..