Category Archives: Gratitude

What’s Good For You?

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I’ve been reading a lot lately about the need for more self-compassion, notably Brene Brown’s, The Gifts of Imperfection, and what I’ve been noticing is how often we tend to self-criticize.  Whether it’s calling ourselves “banana brain” when we forget something, or “stupid woman” when we make a mistake, negative self-talk, even seemingly funny, has a detrimental effect on our overall self-worth.  Putting ourselves down and criticizing ourselves under our breath can create tension, feed anxiety and fear, and make us feel miserable.  That critical inner voice is our subconscious talking and if we let it, it can diminish our motivation and energy.  Even if our conscious brain is saying, “you’re not stupid, you’re an intelligent talented woman”,  if we’re beating ourselves up inside, it’s our subconscious thoughts that rule.

We need to learn to treat ourselves with kindness and self-compassion!  This will boost our energy and motivation and reinforce our belief in ourselves. We’ll be more resilient to stress, able to do more of what we want, and we’ll just be happier in general.

Here are 3 tips to practice being kinder to yourself:

  1. Say calm, soothing words to yourself like, “Nobody’s perfect.  We all make mistakes sometimes,”  or “I’m me, and that’s a good thing!
  2. Do something every day that’s good for you, feeds your soul, nurtures you…it can be anything that makes you happy- taking a yoga class, going for a walk, baking for someone, or listening to music.  Take a break your way and enjoy it!
  3. Practice self-care and compassion…if you’re stressed or suffering about something, pause and notice what you’re feeling, and maybe where you’re feeling it in your body. And then, ask yourself, “what do I need to feel better?”  Maybe it’s calling a trusted friend, or getting a massage, or maybe trying a loving kindness meditation.

Here’s one of my favorites…I start my day with this meditation:

May I be happy, may I be healthy in body and mind, may I be safe and protected from inner and outer harm, and may I be free from fear, the fear that keeps me stuck.

After you say it to yourself, you can say it to anyone you love, friends, and to everyone in the world.

Kindness is contagious- embrace who you are, believe in yourself, and share your gifts with the world!

 

My Thanksgiving Wish for More Gratitude

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2a29e6f8-3a6b-4e44-8812-6fdcab326646“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”  — Melody Beattie

Practicing Gratitude

I sat down to write something new but as I thought about the past year which has been filled with chaos, change, surprise, concern, dismay, and just about every emotion there is, it seems that now more than ever we need to unite in gratitude. I know we all are grateful for certain things at certain times, but I suggest we all commit to becoming more grateful and embrace gratitude by making it a permanent daily ritual.

United We Stand

Whatever your feelings are about the world, remember that you create your own outcome, regardless of who’s in charge. This is a time for unification with others… as the song says, “United we stand, divided we fall…” This is a time for more compassion and understanding, for more love and kindness. We must keep our energy in a high vibration state, send more love out to the Universe and trust that the Law of Attraction will find the best outlet for it to flow. And if we get stressed or frustrated when things don’t go according to plan and life becomes chaotic and overwhelming, how can we get our energy back up so that we feel fulfilled, at ease, and content?  One way is to form daily habits that ensure that we’re operating from our highest positive vibration…like writing gratitude statements.

Keep a Gratitude Journal

2 years ago, I started writing down 5 things that I was grateful for every night. It has become a daily habit along with my meditation and I highly recommend you try it! Try to think of new things each day, simple things like:

  • I’m grateful to have a job that allows me flexibility
  • I’m grateful I had time to make an apple crumb slab pie today
  • I’m grateful to be picking up my new Wheaton terrier puppy this Friday!
  • I’m grateful for family and friends
  • I’m grateful my daughter is coming home for Thanksgiving!

Taking time to be grateful on a regular basis can have long lasting positive effects and keep you operating at your highest vibration so that you’ll attract more opportunities and people, and you’ll feel more focused, positive and happy!

Other Success Rituals

Performing random acts of kindness is something else you can do to keep your vibration high.  Simple things like holding the door open for someone, making soup for a sick neighbor, donating to a charity, or just smiling and saying thank you to the postman- all of these raise your vibration by sending positive energy out to others.

Offering compliments, words of encouragement, or watching inspirational TED talks are also ways to keep your energy vibrating at high levels. I find meditating alone or with others to be very helpful as well as practicing yoga, dancing, or walking. Exercise is important for your physical as well as mental energy balance, so do what feels good to you.

The key to being successful is really repetition of daily habits like these to keep your vibration high and your thoughts consistent with your actions.  This takes time and effort and like anything, practice!  But isn’t it worth it?  Imagine a world filled with gratitude and love, which turns “…denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow”…this is what I’d like to attract; how about you?

Love and Kindness Meditation

This Thanksgiving and every day, more and more, I am grateful for family, friends, colleagues, and clients (and all beings)…and I’ll leave you with a partial meditation I first heard from a friend and amazing woman, Robyn which is even more relevant today…

“…May everyone be peaceful and loved, healthy and strong, safe and protected, and have self-love so that your life is filled with ease.”

May you all have a peaceful Thanksgiving filled with love and kindness…plus lots of your favorite foods shared with those you love!

With Gratitude,

Clare