Welcome to day 11!
 

Questions, questions, questions!  I do love questions.  Don’t you now that you know the power they have to shift your focus?  Great for changing the subject with family members, at work, whenever you sense the conversation going in a direction that’s unproductive for everyone involved.  As long as the asking is done with heart-centered intent, then I say ask away!
 

Here’s my question for you today, the next in our series of great questions for your collection of empowering strategies:  What makes you feel grateful?

 

I’m so grateful at the moment I’m writing this that I can almost feel the good hormones flooding in. Why?  Lots of reasons.  My beautiful mother turns 90 today.  I get to do what I love for a living and it helps others.  I get to write wherever I want and right now I’m facing beautiful Narragansett Bay in  Rhode Island with a soon to set sun, an incredible sky and a little piece of rainbow visible.  I snapped a picture which may not have caught the rainbow because it was kind of faint.  One minute later as I was wishing the color was more intent, it was.  Grateful.

 

‘What are you grateful for?’ is without a doubt one of the best questions you can ask yourself because it totally taps into the best for your cells, for your brain.  Almost every list I’ve seen talks about gratitude as one of the top tips for improving the quality of your life.
 

Remember the brain can’t hold opposite thoughts.  Gratitude is the easiest to shift into from worry, fear, doubt, regret, apprehension, anxiety.  The good news is now you know to ask the question, you know why it works, and I’m guessing you have quite a lot to be grateful for even if your life isn’t exactly what you want it to be…yet.

 

An interesting add on since I originally wrote this program.  One of the people who took this program when it was part of a private Facebook group series, just posted how she used the question about gratitude.  . Here's what she had to say:

 

"While I was sitting on the side of the road waiting for AAA to arrive, I remembered a strategy Marianne Douglas taught in her Frazzled to Freedom program. When you are in a stressful situation, think of what you are thankful for. I realized today that I had so much to be thankful for!

 

I am thankful that my car alerted me to the low tire pressure so I could pull over safely and didn't lose control of the car. I am thankful that I was able to get out of the car safely and move away from traffic. I am thankful that my AAA membership hadn't expired. I am thankful that the weather was pleasant enough to sit outside. I am thankful that I had already applied sunscreen (haha!). I am thankful for the technology on my phone that allowed me to tell the AAA technician my exact location (since I had no idea where I was, otherwise). I am thankful for the wonderful technician, George, who stood next to traffic going 60+ MPH to change my tire, and then directed traffic so that I could safely re-enter the highway. I am thankful for the PepBoys down the road who agreed to squeeze me in and replace my tire for a reasonable price. And I'm thankful for this strategy, since I'm sitting here feeling full of gratitude instead of stress!! ❤️❤️❤️👍"

 

People tell me Facebook is negative.  Not my feed.  Maybe it’s because I follow so many inspirational leaders.  Maybe it’s because I post a lot of positive comments and quotes.  The posts I tend to see the most in my feed are gratitude based.  So more good news is that gratitude is trending!

 

Law of Attraction which is all based on feeling positive so that you will attract what you want into your life talks about going on a rampage of appreciation.  Tony Robbins shares a similar strategy.  Both involve energetically calling out all the things you’re grateful for, layering them one over the other, feeling the happiness wash over you.  What if we did this once a week?  What if we taught it to our kids? What a balance it would be to all the challenges, all the negativity of the week!  Even better than the Friday night TGIF celebrations! 

 

How about starting a list of the things you’re grateful for, adding in a couple of new items every day so that you train your brain to be on the lookout for things to add to the list.  Dr. Andrew Weill , founder, professor, and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona says this practice alone is enough to dramatically shift your life.

 

Here’s what I recommend.  Keep a journal and a notepad next to your bed.  Before you go to sleep, use the pad to make a list of everything you must do or think about the next day.  Basically you’re emptying your head of all the chatter so it won’t be keeping you awake.  Then put that aside, grab the journal and write two or three things you thought of during the day that you were grateful for.  Strive for new things to add to make the list fresh and exciting for your brain to taste.

 

You’ve now bracketed your day on either end with positivity.  From “I love my life” to gratitude.  Now that’s a great way to create a life!

 

Today’s mission:  Find someone to share your gratitude with.  If you’re grateful for them, let them know.  I’m grateful for all of you! 

 

Have a great day and don’t forget to look for those two things that make you happy.  Mine?  My house as I back out of the garage, and the water as I head onto the Wampanoag Trail near me.

 

P.S.  Now you can choose to continue to the next day or wait until tomorrow.  Either way, here's a link to the next chapter.