A Grateful Heart
Could you use some good news or positive energy? Let's face it, life happens. Our chi' (energy) can be affected both positively or negatively by many factors. It might be the coworker sitting next to you or a situation you are dealing with at home. If today you find yourself leaning more towards the negative side of things, here's a personal story that helped me shift from a negative mindset to a positive one. It's nothing new, but sometimes we need a reminder. It starts with a grateful heart.
Truth be told, I'm typically a positive person but having COVID over the holidays made me crabby. There was no cheerful holiday spirit as I drove to get tested on Christmas Eve. Although this bad attitude lingered for days, I knew I wouldn't always feel this way. Emotions come and go. I also knew I had tools to pull me up from this dark place. One of those tools was to think about what I was grateful for. Read what Sr. Vice President of MCG Partners says in her article Increasing Energy and Productivity Through Gratitude.
“Expressing gratitude makes us feel better. When we give thanks or express gratitude we increase the neurotransmitter dopamine – our brain’s own “feel good” chemical. Dopamine increases our energy and turns on our brain’s learning centers and allows to us feel more motivated and content. This boost of energy helps us tackle our goals, daily work and makes us more productive, which in turn increases our motivation and supports a feel-good mental state”. -Michelle Barnet Berg, MCG Partners
For me, it started with gratitude walks. Each day my walk was intentional. The change wasn’t going to happen sitting around feeling sorry for myself. It took me three days before I got over the ugly hump. The first day I walked, I was grateful for the sun, and that was about it. The second day I was grateful for the friend that let me vent over the phone on my walk. I find it hard to be in nature and in a bad mood, so I kept on walking until I could find something to be grateful for. By the third day, gratitude assisted my attitude to a sunnier outlook on life. I would be alright.
Besides walking, I wrote in my journal every day. Here too, it took days before I found myself able to write what I was grateful for. I gave myself grace during those days. I knew I was choosing to be crabby, but I didn’t push or force myself to stop. Maybe you are in a dark place right now. Maybe it will take you more than three days to shift. I think that’s alright. My goal in sharing this today is to give you hope. These tools worked for me and believe they could work for you. Start a gratitude journal and write 9 things a day you are grateful for. If you are in need of a journal, click here and shop for a unique handmade journal today!