I cannot take credit for this post, but I felt that it was appropriate to include here. These are some stepping stones or tools that I will be using along the way. Read and enjoy. | ||||||||
 Appreciating the Power of the World Around You. “I am a happy, happy guy. I am grateful, and that is riches. Gratitude is wealth.” -Ben Stein Learn to detach yourself from events occuring in your life. Don't let the day's events effect you. Try to become neutral to your surroundings. When decisions need to be made, step back into a role of an observer, and make the best decision possible. Don't read anything into a situation. Many times what we think was intended, is exactly opposite of what was intended. Observe what is happening around you. Everything is happening to you in perfect harmony. People come in and out of your life at the right moments. If an event occurs that catches your attention, ask yourself, "Why is this occuring? What am I to learn from this occuring? What are others to learn from this occuring? Am I being called to do something?" Raise your energy level by helping and thinking of others. Although this takes time to train yourself to begin to put others first, the rewards are priceless. Keep your thoughts in check. By becoming aware of your thoughts and their patterns, you can chart your progress. You can begin to use your thoughts to chart the course to your future. Thoughts are powerful things. What you think becomes your reality. Start a gratitude journal. Take a few minutes each day (your gratitude time) and write down 5 things you're grateful for. Every couple of days, try and stretch your mind to be thankful for things you don't usually think of. (Relatives, past jobs, past gifts, special moments, previous vacations, etc.) Over time, you'll begin to become aware of good things occuring on your behalf, that you were previously unaware of. This awareness will bring an ever increasing sense of peace and happiness into your life. Go to sleep thinking about your gifts. As you nod off to sleep, instead of counting sheep, count your blessings! If you want, pick one thing you're really thankful for. This simple act brings a more restful, peaceful sleep. You'll wake up in a great mood and be ready for a great day ahead! Begin to look outward. Most of us have traits of both Inward and Outward facing traits. As you improve in a gratitude based lifestyle, you will begin to see more Outward focused traits. You will also begin to be more free flowing throughout your day. The "bumps in the road" that you see in your life will begin to disappear or become greatly reduced. As you move Outwards, you will begin to see your level of happiness increase.
By taking time to say thank you deepens are awareness of the world around us, and what everyone is doing and contributing to make our world a better place. Appreciate the other person. If someone crosses you, relax. That other person is presenting an opinion based of what they "perceive" to be true to them at that moment. Forgive that individual and move forward. If that person continues to berate you or radiate negative energy towards you, cease that relationship. Negative feelings that radiate towards you will continue to radiate outwards. You become the carrier of their negative energy. Like ripples in a pond the negative energy of your encounter will continue to your friends and family. But, if you avoid negative feelings and begin to generate positive feelings, this energy will radiate forward to your friends, family and anyone you encounter that moment. By appreciating and being grateful for the other person, you shut down the negative feelings and return positive feelings to the environment around you. Leave your past, in your past. Today is a new day. If someone has done something to you in the past, forget it, forgive it and move on. Be thankful for the experience of the moment and learn from it. Do not let the past determine your future. How Grateful Are You? Defining Gratitude Levels If we were to rank gratitude on a scale of 1 to 10, Simple Gratitude is 1 to 3, Elevated Gratitude is 4 to 6 and Genuine Gratitude is 7 to 10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 --- Simple --- --- Elevated ---- ------ Genuine ------- Another way to look at the gratitude level scale is this: When an event in your life occurs, how do you currently react to it? Do you: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 --- Understand it?--- --- Appreciate it? ---- -- Accept without Question?-- At These Levels of Gratitude Your Thankful For:
Moving to higher levels of gratitude evolve over time. Some move quickly to upper levels and some take years to achieve advanced levels. Some days you may notice that you are existing in the Median level and other days you drift back to the Simple level. By continuing to be thankful and working to expand your gratitude, you will naturally move to the upper levels of gratitude and create a life for yourself that is currently out of your view. As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. -John F. Kennedy |
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Tools for the Journey
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