Now I’ve officially taken on the 500 word challenge! A bit scary. Putting myself out there for the first time. One of the rules is no editing so bear with me if this doesn’t come out perfect.
I’ve made some significant changes to my life during the last year. Or perhaps I should say we, since my husband is with me all the way. We are holding each other accountable to making a better life for ourselves. I would like to share some of the changes that I’ve made. These new habits have all contributed to improving my life. Hopefully they can be an inspiration to anyone looking to do the same. So here is the first one.
Write a daily gratitude journal.
This is the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing I do before going to sleep. In the morning, I list things that I’m grateful for. Things that would make this a great day. I conclude with a daily affirmation. In the evening, I list amazing things that happened during the day. The last item is how could I have made this day better.
Writing in this journal has made me appreciate the things I do have even more. Living in a privileged western country, there are a lot of things that we take for granted that a majority of the world’s population don’t have access to.
Keeping a gratitude journal has also changed my mindset towards a more positive one. When bad things in life happen I can accept them for what they are.
Complaining doesn’t get me anywhere. Complaining doesn’t solve the problem. By accepting the situation as it is, I can take the first steps towards problem solving much faster.
Sometimes in your life obstacles emerge that cannot be overcome immediately. When this happens you have two choices. Let the problem paralyze you or accept the situation. If you submit to the former you will waste time. And time is the most important currency in life. You can never make up for wasted time. By accepting the situation, you set your mind free to do other things. Even though the particular problem your having cannot be solved at once, you can focus on other things to move forward.
This new mindset has helped me tremendously in dealing with a legal process that my husband is involved in. Legal matters have their due course and there are long stretches of time when you essentially can do nothing about the situation. At first, when the law suit was filed, we were indeed paralyzed. An immense feeling that the whole situation was completely absurd and we were trapped in some story by Kafka. More than 2 years later the matter still isn’t settled. We are probably looking at another 2 years of dabbling before a final outcome can be reached. Indeed these things take time.
After the initial feelings of complete devastation and despair, we decided to not let the situation crush us. We accepted the situation for what it was, and still is. I couldn’t have done this without the new mindset coming from keeping a gratitude journal. So I am forever indebted to Tim Ferriss for introducing me to this journaling format on his podcast “The Tim Ferriss show”. It can indeed change your outlook on life. Don’t take my word for it. Try it out for yourselves. Today!
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
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