It’s that time of year, when you start thinking back about what the year was, and what next year might be. I’m guessing like most people, you’re ready for this year especially to be over, and you’re eagerly looking forward to the clocking reading 12:01 on New Year’s. That desire for a fresh start is overwhelming and seems like such a beautiful idea. To challenge yourself to reach your goals, at the start of a new year. It’s the perfect time, right?
Maybe.
Here’s my challenge to you, if you plan on starting fresh in January with a new outlook, new goals, and new bright plans to change your life – why wait? Why not start now? What’s holding you back? Life changes when you choose to change it.
If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that gratitude is my life. It’s what I breathe, and live. Even in this tough year, that has included a global pandemic, shutdowns, and a drastic change in daily life for myself and my family – I have still practiced and lived daily gratitude. Gratitude is a way of life for me, not just a word that’s thrown about like confetti.
It’s a beautiful thing to want to change, and I’m hoping you’re reading this because you feel ready to try out this gratitude thing I talk so much about. There are a few things you need to know first – this works best if you’re really ready for change. Are you ready to not just wade in to shallow water, but really plunge into the deep end, finding transformation in the process? Do you want to wake up every day, happy to see what the day will hold?
Gratitude is a lifestyle. It’s something you live and breathe. It seems like you just wake up in the morning, and think about a few things that make you happy, and you’re set for the day, right? You think of something that you’re grateful for and ride that wave the entire day? Nope.
While it’s great to start your day with positive intentions, and thinking about things that you’re grateful for, living gratitude is about learning how to turn your day around on a dime, no matter what’s going on.
It means that when life hurts you, or work is stressful, or your family is making you contemplate moving to Siberia – you can stop, breathe, and center yourself. In any moment, at any time, you can choose to breathe deep, powerful breaths, and find things that make you grateful to be alive. That thing that sucks, it might still suck, but your outlook will be different. That change in focus can make all the difference in your day.
It’s truly remarkable how transformative gratitude is. What’s even more remarkable is how simple it is to start this transformation. It takes one moment where you decide you’re ready to live a happier, healthier life. That moment doesn’t have to wait until 12:01 on January 1st. It can happen at 3AM tomorrow, or while you’re stuck in traffic, or waiting in line at a grocery store.
One moment can change your life. One choice – to live in gratitude, to breathe gratitude. Are you ready to live that life? To learn how to stop, to notice, to take those deep breaths – to find at least three things in any moment to be grateful for. A smell, a memory, the feeling of the wind on your face — it can be anything.
Whatever those things are, they just have to be real, something that truly makes you grateful to be alive. You don’t even have to wait for the bad moments, you can increase your joy in the happy moments too.
I say again – gratitude isn’t just a word, it’s a lifestyle. It’s a completely change your life type of lifestyle. I changed mine over 20 years ago – when I first decided to truly commit to this change, and I haven’t regretted one moment of this lifestyle since.
So I ask again – do you want a challenge? Do you want to change? If you’re ready to learn how to live a different life then join me on this journey! My next blog will talk about the steps to practicing gratitude, and in the meantime, I welcome you to follow me on social media and get a sense of this incredible movement.
In Gratitude,
Robin
Robin Lee is a medical intuitive, author, mentor, gratitude advocate, and speaker who has helped thousands of people around the world understand the language of their bodies. Robin believes that our bodies innately know how to balance and heal themselves if given proper care and support. Visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter, where she shares tips, tools, and techniques to honor our bodies and heal our lives!
Image courtesy of cottonbro.
