“Wit is the salt of conversation, not the food.”
~William Hazlitt
The Importance of Gratitude Tuesday, Mar 10 2009
I think that in order to be happy with your life and with yourself, you need to realize the significance of being grateful and appreciating what you have.
I am grateful to be living in America near amazing Washington D.C. I am also grateful that the cherry blossoms will be blooming next month and plan to go enjoy them!
According to research done by top American psychologist Bob Emmons, grateful individuals lead happier, more successful lives. This makes complete sense to me. I have always realized the importance of gratitude, but hearing about the research Bob did really hit home for me.
I’ve noticed that women tend to bond through complaining to eachother. Men do it too– everyone does it, but I think women are really guilty of this. I hear people whining to each other all the time about things that really are not the end of the world (sometimes they complain about things that they really should be grateful for).
Example : “Oh my gosh I am so tired. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through a whole day of work today. This morning I had to get the kids ready for school and pack their lunches and little Billy has baseball practice tonight and my husband has to work late and I have no idea what I am going to make for dinner. I guess I’ll pick something up on the drive home.”
Why this person should be grateful: At least her and her husband have jobs right now. Also, she has a car that works and can get her anywhere she needs to go. She has a healthy family and a son who is involved in sports which makes him less likely to get in trouble and more likely to maintain good grades in school. Plus, she has money for food and has the ability to chose whatever she’d like for dinner tonight– Chinese, Italian– whatever! This is something to look forward to, not dread.
I do it too– I complain. I talk about how much I have to get done and ramble on and on about what I need to remember and how it’s impossible to fit everything in. It’s impossible to avoid complaining 100% of the time because it happens without me even realizing it. Guess what I’m going to work on from now on? 
I am going to try to complain less and see some of the positive aspects of situations that I normally would see as a completely negative, hopeless situation. I’m on my way to being a more grateful person and I’m excited to know that with practice, positive thinking can quickly become second-nature.
I like to think that I’m already a pretty positive person, but it never hurts to get better at anything.
How to do become a more grateful person:
- Stop comparing yourself to others;
- Stop comparing what you have to what others have;
- Reflect at least once a day. What are you grateful for? What positive things can you draw from your situation in life right now?;
- See the good things. If you are trying to save money and can’t afford to go out as much as you used to, think about the fact that you’ve still got your house and have the ability to get creative and appreciate what matters most– family;
- Enjoy nature. The weather is finally starting to get really nice. Go outside, walk as much as you can, and explore your town on foot instead of by car;
- Make time for yourself;
- Let things go. This is a hard one but it’s really important. If something bothers you, walk away, breathe and give yourself time to calm down. Forgive whoever annoyed you and then forget about it. Life is too short to waste time mad about something as stupid as the neighbor stealing your Sunday paper. Don’t let anything ruin your day and steal your joy.
…Because being grateful brings great attidue. Great attidue brings great things…
Declaring Technology Bankruptcy Thursday, Mar 5 2009
health and home and life busy life, email, phone calls, rules to break free from technology, technology 2:59 am
This has nothing to do with my post. It is hlarious though...
While I am a big fan of technology and email, sometimes I have realized I just need a break from it all. I always feel obligated to check work and personal email and find myself a tad stressed out when I let too much time go by without “checking in” on my emails. This is something I have declared I will work on!
Thinking back on the vacation that husby and I took last March, I was a little freaked out before we left knowing that the entire time I would be without email or my cell phone (a laptop and a phone won’t do you much good on a cruise in the middle of the ocean). After getting over the habitual reach for my phone at certain times of the day, I started to embrace not having to worry about making calls or checking email. I started to feel sort of… free!
In an effort to regain a fraction of this feeling of technological free-ness, I’m laying down some ground rules for myself to see how things go.
Here they are:
- No checking work email after 7:00 pm.
- No checking work or personal email at any dining or entertainment facilities (yes, I am that person who checks email at the table in a restaurant) or family gatherings.
- No checking of work email on Sundays AT ALL. Sunday is going to be my email free day. I may relax in front of the computer to read my favorite blogs on Sunday morning, but after that I am refusing to check email or stress over anything. Sundays will be my total relaxation days.
- No phone calls or email checking in the morning while I’m getting ready for work. I’ve noticed that this causes unnecessary stress so if my phone rings I’m not going to answer it (unless I get the feeling that it’s an emergency and see that someone is calling me that never calls me in the morning. If the phone rings and it’s from my mom, I’m NOT getting it in the morning because she calls me way too often for no apparent reason in the morning. Sorry Mom). I’m not checking email either because I’ve noticed it sets a negative tone for me because I start to think about what I need to do for the day and how I am going to schedule and structure my day. My morning time at home is mine and I will wait until I get to work to start worrying about how I will get my work stuff done.
We will see how my new rules pan out. I’m not expecting myself to follow them perfectly (although I will try), but I want to establish boundaries for myself because, like I’ve said before, balance is the key to everything. I would love to be able to balance everything in a healthy way and think that there’s no better time to start than today. Once my rules become habits, I won’t need rules anymore– everything will be second nature. I’m looking forward to this
…Because I’m addicted to email and I need help…
