The Power of Gratitude

As 2018 comes to an end, I can’t help but reflect on the past year and smile. There have been many great moments, but such as life, there were work stressors, financial concerns and internal struggles about myself.  My journey toward living a healthier lifestyle started October 2017, at the time of this writing, 13 months ago.  My intent was wanting to lose weight and to heal my body. I haven’t lost a signification amount of weight…yet, but something far greater than losing weight has transpired within me.. Learning how to live a life in abundance, adopting an attitude of gratitude, and becoming more confident in myself.

I have adopted the motto:

“Things are happening FOR me, not happening TO me.” 

Living a Better Life

I began to ask myself how I could live a better life. 

I’m married to an amazing man, I have 2 handsome boys, our cats, Ender and Bean.  I have a cozy place to call home, a job I enjoy, money in the bank, the ability to travel, and, of course love and support of wonderful family and friends.

What more could I possibly need, besides money or material things? How could I improve my life?

I took a step back and assessed a few things I want:

• I want to feel more calm and balanced
• I want to develop a healthier mindset – fewer negative thoughts
• I want to be become more confident in myself
• I want to reduce my negative reactions to stress

So, how do I get from point A to point B?

• I began listening to motivational podcasts
• I watched motivational videos on YouTube
• I began reading inspiring articles and quotes
• I followed well-known authors and motivational speakers on Facebook
• I began writing more

I immersed myself into a world of positive energy.  I began to realize part of my healing process meant healing MY mind and MY thoughts.  

Love Myself, Love My Life.

I want to overcome fear. I want to feel more confident.  I want learn to love myself, no matter what size I am. I want to quiet the chatter in my head… the self-doubt, negative talk and self-directed body-shaming. I can find a million excuses to talk myself out of doing something. I know what I need to do, but time and time again I make a conscious choice not to take action, then complain because I’m not seeing results. Plain and simple – I’m tired of my excuses.

I’ve been a sponge, soaking up tons of information but struggle with implementing what I’ve learned. Fear holds me back from stepping outside my comfort zone. Fear of failing. Fear of not feeling good enough. Fear of the what ifs and should haves.  So much fear, robbing me of being the greatest version of myself.

One day I stumbled upon Mel Robbins, a motivational speaker and author of a bestselling book, The 5 Second Rule. As she says: “The moment you have an instinct to act on a goal you must 5-4-3-2-1 and physically move or your brain will stop you.”

Transform Your Life, Work, And Confidence with Everyday Courage 

“Every single day we face moments that are difficult, uncertain, and scary. Your life requires courage. And that is exactly what the Rule will help you discover- the courage to become your greatest self.” -Mel Robbins

As an example- I want more self-confidence about my writing skills. I don’t want to be held back by fear of worrying what other people think. I want to write effortlessly, with courage.

Instead of saying: “I am not good enough”, causing me to worry about what other people think and might say about me…

5-4-3-2-1… resetting my thought pattern.

“I AM good enough!  It doesn’t matter what other people think!”

This is MY life… MY thoughts… MY feelings.

No one owns my thoughts or feelings, nor does anyone have power over them. I must have the courage to change MY mindset, then act upon it. Sharing without fear, not worrying about what other people think, just being proud of who I am and making peace with myself.

5-4-3-2-1 …

We all can learn from this process.  Redirect your mind, act on it, let go of fear. Don’t let fear and negative thoughts hold you back from being your greatest self.

A Negative Mind Will Never Give You A Positive Life

When we allow our negative thoughts to manipulate our emotions, we rob ourselves of living in abundance.  Living in abundance means enjoying the present moment, feeling grateful and blessed. Our thoughts can be extremely powerful, whether positive or negative.

Do you feel stuck, living the same story day in and day out? You will never know the next chapter in your book if you keep re-living the same story, living with the same negative thoughts, worries and fears.

YOU have to change YOU.

YOU can be a better version of yourself than you were yesterday.

YOU can choose which path to take.

Change your thoughts, change your mindset. If YOU chose to do nothing, then nothing will change. Change happens from within the mind and within the heart. Every day we have an opportunity to change.  Failure to act will result in ZERO progress.

Gratitude

Recently, I adopted a practice of writing down 5 things I am grateful for. By taking the time to stop and consciously notice the wonderful world around me and in my life, I am living in gratitude, feeling more abundance. I have been able train my heart and mind to stop looking at the world through dark-colored glasses. I’m learning to embrace the positive by looking through rainbow colored lenses.

When my day ends with thoughts of gratitude, I feel a sense of peace, more calm and balanced.  I go to sleep thinking fewer negative thoughts.  I stop questioning my decisions, thus feeling more confident. Finally, I am finding when I experience stress, I don’t immediately turn to negative thoughts. 

Through this process I have added more “tools” to my box that helps me live life to the fullest and become the best possible version of myself.  

I encourage you to end 2018 by creating a gratitude journal. You don’t need a fancy notebook…  Just get it down on paper. Commit to the process.  Don’t expect to do it for one week and see positive changes. It has to be part of your daily routine. The minute you stop, you will begin to see the world through those dark and dreary lenses again.  Keep it up regularly, don’t let fear, anxiety and constant worrying rob you of your right to live a fulfilling life. 

Only you can guide your destiny, 5-4-3-2-1…  Don’t wait, DO IT!

-Nicole

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2. Trapped in FOOD Prison
3. No More Yo-Yo Dieting!

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