G is for Gratitude



Photo from here

I've mentioned this before, but I start every morning with a positive reason to get out of bed.  What do I have to look forward to that day?  Perhaps it's payday, or I have a new makeup brush to use.  I get out of bed for blueberry muffins, nice weather, and to enjoy the quiet before Troy and Mya wake up.  There are no rules: my positive reason can be anything that I want it to be. 

I started doing this a long time ago (Jr. High? High School?) and for a long time it was as natural to me as breathing.  My mind automatically went to my happy thought every morning as soon as I woke up.  No need to remind myself to do it, I just did.  I still think of my positive thing every morning, but sometimes I'm in the shower before I remember that I forgot to think about it.  Perhaps I'm getting forgetful as I get older. 

Now I am adding to my routine and ending my day by thinking about the thing that I am most thankful for before falling asleep at night.  My moment of gratitude!  Start and end my day with happy thoughts because life is better when you focus on the positive.  I do a lot of  negative things during the day that I regret, but I always go back to the positive. 

This new routine forces me to think of the positive things in my life.  I can't dwell on the negative for long when I have to get to my thankful moment before I drift off to sleep.  I sometimes amaze and surprise myself with the things I choose as the moment I am most thankful for from my day. 

• The warmth I felt when Troy reached over and put his hand on my leg in the car
• The easy conversation I had with a friend
• Realizing that I made someone else smile
• Sore muscles from work
• My quick typing fingers
• Warm socks on a chilly morning

It reminds me of what's important in life.  The things I choose as my moment of gratitude for the day are usually small little things, but are so much more important that than those negatives that I stressed over and turned into big things.  No matter what emotions I experience during the day I choose to end my day by reminding myself of something great.  What do I have to be thankful for today?