Today’s topic is more simple than most but the most important!
THANK YOU. Thank you to those who are reading and following along. A special thank you to those who have texted, shown support and shared your own stories! And, I can’t forget those I’ve mentioned in blog posts for being such a big part of my life. It has been 3 months since I woke up and decided to do this and so far it has been super fun. The best part is hearing from everyone and connecting with you all! With the greatest sincerity, I appreciate you!
This expression of thankfulness, leads us to the second topic today: sustained gratitude. Also known as sustained positive emotion.
Storytime
Moving
Many years ago, a great friend and I were talking after I moved from PA to NC. To put things in perspective: the first few months of moving was fairly difficult. This was largely due to the large cultural shift I experienced. Just think, I moved from a large northeastern city (where shirts literally said, “I’m not angry, I’m from Philly”) to a quint, cute, put together southern ‘city’ (where everyone greeted one another, smiled and said, “hey”.).
A good friend
During this phone call, my friend informed me about sustained gratitude. Side note: I realize not all people have friends that give them researched advice. I sincerely would consider this friend my family at this point. Not only have we known one another almost are entire lives, we truly care about one another’s well-being. This example alone reminds me how fortunate I am to have this particular person in my life!
Practice
After our conversation, I seriously considered how to reframe some of the things I was experiencing. In addition, I started a daily gratitude practice. This practice consisted of setting a timer for 5 minutes and writing down free thoughts on everything I was grateful for. After about 3 days, I felt a shift in my openness, I dropped some of my natural defensiveness AND even started to wave and say, “hey” back to my friendly passer-bys!
Results
This small shift was so effective to my daily life. One of the best parts is having a written log of some amazing things, but also realizing how grateful I am for simple, everyday things.
Over the years, when I have found myself feeling a bit off or getting too much in my head about anything, I restart this practice. Maintaining it for a handful of days at least and typically a month at a time, it has a re-centering effect.
I am grateful for you and your thoughtful blog posts.
Thank you!!! <3 Miss you so much!! <3