I don’t recall exactly when it happen.  If I was to pinpoint the exact moment I would guess it was when I became a mother.  Along with motherhood I found mysellf becoming very “anxious and worried”.  Maybe it was because I now had the responsiblity of another living being to take care of. However, as I started getting older I realized that this constant worrying and anxiety was causing me unnecessary stress.  I can’t imagine that this stress was good for my body or my peace of mind. The question I started asking is simply. “How do you snap out of thinking “doom and gloom” about everything?  The answer is one powerful word “Gratitude.”

 What I learned is when I am grateful it is impossible to be fearful at the same time.  As a matter fact, you cannot hold a positive thought and a negative thought simultaneously in your mind. (It’s impossible!)  Don’t believe me, give it a try.  Try to think of something positive and negative at the same time. What you will discover is one thought will overpower the other.

What is my secret strategy for maintaining a positive attitude?

“I am grateful for” exercise.

It is really simply to do and I would recommend that you do it at the beginning of your day (before your feet hits the floor) and again right before you close your eyes and drift off to sleep.

So, what you want to do is take a minimum of 3-5 minutes and ask yourself the question “What am I grateful for?”

You can start out with your family, friends, pets, your career, the people you help, your health (mentally, emotionally and physically).  Most people when they are in a place of fear it is primarily because of what they are focusing on.  They are thinking of all of the things that could go wrong versus what is going right in their lives.

We forget how bless we truly are and the fact that we live in a place that is not being bomb on a daily basis is something to be grateful for.  The fact that we have clean running water, electricity and heat in our homes is something to be grateful for.  The fact that we are able to protest and speak freely and share our differences of opinions is something to be grateful for.

So my coaches challenge is this:

Everyday starting tomorrow until the end of the year, I challenge you to take 5-minutes to FOCUS on gratitude.  What you will find that the more grateful you become, the less fearful you will be. If you really want to be adventous I would invite you to pick up a journal which will become your “gratitude” journal and document daily all of the things that you are grateful for.  This exercise literally changed my life and I don’t say it lightly.  Does that mean that I am never worry?  Of course not, but it does mean when I find myself going down the dark hole of despair I can snap out of it faster just by going back to gratitude.

I am grateful for….YOU!!!

“Fear cannot reside where gratitude abides.” – Rae Majors-Wildman