Want to Have a Good Day? Rx: Come Back To Gratitude


How many bad days have you had during the past year?

Be honest. How many times have you felt anxious, worried, stressed, or even afraid and it prevented you from having a good day?

Keeping a positive mindset in today’s world can feel a lot like learning to walk. You have to fall down again and again before you’ve built the strength to stay up.

When I was at a low point in my life over 10 years ago, I knew I wanted to have a good day. I knew I wanted to “think positive.” I knew I wanted to spiral up.

Most of all I just wanted to feel good.

Only I didn’t know how. It was the how that always got me tripped up.

One day I found myself legit praying for a tool. Something to help me cope. And just like that, my tool showed up in the form of a gratitude journal. (Only I didn’t know it at the time.)

Writing down 5 things every day I was grateful for, and focusing on the feeling I got when I thought of those things, was my ticket out of the doom and gloom way of life I was caught up in.

In a matter of weeks I was not only feeling good, I was having lots of really good days and was enjoying my life again!

Here we are over 10 years later and my gratitude practice still helps me stay calm and centered on a daily basis. It keeps me focused on what I care about most: family, friends, self-care, being creative and trying new things. What’s cool is that if I start to feel myself going to the dark side, gratitude always brings me home.

Through all the up’s and down’s, one thing stays true: life is precious. The good, the bad, the triumphs and the challenges all add up to one amazing experience we call life.

With a little bit of practice, being able to appreciate it all AND stay positive — no matter what gets thrown your way — is a skill you too can master. And I have just the tool to help you!

One of the things that’s truly brought me joy this year is working on a new version of the Gratitude to Bliss App. It’s been a high priority project for me all year to expand the app to a full year’s worth of inspiration, coaching tips and more to help you get the most out of your own gratitude moments on a daily basis.

Whether you’re new to practicing gratitude or in need of a refresh, the Gratitude To Bliss App will be here soon!

It’s the #1 gratitude app created by a health coach (that’s me!) designed to boost your health and your happiness!

Practicing gratitude using the Gratitude To Bliss App is easy to do and super nourishing—it’s just like taking a vitamin, and is why I like to call my gratitude practice “Vitamin G.”

Here are just some of the proven health benefits “Vitamin G” will give you:

  • Boosts your immune system
  • Balances hormones
  • Lowers stress
  • Improves mood
  • Increases circulation
  • Lowers blood pressure

Health and happiness go hand in hand. When you focus on what’s good in your life, you improve both your HEALTH and your HAPPINESS.

It’s how we turn all those bad days into good ones.

After the year we’ve had, it’s time to move forward with strength, courage, and trust in what’s good. It’s time to realign and come back to gratitude.

Because today IS a good day to have a good day!

Please share this blog with a friend and leave your questions and comments below and stay tuned for the Gratitude To Bliss App launch event by following me on Instagram!

Love, Lorraine

 

 

 

Today Is A Good Day For A Good Day

Me with my favorite chiropractor, Dr. Alan Sherr of Northport Wellness Center, where I go every week for self-care (something I am very grateful for!).

The Blessing of Being

Seven years ago today I became a Mom.

Although my journey to motherhood was not one I ever would have chosen, I can truly say I am grateful things turned out just the way they did.

It wasn’t always that way.

Being grateful is so hard to fathom when you’re going through a challenge.

It’s often only afterwards, when we look back and reflect on our experiences, that we realize how much our struggle helped pave the way for us to become what we needed to; much like a caterpillar struggles to emerge from a chrysalis as a beautiful, elegant, divinely perfect butterfly.

That’s not something you can ever help it do. In fact, if you were to help, the butterfly would die. The struggle IS the path. The path to growth and completion.

So while I’m not a big fan of struggling forever, I believe our struggles are what shape us and give our lives meaning.

Had I not struggled to become a Mom, I would not be the Mom I am today. I would not have the son I have today. I would not have the grace, humility and appreciation I have today.

So for today, I am going to bathe in gratitude, in celebration of my son, Milo.

Today, Milo, I am grateful for:

The sweet way you smile at me first thing in the morning. I am so lucky you are the first thing I see when I wake up.

The way you love to snuggle and be snuggled.

Your clever sense of humor.

The way the music you create on your piano makes my heart dance. It seems to flow out of you with perfect ease and joy. It surely lives inside you.

The creative way you invent and play games.

Your lightening speed when we ride bikes together. You are keeping me in shape.

The deep and special connection we have between us. It’s almost like you know what I’m thinking sometimes.

Your short temper, as it reminds me to be gentle with you.

You’re stubbornness. It reminds me you are your own person.

Your questions. May you always ask questions.

Your love of reading. It is a gift and a joy to share with you.

Your warrior personality and love of victory. May you always triumph.

Your ability to make friends. May you always be surrounded by people who love you.

Your ability to make people laugh. That is a gift to be cherished.

The amazing structures you build in our living room.

The way you just interrupted me to give me “one thousand, million kisses.”

The way you make me feel grateful, every single day, that I GET to be your Mom.

Thank you, Milo, one thousand, million times.

And thank YOU for reading.

I realize not all struggles have a happy ending. But I do believe gratitude can play a role in how we handle life’s big challenges. If we can find something in our experience to be grateful for, however tiny it may seem, it can make all the difference.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo by Bankim Desai on Unsplash

5 Minutes Changes Everything

gratitude101116_blogFive years ago I gave my first workshop on gratitude at a local yoga studio. I had very little speaking experience, so getting up in front of a group did not come easy. I spent a lot of time organizing my thoughts and practicing in front of a mirror. Although the group was small, I was very nervous. Afterwards, the studio owner told me I needed to speak more loudly. I felt awkward and discouraged. I wanted to give up.

But a few months after that workshop, I received this email from one of my attendees:

“I have always had a desire to get rid of my anxiety and depression, however I never knew how to do this – despite years of formal therapy. I started my gratitude journal and could not believe how many negative thoughts I was having on a daily basis. This journaling was significant for me because it showed me that I had all that I needed right before me…My depression/fog has lifted and for the first time in many years I feel alive and with happy, positive energy.”

I am so grateful for her email, because it gave me the reassurance I needed to keep going.

It showed me that the work I was doing with gratitude — writing, speaking, and coaching — had already helped at least one person change her life.

Since then, I’ve received many more emails from people around the world using the Gratitude To Bliss print journal and now the Gratitude To Bliss Mobile App. Here is one of them from a woman in the Philippines:

“My husband died a few months ago and I have two kids. Gratitude To Bliss was a big help to my recovery. I am really grateful I found this app. Again, thank you so much.”

So what is really going on when people practice gratitude? Why is it so powerful? Why is it so easy?

When you make even the tiniest effort to focus your thoughts on all the good in your life, for as little as five minutes a day, you are choosing to see things differently. By doing so, you are allowing a shift to occur that enables you to see the good in more and more things as time goes by, despite your circumstances.

The best way that I’ve found to do this is to keep a gratitude journal and write 3-5 things every day that you are grateful for. Remember to focus on the feeling you get when you think about the items on your list. This will help you get the most out of your practice so that it doesn’t become another list-making task. You will actually feel good while you practice by remembering how meaningful these things are to you.

For example, when I practice gratitude, I don’t just list “my family.” I’ll say “fun times with Aunt Emily” and remember how much fun I had at her house last weekend, laughing and and telling stories about when we were kids.

Gratitude Tip: DO NOT SPEND MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES!

By limiting your practice to five minutes a day, you will increase your changes of actually doing it daily. Spending more time will mean you won’t get to it every day and the effects won’t be as strong. Consistent, daily practice is key.

I often refer to this practice as Vitamin G because it’s extremely nourishing, yet easy to do.

Tweet Now
5 Minutes Changes Everything @Gratitude2Bliss

What could one daily dose of Vitamin G do for you?

Get started today!

Please share your comments below.

Gratefully yours!

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5 Tips to Up Your Happiness This Fall

As I dropped off my son for pre-school the other day, finally enjoying a moment to myself, I realized that I felt a bit off.

It’s no wonder. The “official” end of summer and start of fall is one of the most drastic transitions we experience throughout the year.

Days are noticeably shorter, kids are back in school, and the weather is shifting. Cooler days means the trees will soon be changing colors and letting go of their leaves to prepare for another winter.

And while I love fall, and all its beauty, I will admit, all this change has a way of throwing me off my game.

So, what’s a girl to do?

Here are five tips to keep your happiness alive this fall:

1. First, simply recognize that you and the world around you are in transition. Sometimes we get so caught up in the craziness of back-to-school or back-to-work that we don’t even realize that every other living thing is experiencing a whirlwind of change right now. So take a five minute break today to just reflect on all the change that’s happening. Then take a few deep breaths and know that everything will be ok. Because it will.

2. Get out in nature as much as possible. No matter how old or young you are, saying good-bye to summer can be tough. We are creatures of nature and we thrive on sunshine and being outside. So as the days start getting shorter and the air starts getting cooler, make a point to celebrate this time of year by getting outside and savouring the last few months of sunshine before winter comes.

3. Find something to ground you. Now more than ever you need to make sure you have a solid morning ritual in place. Practicing gratitude for five minutes each morning works wonders for keeping you feeling balanced and alive so you can enjoy the season. Combine this with getting out in nature and you’ll be stronger and more balanced than ever.

4. Don’t let your yoga practice or exercise routine slide. This time of year we can easily feel overwhelmed with all the projects, events, and other stuff we put off until fall. But skipping exercise will throw you off balance even more so schedule that first. I give you permission.

5. Eat grounding foods. While nature throws us for a loop this time a year, she also knows what’s best for us and she always delivers. Root vegetables and squashes that grow in or on the ground hold natural grounding energy within them. So eating these gems “in season” means nourishing yourself with the right foods, right now.

To get you started, check out this simple, savory veggie muffin recipe from my Bliss Cleanse program!

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Mini Veggie Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup veggies, grated or finely chopped (suggestions: carrots, zucchini, squash, peppers, onions)
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups quinoa or spelt flour
½ cup parsley, finely chopped
1 cup almond or rice milk
Pinch of sea salt

Directions:

1.    Preheat oven to 325 ˚F.
2.    Mix flour and salt in a bowl.
3.    Make a well, add eggs, veggies and parsley.
4.    Mix lightly, gradually add milk. This is supposed to be lumpy so don’t work too hard!
5.    Spoon into a mini muffin tray that is lightly oiled.
6.    Bake for 12-15 minutes.
7.    Remove and allow to set for 10 minutes, then serve with coconut oil.

Tweet Now:
Fall Happy Tips + Veggie Muffins
http://tinyurl.com/ouvkbr2 @Gratitude2Bliss

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Are You Living Your Dharma?

Today we conclude our conversation on Primary Foods, with our focus on Career. (For more on primary foods, check out The Four Areas of Your Life You Need to Be Feeding).

Have you ever thought of your career as a primary food?

According to Joshua Rosenthal, Founder and Director, Institute of Integrative Nutrition,

“Finding work you love is essential to living a healthy, balanced life.”

One of my favorite spiritual teachers, Deepak Chopra, shares the concept of dharma in his book, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. This little guide has been my go-to source for inspiration and clarity for several years now. In fact, I began using it daily around the same time I started practicing gratitude.

Dharma is a sanskrit word that means “purpose in life.”

According to Deepak, everyone has a unique purpose in life. There is something you can do that no one else can do, and when you match this gift with the intention of serving others, you achieve “the ecstasy or exultation of (y)our own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of all goals.”

In today’s world, a great deal of emphasis is placed on career. Our sense of worth gets all tied up in your career or job and the amount of your paycheck. But dharma is so much more than that.

Your dharma has 3 components:

1. To discover your true self – this is your spiritual journey
2. To express your unique talent – what is it that you can do better than anyone else in the world as a result of your unique talents and experiences?
3. To match your talents with service to others – how can you share your gift in a way that helps others?

Practicing gratitude supports these three areas. As we’ve already touched on in a previous post:

Practicing gratitude helps you stay connected to your true spirit
and help you stay focused on what brings you joy.

This helps you prioritize those things in your life and consciously — or unconsciously — seek out opportunities that make you happier. With this goes opportunities to share your gifts and help others.

This doesn’t mean you have to enjoy every minute of your job in order to be healthy and happy. What it does mean is that becoming more aware of yourself and your sense of purpose in the world, through practicing gratitude, can help you shape your life in a direction that is in alignment with who you truly are.

Sometimes this turns into a paying job, sometimes it is a hobby or a calling, and sometimes your dharma is simply being there for the people in your life, again and again and again.

When my Mom passed away in 2010, I was surprised to learn how many people she had helped at her job as a school secretary. Unbeknownst to me, she was the person at school people confided in and she found great pleasure in helping them find peace and clarity in their personal lives. Her talent for caregiving went beyond her family and was a true example of someone living her dharma.

If you haven’t yet figured out what your dharma is, don’t worry. Pay attention to the voice inside and trust that it will guide you to a place of joy and life satisfaction. Let your gratitude practice be the tool that connects you to your true purpose.

To give you an idea of how this works I will share a testimonial I received from a Gratitude To Bliss  journal user. After practicing gratitude for several weeks, this person began noticing that she often wrote in her journal about how she enjoyed being around people of different ethnicities. (This is why I always say that repeating is OK.) This made her realize a career option that involved working with different ethnic groups and she was quickly able to make a job change that became much more fulfilling for her.

So if you’re looking for a more satisfying career but don’t know where to start, start by practicing gratitude. It will lead you to wonderful things!

 

Gratitude connects me to my true purpose.

Tweet Now:
Practicing gratitude keeps you connected to your true purpose. @Gratitude2Bliss

Find out how I connected to my dharma.

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