November provides us with several opportunities to express our gratitude. Much of the time we are focused on what's wrong with our life and the world. It's easy to let this negativity affect our experience of life. Here are three of ways to celebrate this month.
The first exercise is to create a list of all the things you appreciate and are thankful for. When we first ask our clients to do this, they come up with about a dozen items after a fair amount of work. Some clients say they can't think of anything positive at all. With a little bit of coaching, they're soon able to come up with a list of 200 or more items. One of our favorite prompts is to ask them what they would miss if it were gone. So much of human behavior is driven by the fear of loss, and we spend much of our time trying to keep close the things we hold dear and the things we need to survive. How many items can you put on your gratitude list?
The second exercise is to give a genuine compliment to the important people in your life. My cousin Deanna says she can always find something nice to say no matter who the person is. I've tested her many times on some rather unpleasant and difficult people, and she has always come through. Use PILES of Compliments to help you learn how to better give and receive a compliment. A lot of times it's easier for us to give a compliment than to accept one, but both are important skills.
The third exercise is to create a balanced view of something you view negatively. We tend to only remember the bad things and have a very small list of good things. See how many items you can list that are good and bad and somewhere in between. If you are having a difficult time, then ask someone else to help you. A different perspective is often all you need to see the positive things that are right in front of you.
We hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving full of good food, fun, and all the people you hold dear.
Thank you for reading this newsletter and for helping us get the word out that there are lots of ways to make things better. If you'd like to see how we can help you, then schedule a free discovery call. Everyone deserves to live a life filled with love, peace, joy, freedom, and fulfillment.