prACTice (gr)ATTITUDE! . . . it's an attitude . . .

Gratitude is the
single most important ingredient
to living a successful and fulfilled life.

--Jack Canfield, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series

I know from experience that when when I focus on and am thankful for the good stuff I already have, I send out amazing positive energy that can bring  MORE of the good stuff BTW . . . it works the same for being negative . . . Have you ever been around a bunch of complainers and jumped in and started whining along with them? And then you can feel your frequency drop like a lead balloon?

ENERGY (positive or negative) GOES VIRAL! 

We all know that getting better at something (like being grateFULL) takes prACTice (NOTE: prACTice has the word ACT in it!!).

So how do we do it? I have a couple of ideas for you, but BEWARE: they take ACTion.

oNe iDeA: I personally like to write (duh . . .), so I keep a journal where I list things I am grateful for at the end of the day. That way, I end my day on a positive note, and I actually think I sleep better!  

aNothEr IdEa: (pinecone story alert) there was a time in my life when I felt like noTHING was working . . . my job, my family life, my relationships (mostly with myself, aka funfreeMe NOT, but also with other people). 

So, I started running (and running ... and running ... and running ... you know what I mean! ... cuz that's what we do, right? ....... we RuN ........... and fast!)

I happened to be running on a golf course one day and looked down and saw a pinecone. For some reason, I picked it up; this is how the Universe gets our attention sometimes. I sat on a bench that overlooked the entire golf course, ready to collapse into a pile of misery.

Then, for some reason, I decided to start counting my blessings. I had the pinecone in my hand, and I pulled off every tine (the hard prickly thingies that stick out on pinecones), and for each one, I thought of something I was grateful for. I sat there for over and hour, and by the time I was done, I felt sOsooooSo much better.

My energy changed from me feeling like crap to feeling, well, BLESSED. On this day I began to count my blessings . . . and this began my love affair with pinecones. More later . . .

Have a beautiful day! 
Dana