Vibrant Habit #6
While I was studying to become a Health Coach I learned something very valuable about myself… probably the most important thing that I have learned to date about the person I am at my very core. This new-found self awareness was significant in ways that could only be perceived at the deepest level of my soul… I was a poopy poo. Now don’t judge me too harshly yet. I had something very powerful and inescapable that was working against me every second of every day. I was (gulp) human. As humans we are hardwired to be poopy poos. I spent the first half of my life being Poopy Poo Girl and I am bound and determined to transform and live the last half of my life as Gratitude Woman (I already designed my cape… now you can judge). Gratitude is miss Poopy Poo’s kryptonite.
I decided to make it a habit to think of three things I was grateful for every night when my head hit my pillow. It was hard at first! I’ve spent the better part of five decades flexing my muscles of negativity… I could think of three things that chaffed my backend without much thought. Focus. I could think of a person or group of people whom I was grateful for (past or present), characteristics about myself I was thankful to have, places or things that made me happy, a particular event or moment that was special. After doing this for a few weeks it became second nature and strange things started happening. I was developing super powers. I was happier, less stressed, more satisfied with life, more generous and compassionate and positive. There were a few things I needed to keep in mind. Consistency, consistency, consistency. Gratitude builds on itself. The brain changes with experience, so the more I practiced gratitude, the more I tuned in to the positive things in the world. Also, novelty, novelty, novelty. I needed to be grateful for different things every night or my kryptonite would lose its shimmer.
Your vibrant habit is to develop your gratitude attitude. Think of three things, big or small, that you are grateful for each day. Do this right when your feet hit the floor in the morning or when your head hits the pillow at night. Write it in a journal while you’re drinking your coffee. Are you grateful for your daily walks, your third-grade teacher, a friendly neighbor, your puppy not peeing on your rug, your new cape? By flexing your gratitude muscles you will start to feel your own super powers developing and you will also benefit by having a stronger immune system, lowering your blood pressure, sleeping better, connecting better with others, feeling less entitled, noticing the good in the world and in other people… this is just for starters. Don’t delay, start rewiring that poopy poo brain with gratitude and remember consistency and novelty will keep your kryptonite shimmering vibrantly.
