Dear readers,
The year 2015 is already one month old and I think this is a good point in time to share share my New Year resolution with you:
I've been counting my blessings!
Last year, my mom told me about a lady she saw on TV who said, she didn't write a diary, but she wrote down things she's thankful for every single day. Whenever she's "sad" (or thinks things aren't going so well for her), she'll look at her booklet and see how much she has to be thankful for, which then lightens her mood.
Ok, writing this down made me realize this seems like a thing only "whiners" do, so let me correct your point of view right there: It has the potential to lighten the mood for everyone, whether they're already happy or not.
Anyway, I decided to do the same thing on January 1, 2015.
I'm not really the New Year resolution kind of person, but so far it's been going pretty well:)
I decided to find at least five things every day, which I want to say thanks for.
"So, your life must be very interesting, if you always find five things, you're thankful for..."
It most certainly is not more interesting than anyone else's life, but that is the whole point!
In Germany we have this saying which goes something like:
"Don't miss out on the smaller luck in life while waiting for the big luck."
Ok, to be fair: it doesn't sound that good in English, but I think the point of the saying can be easily understood:)
I feel like in this society, where we're so used to being presented new things (clothing collections, cellphones, laptops, tablet computers etc.) and consuming them all the time, we're maybe also always bound to buy new things, but at the same time also be on the lookout for the next big thing to hit the market.
For example: If you buy your new cellphone, you can be sure it'll be "old" by the end of this year.
It might be that we feel the same about our precious moments, and I'm not even talking about "bigger" things like: "Ohhh, I enjoyed my vacation so much, next summer I'll go to XYZ", or "I got the new XYZ and I'm so excited about it".
Let me give you a short impression on
things I write down that I am thankful for:
- I finally prepared the detox drink
- The shoes I ordered fit perfectly and are very comfortable
- The soup I like was on sale
- The lunch I ate [and cooked for that matter] tasted amazing
- I had coffee with Swan
"The soup I like was on sale? What are we talking about? 1€ ? Boringggg!"
Yes, but thinking about it: It's a small thing which made -at least- me happy, and that is the whole point. Happiness/luck/things to be thankful for is an individual thing, so everyone will come up with different things to be thankful for. It might also be something like "The bus arrived at the same time that I arrived at the bus stop"... Just simple things, wich might often be a mix of "boring" and interesting things.
If you start being aware of every single detail which made you happy on just one day, then you realize: you have quite a lot to be thankful for, which you might not have realized if you hadn't written it down, or which you might have realized but forgot it right away, since it was such a "tiny thing".
I can only recommend keeping such a "Thankfulness-Diary", or at least thinking about 5 things you can be thankful for each day, before you go to sleep, and your mindset will be a lot more positive!
So: Stop waiting for the big shots, and write down/think about all the small shots that made your day beautiful :)
Talking about shots: Tequila shots are smaller than Gin Tonics, but they are both alcoholic beverages, which will eventually give you a buzz! hahaha
(Please drink in moderation though! :p)
<3 J.
