This Holiday Season, get your attitude of gratitude on and look for the silver lining in your ‘presence‘!
Gratitude Rocks
Gratitude rocks both our inner and outer worlds. Gratitude is a positive emotional state in which we recognise, acknowledge and appreciate what we have received in life. It makes you receptive for more goodness, and it will make you feel good to boot! In order to give, you need to be capable of receiving. In order to do good, you have to feel good. It’s the cycle of a wholesome life!
Attitude of Gratitude for World Peace
Gratitude rocks because it makes us appreciate what we already have and affirms what we would like to receive more of. Expressing gratitude affirms your appreciation. It is a selfish way of tricking the Universe in giving you more. Manifest the life you want to live through expressing gratitude for the wholesome life you already have!
Receiving gratitude not only makes us feel valued and appreciated, it also boosts our morale and motivation! An experiment showed that when a supervisor or manager simply expressed their appreciation, the employees responded with an overwhelming (voluntary) 50% increase in productivity! For your own good, and the world around you as a whole: get your attitude of gratitude on!
Gratitude can also help us through challenging times by making our minds focus on the positive instead of loosing ourselves in the negativity. You can save a marriage by simply focussing on everything that is going right, instead of wrong. Reframing a challenging experience by focussing on the silver lining can reform it! Counting our blessings makes us acknowledge what we already have accomplished together and reflect how far we have come.
Living in Gratitude by Practicing Presence
Transformation and change requires a lot of intentional effort, dedication and diligence. It is so easy for us to get caught up in ‘to do’ lists and deadlines, that we forget that the journey is the destination. To RESET that old habit of rushing and racing through life, we need to teach ourselves to hit that PAUSE button. Meditation has that desired zen-effect of slowing us down in everyday life. Instead of constantly reacting, it teaches us to take a breath first so we can choose how we want to respond. Another way to slow yourself down is by really enjoying the moment. Really savouring the experience. Fully appreciating the present moment, is a profound expression of gratitude. Savouring every step on your Journey is the Destination.
For the next month pick one activity everyday that you will savour wholehearteldy. Savouring is the act of stepping outside of an experience to review and appreciate it fully. By doing so it intensifies and lengthens the positive emotions that come with doing something you love. Pick one experience each day that you will enjoy thoroughly. It could be a nice long shower, a bath, a delicious meal, the walk home from the subway station, the flower stand on the corner, a book, a phonecall with a loved one. Everything in life is better shared, and sharing an experience significantly enhances the savouring of it. If you’re not sharing a meal with someone, maybe you can take a picture of the stunning sunset you saw on your way home and share later. The photo will be a great souvenir for you as well, and remind you later in the day or week of how lucky you were to have been able to enjoy such an amazing moment. Just make sure that you stay fully present in the moment the entire time, even while taking a snapshot of it. Don’t let it interfere with the actual experience! Live in gratitude, one moment at a time.
Your Presence is your Present this Thanksgiving
Being fully present is one of the most valuable gifts you can give yourself, and the people around you. When a friend gives you their undivided attention every time you meet. They make you feel like the only thing that matters to them. Regardless of what else is going on in their own lives, they have left that at the door. And when they walked in they were there just for you. They make you feel like the only thing that matters to them, even though they might be dealing with a lot of drama in their own lives. Just being in their presence calms you down and makes you feel deeply acknowledged and appreciated.
“We Convince with our Presence.”
Walt Whitman
Time Affluence
First we have to find out how you define success? What does an affluent lifestyle look like to you? What do you think of when you hear ‘affluence’? Most people think of expensive things and luxurious experiences, but you can be rich in time as well. Time Affluence is that luxurious feeling when you have an abundance of time. You never feel rushed, or strapped for time. You have time for the things that are important to you. You have time to do the things you want to do.
People think they want more money to be happy, but it is actually the other way around: people who prioritise time over money, turn out to be happier. This is yet another case of miswanting (see last month’s newsletter)… What do people do when they choose extra time, over extra money? People who prioritise time tend to be more social. Instead of focussing on material gain by either working harder or spending that hard earned money shopping, they spend their time with friends or making new friends. When you make time for fun experiences and social connections, you are investing in your happiness and wellbeing.
Better wanting
Money doesn’t buy happiness. Money will never satisfy us, because we will never make enough of it. Research has shown that whatever raise you receive will never be high enough. Scientifically research has figured out that for every $1.00 increase in your income, you believe it should have been given a $1.40 increase! One of the main reasons why money will never satisfy us, is because of one of our detrimental programs where we are always comparing ourselves to others. We compare our salaries with our coworkers’ and our neighbours’ income. There have been studies showing that when you find out your colleagues make more money than you do, you will be less satisfied with your job. When your neighbour wins the lottery, you will likely end up buying a new car! And, interestingly enough when the unemployment rate is high (like during the Covid Lockdowns) those that are unemployed tend to be happier than if the unemployment rate would have been low. Keeping up with the Joneses is costing us dearly, it’s costing us our happiness!
Your time on this planet is limited, choose how you want to spend it. Everything comes at a price in life, you just have to decide what it is worth to you.
“Follow your Bliss.”
Joseph Campbell
Show up for yourself fully present every day for the rest of your life! Your Presence is the present. It is the most valuable gift you can ever give yourself and others this holiday season and beyond. From now on live your life intentionally and enjoy every step along the way wholeheartedly! Create the life you want to live by savouring every moment. If you need a guiding hand I would strongly suggest you start your 40 day RESET now. If you start today it will carry you into the New Year. Learn how to be your best version regardless of troublesome times through creating a supportive self-care routine. A Wholesome Life is enjoyed with a peaceful mind in a vibrant body through mindful and intentional action.
Best Regards in Health and Wellbeing,
Nathalie Francois
Author of RESET
Feel Good. Be Good. Do Good.
All year round!
Everyday this month:
- Pick an activity, experience or moment to savour today. Write it in your journal at the end of the day while reliving every aspect of the experience as if rewinding a recording of it.
- Hit the PAUSE button several times a day this month and ask yourself if you are fully present. Ask yourself “What’s the best use of my time right now?”
- At the end of every day this month, write down the three things/people/experiences you are most grateful for that day.
- Bonus activity: Write a gratitude letter and deliver it in person around Thanksgiving.
- Found these coaching tips valuable? Put your attitude of gratitude into action by giving thanks here.
To celebrate Veterans Day, I will be raffling a copy of my book to subscribers of my Wholesome Newsletter. I will pick a random new subscriber that enrolls between November 11 – 21 2021… Sign up here for the wholesome newsletter and a chance to win a copy of the RESET book here.
I would appreciate your help in bringing this wholesome practi
I believe we need to support each other in creating a new normal that is wholesome and healthy for all.
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