The Gratitude Game

The Gratitude Game

by Mary Lyn Miller

As Thanksgiving approaches, we often think about gratitude, and while I have published this before, I am often asked to do it again.  And as we are looking forward to a new year and new visions and goals, it's important to be grateful for what we have first before we race to move on!

While your probably view yourself as thankful for your blessings, we determine what we believe to be a "blessing" and what is not.  However, some of your greatest blessings may not initially look all that positive in the beginning.  For instance, my experiencing Cancer is what turned my life around and opened the door to a good health consciousness and rewarding life work.  Today I always give thanks for the gift of Cancer, but at the time it was fearful and overwhelming. The first thing to understand about gratitude is that it is not a selective process.

                                                 

The Gratitude Game begins with the premise that genuine thankfulness begins with being grateful for everything..yes, absolutely EVERYTHING in your life.

These are the steps to the Game:

1.    Make a list of anything you perceive as positive in your life. The people who love you are a good start. Anything good about your work, your relationships, special advantages or support you've received, anything nice someone else has done for you.  Just write down everything you can think of that is good about your life. Be truly grateful for it.

2.    Next write down everything ordinary that you take for granted: the roof over your head, your sight, your hearing, the ability to chew, your health, the warm California climate (you can tell I'm from the Midwest) and so forth. When you really think about it, there are so many small, inconsequential conditions that conspire to create a good lifestyle.  This is a good time to recognize them.

3.    Finally, write down any painful, uncomfortable thoughts, feelings and events, some of which may feel uncomfortable or difficult right now…and get grateful for them.  Why? This is how we learn the lessons of life. No one said it was all going to be easy.  But, gratitude opens you up. It helps you release the resistance (oh, why did this have to happen to me?) and embrace your difficult circumstances and allow the most good to come from them.  What creates your reality is not what happens to you, but how you RESPOND to what happens to you.  Life does have challenges, but there is a positive side for each and every one of them.  Be grateful for the gift inside of every heartache even if you can’t see it right now.

4.    Give thanks for those blessings that are on the way. Feel them coming. Expect success.  Expect the best and be grateful for it.

After completing this little game, how do you feel?  

Everyone who plays is a winner because I'll tell you a secret, gratitude allows you to receive more; it is the foundation of all abundance. An open, gracious heart is a powerful magnet for good. Money, opportunity, and joy flows toward gratitude.  Try it and see.

It will prepare you for a glorious Thanksgiving!

4 Positive Results of the Economy

I know you are familiar with all the negative aspects of our economy today. After over 20 years working with clients in transition, I am very familiar with the process, and realize the entire world is in a classic transition process!

Every transition process begins with something going wrong, (as it most certainly has), and the transition piece is where we begin the renewal process. It is scary, exciting, and uncertain – a fair review of our situation today. But, this major shift is offering some interesting positive results and new opportunities:

1) IMPOSED RE-EVALUATION: Certainly as a nation and planet we are re-evaluating everything from our policies and foreign relations to economic structures. Similarly, as individuals, most of us are re-evaluating our choices including core values, work, family and how we have spent our money. For many it’s long overdue. We’re finally forced to finally release jobs that bored us, work that doesn’t fulfill. This is a positive result. One of my clients made a comment awhile ago about her experience as a result of 9/11: “If it weren’t for 9/11, I wouldn’t have lost my job. But it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. It forced me to re-evaluate my life, make a career change and start my own business. Today I love my life! Without that kind of crisis, I may have gone along in that old life a long, long time, letting it just sap the life out of me.”

2) RENEWED FAITH: The last few months have seen a dramatic increase in church attendance. People are being driven back to their spiritual roots or seeking new outlets. Many of us feel moved connect with a Higher Power. It is said that we are always making the choice between fear and faith, and that whichever one we choose, cancels out the other. Faith and an uplifted heart will outperform just about any business building tactic. Sandy Gooch, founder of “Mrs. Gooch’s” which has since become Whole Foods Market here in Southern California commented that she would have failed if she knew that a mother of small children with no marketing or business background couldn’t build the empire she did. Her faith came first and created her success against all odds. If you’re focused on increasing your energy and relying on higher laws to create your results, you can accomplish anything.

3) RE-CONNECTION TO COMMUNITY: The uncertainty has led to a marked increase in people seeking comfort and community. Job seekers are filling hotel meeting rooms and bars, banding together to help and support one another. Networking is suddenly a vital skill. Facebook, Twitter, and Linked-In are all thriving. People are reconnecting with old college roommates, former schoolmates and lost loves. It’s great! We are all one and there is comfort in being together as never before. In January 2009 I started Fired Up for Success Mastermind Network and it is steadily growing because people not only want to connect, but more than ever need to keep focused and their energy fired up so that they can attract what they need for the next step. This trend of connecting to community is contributing to making the world a better place to live.

4) CREATIVITY AND RE-INVENTION ABOUND: “Necessity is the Mother of Invention.” In my book, “The 8 Myths of Making a Living,” I talk about my dad who was a young man in the Depression and saw that period as a time of “opportunity.” He invested heavily in stocks – which were really cheap! The result was he became a wealthy man and taught me that all economies offer opportunity! He taught me to be an “opportunity seeker,” no matter what is going on.

I have clients coming to me saying, “What I did to market myself or make a living a year ago – or 6 months ago –is not longer working! Now what do I do?” Take heart: There is plenty of opportunity; it’s just being re-tooled.

There are more creative ideas than ever. Once you have re-evaluated what you really want, gotten support to keep your spirits “fired up,” and have community, you can create just about anything. That’s the good new for today’s economy!!