Using Gratitude to Move Forward in Life!
The news is depressing. Your feed is depressing. The world feels…well depressing right now. It’s like a wet cloak…on a cold day. You know you need to shrug it off to get warm, but where can you go to find warmth?
You look around to the chaos that is out there and you just don’t know where to go. I’ll admit that I was like this for a very long time. Then one day, I really have no idea what changed, but I decided I had enough. I decided to say one positive quote a day to all my friends on social media. Then I decided to blog.
If you use the search button with the drop-down of months and you go back a few years to the beginning, you will likely “read” me in a whole different way. I was diagnosed with secondary depression after getting a bunch of invisible diseases...that had no cure. Note, that word links to a search on the term “invisible diseases” so you can read my raw, angry, old posts.
I never delete a blog post though…as I want you to be able to see my progression with not only my health, but my feelings. As I started to practice focusing on the positives in my life, my life started to change.
I had been stuck, and was slowly, miraculously, getting UNSTUCK in all areas of my life. I started being able to move again without pain…which was amazing. I started my yoga teacher journey, which was painful in the beginning yet extraordinary in the fact that I was able to complete 200 hours of Vinyasa Yoga Teach Training. Me. Me who had hardly been able to move.
I started being asked to do important work…work that I had always wanted to do like to speak in London. I wanted to change people’s lives after learning that I could truly move forward in life.
So what changed?
- Me. I had to get to rock bottom. It sucked there. Quite simply put it was like hell. But one of my favorite quotes always said “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” and I believe ole’ Churchill was right.
- I had to tame my thoughts. Erm mah gosh y’all. My mind was like a mess. A hot mess…except I was cold all the time, but you get the picture. Thoughts create stress, and then the spiral starts. I wasn’t sure if I was anxious or depressed. So I did what I do best and wrote about it all to help others.
- I started writing more…because that’s what I do best. I found out how therapeutic writing was and how it changes the thought patterns. Releases stress and lets you clear your mind. It literally became an itch in the night on nights the pain was so bad I couldn’t sleep. I would write it out.
- I learned to be grateful. I am never the same person year after year, and for that I am thankful. Gratitude in the little things was so important to me. It helped calm the mind and turn my emotions into a point on which to focus. The pain was no longer the focus. The present moment was.
- My well-being changed. There are still days I need reminders. No one is perfect, okay? But I practice this constant state of being more mindful than I was on say an off day. Being more grateful or more appreciative.
- Old me got angry really fast…gratitude helped me slow down my emotions. I am not going to pretend that the Scorpio doesn’t still have her moments; however, I use my sensitive side to tap into the world. I feel what’s going on, like in slow motion, under the surface, and think about what I can be learning in this situation. What can I be thankful for? Sometimes, it’s things like “I am thankful I have yoga.” But whatever it is, I use it in my head because maybe the other person doesn’t have this kind of support or system and really just needs my compassion at that moment.
- Surround yourself with what you want to become…became my mantra. My quote. That I use daily. It was so important to me to be able to offer that gift to others that I recently completed my course on using gratitude to shape your life and would love it if you are interested in joining the journey. For the E-book only, click this link.
Ultimately, we are on this earth for a short while and I believe I was put here to help others wake up to the fact that we really do have the power to say this is not how my story is going to go. The truth is, gratitude can move you forward in life and make the unbearable things more bearable. While increasing your level of gratitude you are actually increasing your health and wellness. You are learning to change your self-talk and that’s a powerful thing. I hope to see you in my group soon. Thank you so much for reading!
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