A little vacation...oh so good!

Vacation! Yes, we took a little vacation these last few weeks and we want to encourage you to do the same!

Taking time off for fun gives us numerous benefits. According to Project Time Off, vacation time can decrease stress and depression as well as lessen risks for specific health problems like heart disease. Taking time off can also increase productivity, for work and home responsibilities, when you return. Oh, and did I mention – fun?!?

Now we are relaxed and ready to go. Hope you are too!

Step Four - Bills!

Continuing with the topic of money, the next step is using gratitude when paying bills. It sounds crazy, because most people hate paying bills and dread thinking about it. Instead, we’re going to be positive! This may seem difficult or impossible, but it works! It can be easy to stress over bills and how they will be paid. Or after they’re paid, sometimes I focus on how little money I have left. Once again this is bringing me more stress about money into my life, so I’ve started changing my mindset when paying the bills. I give thanks (and mean it!) for every bill that I pay.

Instead of worrying or focusing on how much money I’m paying, I focus on what I received and give thanks for that. For example, when I pay for my rent, I give thanks for all the things I love about my house. This helps me stay positive and grateful without focusing on the dollar amount. I do this with all my bills including electricity, gas, cable, internet, car payments, credit card bills, etc. I even use this for my student loan bills. This was a little harder at first, but over time I kept thinking about what I received from college and, a lot of times, the memories from college. This new mindset helps me stay positive and grateful during the days when I pay my bills. They used to be full of stress, but not anymore!

Step Four – Being Grateful for Bills

• Focus on what you receive from each bill. Give thanks and mean it!
• If your mind wanders or you start getting stressed, focus longer on the exciting things you get from bills. This will boost your mood and help you stay grateful!
• If you have paper bills, you can write on them, “thank you”!

Step Three - Money is Everywhere!!

       After adding gratitude to my everyday life, I couldn’t believe the change. I decided since I was struggling with money that I should focus on gratitude towards my income. I realized that I was stressed and worried about money all the time, so I brought more of the stress and worry into my life (and no money). My first step was to be grateful for the money I had already received. I couldn’t remember every time I ever received money, because that’s asking a lot. Instead I just thanked the universe for all the money I have already received, this way, the universe knew I was appreciative and ready for more money! After that, I started getting more opportunities for income. Some were part of a part-time job I had and others were helping family members with various tasks. It was only small amounts of extra income, but it was something!            

      Because I didn’t focus on the how or when I would receive the money, this extra money came from unexpected places! It was shocking how quickly the universe responded to my gratitude practices.

After the extra income starting appearing, I became more excited and more thankful for receiving money. This brought even more opportunities to make money and higher amounts of money. The universe matched my enthusiasm! From now on I am going to make sure that I increase the amount of thanks I give to the universe!

STEP THREE – Money is Everywhere!

• Give thanks for all the money you’ve received
• Give thanks for the constant flow of money into your life
• Try not to stress about money, instead give thanks for what you have

Step Two - The Little Things!

While I was increasing the gratitude in my life, I realized how many things I overlook on a daily basis. I started to become very aware of my life and surroundings by focusing on the present. This allowed me to notice more and become grateful for things I just started to see and experience! One example is just the beautiful landscape of my new town. I focused on really looking at how beautiful the houses, trees, parks, and lakes are. I then added these to my everyday gratitude list and started noticing even more around me!

I then took it up a notch. I would focus my gratitude on my health and was very specific about it. For example, I would write down that I was thankful for my legs and feet because I love to walk and dance. Without healthy, functional legs and feet, I couldn’t do a lot of activities that I enjoy. I couldn’t believe that I forgot the basic functions of my body, because they’re always there and working, so I take them for granted. Now, I add everything to my list so I can increase my health and function of my body!

STEP TWO – Don’t Forget the Little Things!

•  Add items to your list that you may forget or take for granted. This could be health, good eyesight, functional body parts, the air you breathe, electricity, or your senses!

• Throughout the day, try to focus on the present and not let your mind wander off. Notice things around you and give thanks for them!

More gratitude....

Feeling gratitude is one of those fads that’s been around the last few years. Honestly, I tried making a daily gratitude list, and it didn’t really work for me (see the August 5^th post). I would hurry through making a list of things each day and then forget about it. Then I tried a different method – thinking about one thing each night that I was grateful for from that day. When I get in bed, I think about the things I’m grateful for that happened throughout the day and then pick the one for which I am most grateful. I find that it instantly lifts my mood, and I’ve been sleeping better. It also helps me to find positive things in even the crappiest of days! Even when I am in the midst of something not-so-great, I find myself immediately looking for how I can be grateful for it, which helps me feel more consistently happy too. So, if making daily gratitude list doesn’t work so well for you, try to focus on one thing each day. Focusing on your gratitude helps you see the joy in your life and makes you happier too!

One of the things we are trying to do is help folks feel joy in their lives – every day. When you really feel that joy, you will bring even more to you (more on that in the coming weeks!) So, get out there and feel grateful…you won’t regret it! 

Step One - The Gratitude List!

    After a few months of constant job hunting and getting nothing but rejections, I snapped. I couldn’t figure out why I was being ‘job-blocked’. I applied to various types of jobs, some I was overqualified for and others needed more experienced candidates, but I applied anyways. I couldn’t believe that I wasn’t getting anything, even retail jobs, so one day I decided to pay attention to my approach to job hunting. Whenever I was looking for jobs, it was because I was stressed and worried about paying my bills. The constant worry about money was taking over my life. Because I was sending out these negative thoughts about money, the universe was sending me back more negative thoughts and no jobs! I realized that the biggest issue in my life was money. I was happy and satisfied in other areas of my life, but money was the real struggle. After realizing this, I decided to focus on changing my approach and manifesting money. I started with manifesting in general, and then focused on money and it’s really changed my life.

  

    I understood that gratitude and positive thinking were two extremely important parts of manifesting, so I worked on incorporating these into my life. Every day I would give thanks, whether it be for ten things or fifty. It didn’t matter; I just made sure to at least list ten things for which to be thankful. I would focus on each item and really think about how it affected my life and why I was so grateful for it. For example, when I would be thankful for my husband, I would think about all the fun we have, how great we get along, and all the wonderful things about his personality. I was able to feel so happy and grateful when giving thanks which made this practice even more powerful.

   

    Surprisingly, coming up with at least 10 things every day wasn’t as difficult as I thought. It only took a few minutes and the more I did it, the more easily I could come up with ideas. Within a few days, I could tell things were changing. I noticed I would get bursts of happiness and not know where they came from. Before, I used to get bursts of stress or worry, almost like a mini panic attack. I haven’t felt like that in weeks. Overall, I have a more Zen attitude and things that usually bothered me or worried me, I just brush off. It’s amazing how just focusing on gratitude changed my life so drastically in such a short time!

STEP ONE is to create a daily gratitude list!

• You can write it down, put it in the computer, or just say it. It doesn’t matter as long as you’re giving thanks!
• Do it whatever time of day works for you. I always tried morning so I could start my day off with gratitude, but sometimes I didn’t do it until the afternoon or evening.
• Make sure you feel the gratitude and also think of why each item makes you grateful!
• Say thank you a few times for each item on the list!