One thing yoga has taught me is to be grateful.  I remember during one of my very first yoga classes when the teacher shared a thought.  It has stuck with me since that day more than two years ago.  “If you woke up tomorrow with only the things you were grateful for the day before, what would you have?”  Good one right?

Sometimes, in our day-to-day lives, we get annoyed or angry or sad.  Sometimes we feel bad for ourselves and think it just can’t get much worse.  I am completely guilty of this on a day-to-day basis.  I’ve really tried to move away from this way of thinking.  The brain is a powerful tool and you have to train it to think in certain ways.

Here are 5 ways I practiced gratefulness this week.

When Andy and I had to leave each other after our weekend in NYC. I got in one of my moods…sad, mopey, and not very talkative. How I practiced gratefulness:  How lucky am I to have someone in my life that makes saying goodbye so hard?  Some haven’t found that yet or some are thousands of miles apart and can only see each other on a computer screen.  I’m grateful.

When a big ugly pimple showed up on my face.  This one inspired this post.  I really let it get to me.  I hardly wanted to go to work or look at people.  I tried hiding it anyway I could. How I practiced gratefulness:  Really, Kelsey? It’s a pimple, a little red dot! There are people who have to go through life with severe cases of acne or other skin conditions.  I’m grateful.

When a stressful situation happened at work.  This obviously happens to a lot of people. You can get discouraged or unmotivated. How I practiced gratefulness: I have a job! A job that makes me a good living, and gives me great benefits so that I can take care of my health.  I’m grateful.

When I got annoyed having to pack a bag. I  always say I feel like the ‘bag lady’ and get frustrated having to plan out my wardrobe for 3 or 4 days.  How I practiced gratefulness:  How lucky am I to have so many people all over the place who I love and want to visit.  I’m grateful. 

When I was tired on Monday and didn’t want to go to the gym, because I had a “long” weekend.  How I practiced being grateful:  I have two legs and a car to get me there.  I have the ability to move those two legs and money to put gas in my car to get there.  I’m grateful.

 

What are you grateful for?