I challenge you today to list what you’re grateful for
Stress for Success
November 19, 2013
Thanksgiving
reminds us to give thanks for the blessings we have in our lives. This balances
stress by providing a better perspective on life; it reminds us that sure, we
have challenges, but we also have much that is good. Taking time to appreciate
the good should happen daily, not just at this time of the year.
Listing
what you’re grateful for in difficult situations also limits the potential stress
hormonal damage done to your body. Even, and perhaps especially, in those
little daily hassles, like when stressed by a traffic jam remind yourself you’re
grateful your car isn’t overheating, there’s good music to listen to, etc.
Today
I challenge you to stretch your conscious awareness of what you’re grateful
for. This serves as a reminder that life is significantly better than it
sometimes feels.
Here’s
my partial list. I’ll start at the beginning.
I’m grateful I was born to my parents who encouraged
curiosity, personal responsibility, self-confidence, kindness, etc. in all of
us six kids. They passed on their love of music and supported our vocal and
instrumental musical development, opening up a life-time of joy. The challenge
of reading, learning and performing with the Symphonic Chorale of SW FL gives
me bliss.
I’m also grateful my parents encouraged me to
pursue whatever I wanted, which led me to a great education and a 27-month
stint in the Peace Corps in the 1970s. This experience greatly expanded my mind
through adventure, learning a second language and forming and maintaining
fascinating relationships. It led me to realize that I need to work in the
world of ideas, which has fueled my professional motivation ever since.
The warm and fuzzy feeling of blood being
thicker than water after fun family gatherings is also very refreshing.
I’m eternally grateful that I married a loving,
kind, intelligent, creative and funny man; my best friend for almost 37 years.
I’m thankful for the trust we have and the security that engenders. This loving
existence almost certainly contributes to our on-going good health, for which
I’m also very thankful.
I’m eternally grateful for our wide circle of dear
friends. We’ve helped each other through great times and not-so-great ones.
We’re always there for each other. We laugh and we cry - together.
I must include our local weather: no hurricanes
this year - again, just plenty of nourishing rain. The jungle-like growth of
the trees and hedge we planted is fast making our new house an enveloping and
peaceful home.
We’re grateful the economy seems to be truly on the
mend this time. We’re even grateful for the significant increase in local
traffic including the many work trucks buzzing around too fast. More people are
working again. Hallelujah!
I’m grateful for sunsets and sun rises, the sound
of the wind through the pine trees, no mortgage, funny people, my husband’s
great cooking, and our beginning steps to leave SW FL in the summers. I’m
thankful for a good night’s sleep, meditation, a commitment to things that are
bigger than myself, and that I virtually never get bored.
And finally, I’m grateful to be going on Medicare
December 1. I made it!
What are you thankful for? Write down a very long
list. Review it, especially when times are difficult. Let it filter into your
daily awareness more and more so it leads you to a grateful life, not just an
occasional burst of thankfulness.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Jacquelyn Ferguson, M. S. is an international
speaker and a Stress and Wellness Coach.
Order her book, Let Your Body Win:
Stress Management Plain & Simple, at http://www.letyourbodywin.com/bookstore.html.
Email her to request she speak to your organization at jferg8@aol.com.
