Tag: gratitude

Abundance, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Working Mums

How Gratitude Can Change Your Perspective

Lyn Bailey

How Gratitude Can Change Your Perspective

They say the love of money is the root of all evil. We are not here to pass judgment on that inanimate object, but the idiom does point out the danger of obsessing over what you don’t have. Often, people who love money never believe they have enough, so they never enjoy the fulfillment of their passion.

Focusing on what’s missing does not recognize one important fact: Your mindset is a choice, not a destination.

You can choose to be grateful for what you have right now. The choice takes a millisecond. You are free to choose gratitude for the goodness in your life rather than frustration over what you don’t have. By the way, science tells us that choice can do you a world of good.

The Many Benefits of Gratitude

Would you like to lower your blood pressure? Gratitude has been proven to do exactly that. Express gratitude regularly, and you will enjoy more positive emotions. A gratitude practice has been linked to reduced chronic pain symptoms, better sleep, and better overall wellness in mind and body.

Those are some pretty nice rewards for simply taking the time to say, “Thank you.”

By the way, those benefits are yours whether you are thankful for something you have done or someone else has done for you. You get the same rewards if you are sincerely grateful for a beautiful sunrise or sunset. Taking time to appreciate the goodness in some far-flung part of the world will make you happier and healthier.

Your Mindset Creates Your Reality

Do you know someone who is usually negative? They can’t find a good thing in the world or their life. They can have an experience you would be grateful for, but all they take away from the situation is negativity.

You probably know someone who is the exact opposite of that person. They are always happy and upbeat. Their positive outlook doesn’t prevent them from experiencing difficulties and overcoming challenges, but it allows them to make the best of a bad situation.

In each of these cases, mindset creates reality. Most of the time, you will see what you expect to see. Express gratitude, and you foster a mindset of positivity. Guess what you begin to see everywhere? You see goodness and positive people and experiences.

The person who obsesses over what they don’t have will continue to experience lack. They don’t have the time to be thankful for the gifts in their life. They constantly try to achieve or possess something they don’t currently have. With that mindset, they are constantly frustrated and possibly even angry because they don’t have what they want.

Planning for the future and working to achieve your goals is okay fine and necessary.. That gives you purpose. Just be sure to appreciate what you have. Gratitude for your life as it is now fosters positive emotions and has an almost magical way of attracting more goodness.

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Mental Health, Mindfulness, Working Mums

Easy Ways to Start a Gratitude Journal

Lyn Bailey

 

      4 Easy Ways to Start a Gratitude Journal 

Journaling your thoughts is a proven mood booster. It helps you develop a better sense of yourself, fosters goal achievement, and is a great stress reliever. Start a daily gratitude journaling habit to lower your high blood pressure, sleep better, and experience more happiness and contentment.

Those are just a few of gratitude’s many physical and mental health benefits. Combining gratitude and journaling is a wonderful way to enhance overall well-being, and here is a four-step process for getting started.

  1. Choose a Space and Time

The human brain doesn’t like surprises. It prefers to know what’s going to happen. Scheduling your gratitude journaling practice at the same time each day makes your brain happy. It starts to mentally prepare you before your scheduled journal time.

You will get more out of the process when you set a schedule for journaling and stick to it. The same is true of the environment you choose. Always journal in the same space. If you can dedicate a space to nothing but writing in your gratitude journal, all the better.

Your survival instinct and sensory network will begin to recognize your chosen space and time as a positive experience. Expressing gratitude triggers happiness and other positive emotions. Your brain rewards that positive experience with feel-good hormones and neurotransmitters, and you look forward to your journaling sessions.

2. Choose a Medium

We recommend that you write by hand in a physical journal. Handwriting boosts learning and memory in a way that typing on a keyboard or tapping on a touchscreen can’t. That means you naturally get more out of the process when you take a physical journal and record your reflections.

There are countless journals available online. Your local bookstore may carry gratitude journals. You can also use a simple notebook to record your expressions of gratitude.

Digital gratitude journals provide anytime access if you can’t lay your hands on your physical journal. Current users highly rate the following apps. I haven’t personally used any of these. I prefer to hand write in my journal.

  • 365 Gratitude Journal
  • Gratitude
  • Presently – A Gratitude Journal

 3. Use Gratitude Prompts

Some days, you need help to recognize the goodness in your life. That’s what gratitude prompts do. Here are a few prompts to help you start your gratitude journal.

I am thankful today for _____.

  • What did I do today that made me smile?
  • What can I see in my immediate surroundings that I am thankful for?
  • What do I experience in nature that makes me happy?
  • What memory do I have that fills me with joy?

Most gratitude journals you purchase will come equipped with daily prompts and other features to simplify the process.

4. Take Daily Action

That’s it—it’s that easy. The next step is to take action. Stick to your schedule, and don’t miss a day for the first three or four weeks. By then, you will be so used to the process that it will become a habit. Start a gratitude journal today for more happiness and better overall well-being.

If you want help or support to start your journaling, then I’m offering a FREE Discovery Call to help you get started. Just click HERE to book your call.

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Mental Health, Mindfulness, Personal Development

Daily Habits to Cultivate Gratitude

Lyn Bailey

Simple Daily Habits to Cultivate Gratitude

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and you will live a happier and healthier life. Gratitude has been a big part of my life for many years. It has helped me get through many major challenges in my life, including a marriage breakup after 34 years, and a diagnosis of bowel cancer over 5 years ago. Regular gratitude practice has been linked to significant health benefits in the mind and body. Your relationships will improve, and so will your outlook on life. I am living testament of this. Here are a few tips for cultivating gratitude daily for an overall wellness boost.

 

Volunteer And Help Others

How does helping others make you grateful? Volunteering your time or services develops an appreciation for what you have. It is a simple way to cultivate gratitude and connect with others who want to help in their community.

 

Say Thank You Five Times Every Day

Commit to thank someone five times every day. Do it in person. If this isn’t possible, then pick up your phone and do a FaceTime or audio call. This is far more personal and meaningful than a text message. If text is the only way available, as is currently with my granddaughter who is overseas for eight weeks, then by all means use it. Expressing gratitude in someone’s presence gives you the benefits of socialization. Personal interactions trigger the production of chemicals that make both parties feel safe and happy with the connection.

Committing to five “thank yous” every day is positively contagious. You will find yourself expressing gratitude more than five times each day in different experiences and aspects of your life.

 

Give a Genuine Compliment

Paying a compliment is a form of gratitude. You express your happiness about someone’s clothes, hairstyle, or behavior. People love receiving compliments. The recipient of your grateful recognition might be having a difficult day. Your sincere compliment could change their perspective from negative to positive. I like to make a point of complimenting someone each time I go to the supermarket. It may be a worker on their work, or another shopper on the colour of their top. You can always find something if you just look.

As with any act of gratitude, paying a genuine compliment makes you feel good, not just the recipient of the thanks. You are happy about what you did, and your self-respect grows. 

 

Express Gratitude for Yourself

You can thank yourself for being the unique person you are. Be thankful for your skill or a random act of kindness you performed. Being grateful for some aspect of yourself is a sign of respect. Your self-esteem and self-appreciation grow, and that’s a beautiful thing. This is often the most difficult expression of gratitude to give. Try it in front of a mirror, and repeat it until you feel comfortable thanking yourself.

 

Start a Daily Gratitude Journal

Record your thoughts every morning and each night. Begin and end your day with wellness-boosting thoughts of gratitude. Each morning, express gratitude for what you hope to accomplish. That increases the chances that you will have a good day.

At night, journal about the goodness you can take away from your experience. What people, places, and things were you grateful for that day? Are you thankful for something you did or experienced? Digital gratitude apps ensure you can always record your thoughts about what you are thankful for.

If you feel this is too much time or effort, then just get a small notebook and every day write down just three things you are grateful for, just three things.

 

Say “Thank You” to Your Mistakes

Look at the positive side of your mistakes and failures. If you let them, they can be wonderful teachers. Mistakes tell you what didn’t work, and they are stepping stones to improvement. Be grateful for your mistakes and embrace anything positive you can take away from the experience. This is often the hardest time to feel grateful. Believe me, if you do this, it can change your whole enjoyment of your life. When I was diagnosed with cancer I became grateful for my doctor who ordered the blood tests that detected something was wrong, grateful for my surgeon whose expertise saved my life, grateful for my family and friends who rallied around me during that difficult time. 

 

Start today with our FREE Mini Gratitude Journal. Click here.

 

 

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Journaling, Mindfulness, Personal Development

How to Make Your Journaling More Effective

Lyn Bailey

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Any type of journal that you keep can be beneficial. It doesnít matter if itís just to document your life or to work through problems – you can use a journal to do it all. From tracking your projects to documenting vacation to overcoming anxiety, a journal will work for you if you pick the right type and make journaling a ritual.

* Find the Right Medium for You ñ For some people, thatís pen and paper. Many experts claim thatís the best way because of its simplicity. However, you have to do what works for you, and what works for you is what you will do daily. If you make it too hard, you wonít do it.

* Turn Journaling Daily into a Habit ñ To be most effective, journaling has to go on for a long time. Itís a long-term strategy to How to Make Your Journaling More Effective


Any type of journal that you keep can be beneficial. It doesnít matter if itís just to document your life or to work through problems – you can use a journal to do it all. From tracking your projects to documenting vacation to overcoming anxiety, a journal will work for you if you pick the right type and make journaling a ritual.

* Find the Right Medium for You ñ For some people, thatís pen and paper. Many experts claim thatís the best way because of its simplicity. However, you have to do what works for you, and what works for you is what you will do daily. If you make it too hard, you wonít do it.

* Turn Journaling Daily into a Habit ñ To be most effective, journaling has to go on for a long time. Itís a long-term strategy to improve your life and not something that is going to have any effect overnight. For this reason, ritualize your journaling so that it becomes a daily habit.

* Set Up a Comfy Journaling Spot ñ Find a good space you can journal in each day, one which is relaxing and without stress. Some people like to keep their journal by their bedside so that each night when they get into bed, they can quickly write in their journals.

* Choose the Right Style of Journal for Your Needs ñ The type of journal you want to keep depends on how you plan to use it. You may want to track a project, in which case youíll need a project journal. If you want to simply document your life, youíd want a classic journal.

* Use Your Journal to Work Through Life and Reach Goals ñ Donít just write in the journal; actively seek to improve something in your life – whether itís the thoughts which drive your feelings or improving your actions so that you experience more success.

* Consider Using More Than Writing to Document Your Life ñ You donít need to just use text. You can use images, pictures, tickets, and other memories inside your journal too. Sometimes a few pictures and mementos mean more than anything you can write to help you remember.

* Read and Reflect Occasionally ñ Take at least a few minutes to re-read parts of your journal. Once youíve kept it for a year, itís fun to go back and read the same day from last year to find out whatís different now and whatís the same and why.

* Keep Your Journal Secure ñ You donít want to worry about anyone getting into your private business when youíre not around, so keep it hidden. If itís on your computer, keep it password protected.

If you know why you want to journal, itíll be easier to figure out which type of journal you need to keep to make your journaling more effective. Sometimes you just want to document your life, while other times you want to work through something difficult. It really depends on your goals and the point of the journal.

 


improve your life and not something that is going to have any effect overnight. For this reason, ritualize your journaling so that it becomes a daily habit.

* Set Up a Comfy Journaling Spot ñ Find a good space you can journal in each day, one which is relaxing and without stress. Some people like to keep their journal by their bedside so that each night when they get into bed, they can quickly write in their journals.

* Choose the Right Style of Journal for Your Needs ñ The type of journal you want to keep depends on how you plan to use it. You may want to track a project, in which case youíll need a project journal. If you want to simply document your life, youíd want a classic journal.

* Use Your Journal to Work Through Life and Reach Goals ñ Donít just write in the journal; actively seek to improve something in your life – whether itís the thoughts which drive your feelings or improving your actions so that you experience more success.

* Consider Using More Than Writing to Document Your Life ñ You donít need to just use text. You can use images, pictures, tickets, and other memories inside your journal too. Sometimes a few pictures and mementos mean more than anything you can write to help you remember.

* Read and Reflect Occasionally ñ Take at least a few minutes to re-read parts of your journal. Once youíve kept it for a year, itís fun to go back and read the same day from last year to find out whatís different now and whatís the same and why.

* Keep Your Journal Secure ñ You donít want to worry about anyone getting into your private business when youíre not around, so keep it hidden. If itís on your computer, keep it password protected.

If you know why you want to journal, itíll be easier to figure out which type of journal you need to keep to make your journaling more effective. Sometimes you just want to document your life, while other times you want to work through something difficult. It really depends on your goals and the point of the journal.

 

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Health, Journaling, Personal Development, Working Mums

How to Get Started Writing a Journal

Lyn Bailey

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Getting started journaling isnít something that you need to think about too hard. Yes, there are numerous types and styles of journals and ways to do this that may or may not be more effective depending on your goals, but you can simply get some paper (or your computer) and get started today.

* Dust Off Your Pen and Paper ñ You donít need anything special to keep a journal; in fact, purists believe that using pen and paper is the best way to journal because you can carry it with you anywhere and you donít need technology. So, there will be no excuses.

* Do It First Thing in the Morning ñ Donít procrastinate about keeping your journal. Itís best to do it in the morning before you begin your day so that you have the right frame of mind for the day. Plus, you only need five to ten minutes, so itís not that big of a deal.

* Do It Last Thing at Night ñ Another time to do it is before bed. This works especially well for gratitude journals. That way you can go to sleep thinking about all the things you are grateful for instead of things youíre worried about.

* Write Every Single Day ñ Whenever you choose to do it, try to set it up so that it becomes a ritual and a habit. Journaling every single day is going to be more effective than just doing it when you feel like it.

* Start Simply ñ Donít start being worried about style and substance right now; just work on the daily habit with pen and paper (or if itís easier for you, a computer or smartphone). Donít make it hard – just get going.

* Begin with Today ñ Start right now and write about your day today. Thatís the easiest thing to do. What of significance happened today? How did you feel about it? What would you do differently? What would you do the same?

* Try Different Types of Journals ñ Once you develop the habit, you can start trying different types of journaling like a bullet journal, or a vision journal, or maybe even a project journal for your next project.

* Keep It Private ñ The main thing to remember about your journal is that it should be kept private. The only exception is if you want to share thoughts with a therapist, counselor, or coach. Or if you want to turn it into a book or course, to help someone else overcome whatever you overcame.

Keeping a journal will help you deal with the things that happen to you as well as the things that have not happened to you. The main reason is that writing it down helps you remember what you did right and what you did wrong. It helps you improve your decision-making capacity for similar situations. The main thing is just to get started journaling in any way that works for you.

 

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Journaling, Living Now, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Personal Development

How Journaling Can Help with Achieving Your Goals

Lyn Bailey

Journaling can help you achieve your goals because it will force you to think about them, consider the why and how, and delve deeper into the situation so that you can examine all sides of it. Read on to find out how journaling can help.

* It Forces You to Write Down Your Goals ñ When you start a journal, it basically is a way to force yourself to document your goals. Whether you write them down on paper or you use technology to get it all down doesnít matter. Once theyíre written, they are ready to tackle.

* It Makes You Consider Why and How ñ As you enter data into your journal, youíll be forced to face the why and how of your goal. This is especially true if you write down a goal and focus on it in your journal. 

* It Enables You to Examine the Opportunities and Threats ñ When you are focused on goal making with your journal, youíll also explore opportunities and threats coming your way due to your goals. It helps you avoid roadblocks in advance. 

* It Makes You Develop Steps for Success Based on Your Goals ñ When you see it written down, youíll want to notice and pull out any steps youíve developed in your journal and put them in your calendar for scheduling. 

* It Helps You Improve Goal Setting and Achievement ñ Each time you intentionally set goals, define steps to achieve the goals, and perform them, you are setting yourself up for being able to improve your skills. 

* It Provides Accountability ñ Even if no one else is reading your journal, a private journal can help you become accountable to yourself. If you develop the habit of looking at your journal each day and put something else in there each day, itíll work great for helping you become more accountable. 

* It Provides a Permanent Record ñ Having a permanent record of the things youíve done in your life, whether itís personal or work, is a beautiful thing. Hardly anyone has a perfect memory, so youíll maintain the lessons learned better with the record to look back at.

* It May Be Inspirational ñ Depending on the journal, you might even be able to take the information inside and compile it into a real book for others to read to inspire them. You might also take from it steps for your success for a project and turn it into a course to inspire someone else.

Journaling is an excellent way to work toward achieving all your goals. It will even help you make better goals because the process of entering facts in your journal will cause you to see them in a more logical way that is more useful.

Click here for FREE Mini Gratitude Journal
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Living Now, Mindfulness, Productivity

Embrace Gratitude

Lyn Bailey

A Great Way to Embrace Gratitude Every Day

Gratitude is one of the most powerful emotions that you can experience. It connects you to what is truly important in your life. It reminds you that as long as you’re breathing, everything is going to be okay. And it helps frame your day, your expectations, and your actions. Embracing gratitude can be as simple as saying thank you. Here are the top ten ways you can invite more gratitude into your life.

# Start a Gratitude Journal

Gratitude journals became popular about ten years ago. Oprah talked about how powerful gratitude was for her and people took note. A gratitude journal is a daily practice where you write down a number of things that you’re grateful for every day.

You can make it part of your daily routine by writing in your journal first thing in the morning as you look at your day or last thing at night. There are mobile apps for gratitude journaling or you can buy a journal. A simple college ruled notebook works too. It doesn’t have to be fancy.

If you need help with recognising gratitude in your life, then call me on +61402855787 for a FREE discovery call, or download this great Gratitude Tool to give you a jumpstart.

 

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Abundance, Living Now, Mindfulness

3 Tips to Start Your Day

Lyn Bailey

Deciding The Best Way for You to Start Your Day Positively

You have decided to start your days with morning gratitude and/or positive thinking. That is great. Now you have to decide how to do it. You have nearly endless options to choose from. Here are some tips for deciding what to choose.

1. It Works For You

Not every option works for everyone. That is normal and to be expected. Everyone is different, after all. Try a few of the options and see what works for you. If something does not seem to work for you, do not feel bad, and definitely do not try to force yourself to keep doing it.

There are many options out there and you will find something that resonates with your soul if you keep looking. Do not settle on the first thing you try unless it grabs you and refuses to let go. Try different options. Experiment.

2. You Can Do It Consistently

Consider your schedule when weighing options. Some methods take more commitment than others, even if that is only a few minutes longer. How much time do you have in the morning? Not just some mornings, either, but every morning.

If you only have a few minutes most days, making a gratitude list in your head is probably a better idea than trying to fit in 30 (or even 10) minutes of yoga. That is not to say that you cannot do more than one thing. Perhaps you can do your gratitude lists every morning and do yoga as well on the weekends.

Remember that whatever you choose must be something you can do each and every day, or at least on 90 percent of them. Life does happen, after all.

3. You Like It (So You Will Do It)

Do you know the number one reason people fail at starting a gym routine? It is not a lack of time or commitment. It is simply that they do not like what they are doing. Humans are strange creatures who are not likely to continue doing something they do not like, at least not unless they have an overwhelmingly good reason to do so.

The same thing applies to trying to create other new habits too. If you do not like something, you probably will not keep it up. Likewise, it is hard to stop bad habits because on some level you like them, and your brain goes – Quit? Why?

This is slightly different than the first tip (something must work for you) because they are two different things. Ninety minutes a day on a treadmill will work to make anyone fit, but few people like that enough to do it!

I find a Gratitude morning ritual is very simple, quick and easy. As soon as I wake up, I take about 3 minutes to ponder on 3 things I have to be grateful for today. This morning it was another day on this earth, my physical health and my 4 amazing children, who are also my four best friends. It’s a wonderful way to start each day.

If you need help developing a morning ritual to start your day with Gratitude, download my FREE “I am Grateful for….” Worksheet .

DOWNLOAD HERE

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Abundance, Living Now, Mental Health

5 Ways Gratitude Can Turn Your Bad Situation Around

Lyn Bailey

5 Ways Gratitude Can Turn Your Bad Situation Around

Gratitude has the power to get you through difficult times and turn your life around. It can motivate you to keep reaching for your goals by constantly placing what you have already accomplished right in front of you. This is why you are always told to learn to master thankfulness and nurture a grateful mindset.

Eighteen years ago, my marriage of 34 years broke down and ended in divorce. I was devastated. How could I manage on my own? How could I support myself? How could I ever be happy again? I felt so many emotions – guilt, shame, rejection, overwhelm, fear – just to name a few. How could I ever get out of this black hole? I didn’t know where to begin.

So, one day a few months later, I was meditating, a practice I have been doing daily for many, many years, when this thought popped into my mind. “There is so much to be thankful for. You have 4 amazing children, 2 beautiful granddaughters, your health, a roof over your head, a great career as a midwife, food on your table, wonderful friends, just for starters. There is a way out of this. You will try and figure it out.” I started to feel a sense of relief. “I may have lost my marriage but I still have the strength to work and rebuild a new life,” Just like that, I broke free from the chains that were holding me in the past, looked to what I wanted in the future, and started to live my life in the present, knowing this is the only moment I have complete control over. Gratitude became my new way of life, as I started to see the new doors that were opening in front of me.

One thing that enabled me to turn this bad situation around was creating an attitude of gratitude, shifting my focus from the pain of my marriage breakup to future I was free to create just for me.

Thankfulness turns your unfortunate situation around by:

  1. Shifting your focus.

   The worst thing about hard times is erasing them from your mind or finding ways of concentrating on something else. You can’t help but focus on how horrible your situation is and unintentionally think about how everything went wrong. Nonetheless, shifting your focus is possible if you maintain gratitude in trying times. Phrases like “I am still standing” “I have survived the worst” and “I still have so and so or such and such” will get you through tough times.

  1. Encouraging positive emotions.

    Gratitude gives birth to positive thoughts. Positive thinking is the key to positive emotions because what you think determines how you act, react, respond, or feel. Mastering thankfulness gives birth to positive emotions which keep you focused on “I am strong enough” and “I can fix that.” Therefore, understand that turning your situation around is possible only when you feel you can.

  1. Eliminating your fears.

   Gratefulness encourages you to concentrate on your ability to turn things around thereby eliminating your fears. Appreciating what you have accomplished and what you can still accomplish helps you notice that you have the chance to turn things around. So, use gratitude to overcome your fears.

  1. Emphasizing your strong points.

   Paying attention to what you can do when you are in a crisis is the only way of seeing things from a different perspective and changing what you don’t like. If you focus on “I am good at ABC” and “I can use this skill to effect change” you will move your life in the right direction and see the changes you are longing for.

  1. Imparting a strong sense of worth.

    One thing that makes you realize your sense of worth is having someone show you how much they value you when you are at your lowest point. To have someone do the unexpected for you reminds you that there are people out there who care about your welfare and that alone gets you going.

Appreciating that your life is not what it used to be because of something that someone did for you when you weren’t expecting or when you were not deserving fixes your mind on a thousand things to be grateful for.

Anything is possible when thankfulness becomes the center of your life. For instance, overcoming negative thoughts, controlling your emotions, getting back up, as well as turning your life around.

If you want help seeing life differently and developing an attitude of gratitude, download my FREE Gratitude Tool HERE

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