All Posts By

Mshipley

Gratitude is Expressed by Kindness

Posted on May 10, 2017

There are 2 different ways to show Gratitude

Words
Actions

While I like to hear that people are grateful for the things that I do, I find I am grateful to the individuals that show their gratitude with actions. Specifically when they show gratitude with acts of kindness.

Gratitude is expressed by Acts of Kindness

The movement Random Acts of Kindness is a wonderful movement. It gets people to step outside of their comfort zone and help others. These random acts come with no expectations other than the hope that the recipient will also complete a random act of kindness. Creating a ripple effect of kindness. Amazing.

Even more amazing is when someone naturally shows gratitude through acts of kindness. No expectations of reciprocation, but a genuine act of kindness because the person is grateful for the person he is showing kindness too. My husband is this type of person. I on the other had tend to be kind because it is the right think to do. Over the years I have come to understand that the simple acts of kindness my husband does for me throughout the day are his way of saying thank you, and I love you. It’s his way of expressing gratitude for me.

How do you show Gratitude?

I’d love to hear how you show gratitude. Send me your thoughts, ideas and stories on gratitude to be featured in a future post.

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Gratitude is more than Happiness

Posted on May 9, 2017

Phillip Watkins of the Greater Good Science Center said the following:

“The problem with pop-psychology approach to gratitude is that we’ve emphasized happiness so much as the result of gratitude that we ten to focus on gratitude as a means to happiness. It is; but when we’re focusing on it as a means to happiness instead of what gratitude is in and of itself, it’s likely to backfire.”

Happiness is a byproduct of Gratitude

I agree with Mr. Watkins. Focusing on Gratitude as a means to happiness should not be the main focus when cultivating gratitude in our lives. Gratitude is so much more than happiness. It helps us navigate through life in a more positive way. It helps relax, reduces stress, it helps us take a step back and see a situation in a new perspective.

A few months ago my husband and the company he worked for parted ways. While it was a win-win for the company and my husband, the decision to leave the company was made by my husband because of negative situations at work.

Focusing on Gratitude helped us get through

Focusing on Gratitude helped us get through the situation. Although our income would be cut significantly, we were blessed to have enough to cover our bills. The kids’ summer activities were already paid for, so there would be no disruption there — which I was the most grateful for — and my husband had options. This is why I focus on gratitude throughout my day. It helps me see that there are good things in my life. It keeps feelings of fear and doubt at bay. It doesn’t take trials away, or mean that I don’t feel sadness and disappointment. It does help me navigate through the trials in a positive way.

How has focusing on Gratitude affected your life?

Sharing our stories about gratitude is a way to strengthen each other. Please leave a comment about how gratitude has helped you, or send me your story. I’d be happy to post it with your permission.

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Grateful for Learning

Posted on May 8, 2017

I can’t remember a time when education was not important to me. Although learning outside of an educational institution is what I do now, I am grateful for the research skills I learned while in high school and college.

Why is Learning Important?

Learning is an activity that helps us develop new talents, skills, understanding and so much more. For me learning is what adds excitement to life. It creates a world where anything is possible.

Let’s get one thing straight. Learning is work, but it is work that adds value. If a person is struggling with communication skills, he can go to the library or research online and find many books and articles with suggestions on how to communicate well in about any type of situation. What about learning an instrument. Same process. Learning how to create a blog. Same process. We live in a time where knowledge is easy to access.

Learning takes Action.

There is one additional step to this process. Application. While it’s easy to find the knowledge, to truly learn something one must apply it. Have you ever studied a topic and then had to research that topic again because you couldn’t remember what you learned. Learning is more than just reading about a subject. If you really want to retain that learning, you must continually review and apply what you learned.

A few years back I read several books on how to run properly. How to nutritionally prepare for and how to train for a marathon. While I enjoyed reading this books, it was when I put the experimented with the information I had read that I really learned. I experimented with the different ways to place your feet as you ran. I experimented with different types of food before and after my training to see how it affected my body. It was a lot of fun. Taking what I was learning in books and videos, and seeing how my body responded to various methods and ideas.

Best thing about Learning.

To me this is the best thing about learning. There are always different ideas on how to accomplish the same goal. Experimenting with these different ideas to find the methods that work best for me, is the best part of learning. I call it the personal discovery phase and I love it.

Right now I am in the discovery phase of learning how to blend beeswax and essential oils into beneficial products for my family. It is a fun process that I hope you enjoy reading about here on this blog.

I also am enjoying learning how gratitude helps me not only relax, but benefits me in my personal and work relationships.

I’d love to hear how learning affects your life. What are learning about right now?

Gratitude

Gratitude Works

Posted on May 1, 2017

Plain and Simple — Gratitude Works.

Gratitude is more than just being positive. Gratitude is about actively seeking the good that is in our lives. When we actively seek the good, the effects of the negative are reduced. I’m not saying that trials and frustrations are magically taken away. They aren’t. But their effects no longer take center stage.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve been intrigued with the concept of happiness and positivity. After reading several books, learning about self-guided meditation, mantras and the concept of just telling myself I am happy, I had a personal “Ah ha” moment. To find real happiness, I needed to increase my gratitude levels.

Increase Gratitude Levels?

Yes. Increase my gratitude levels. I stopped and took a hard look at myself and my thought process. What I found, I didn’t like. During the day, I was more negative than positive. How was I going to change this? By focusing on Gratitude. When I started to feel frustrated and/or angry with someone or a situation, I trained myself to pause, think of something I was grateful for, and then refocus on what was happening. While this worked to take the edge off of a situation, it didn’t keep me in a grateful state of mind.

That is when I started writing a gratitude list at the end of the day. The act of writing helped me focus on what I was grateful for each day. After a few weeks of writing my list, I began to see a trend. I realized I had another step to take.

Acting on Gratitude.

I needed to act. I needed to not just talk about gratitude, but to actually show more gratitude for the important people in my life. This is where the magic began. As I focused on showing gratitude for my amazing spouse and my wonderful children, I began to see qualities that I hadn’t seen (or forgotten about) before. My gratitude for my family began to increase. I saw an increase in gratitude as I focused on what I was grateful for in other areas of my life: my job, my coworkers, my extended family, my church family and my friends and neighbors. As my gratitude grew, I was less worried about my personal trials and more focused on others. I found I was becoming more positive than negative, and in general, happier.

Gratitude takes Consistency.

However, just like exercise, healthy eating, and successfully completing a project, gratitude takes consistency. I found that if I chose not to take the time to focus on and acknowledge the gratitude I had felt during the day, my gratitude levels would decrease. Since consistency is a habit that has alluded me for much of my life, this was disappointing to me. But I missed the joy that I felt when I focused on gratitude, so I began again. I continued with what I had done in the past, and added new routines as well. One new routine was starting an Instagram account of daily quotes on gratitude, positivity, motivation and inspiration. I love this daily routine. I especially love reading quotes that other instagrammers put out each day. It has been a wonderful way for me to start each day focused on gratitude.

Science on Gratitude.

There are studies on how gratitude affects the brain and changes ones perception on life. If you want to read a textbook with great scientific information on gratitude, dive into the book “The Psychology of Gratitude” edited by Robert A. Emmons and Michael E. McCulough. It will take you through several different types of sciences and what each science has discovered about gratitude. However, it’s my personal tests that have convinced me that gratitude is a necessity in my life. It helps me through trials, it helps me build stronger relationships, it gives me hope for possibilities to come, and it helps me relax and enjoy my life as it is.

I am now a gratitude junky. I love acknowledging what I am grateful for each day. I also love to hear what others are grateful for. It is an amazing world. If you have time, please take a few moments to share how gratitude affects your life. I’d love to hear your gratitude story.