Gratitude List
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Apr 25, 2009
Every once in awhile, we all need a boost to get ourselves back into the proper, peaceful place.
Today, my wife and I were having a conversation about how, well, "blah" we've been feeling lately. So she came up with the idea of each of us creating a Gratitude List. The basic premise is that you sit down and either write or type a list of things that you're grateful for, or happy about, in your life, your whole life.
Actually, this isn't a new principle. I've had people do it for me as a part of coaching here and there, but I was introduced to the idea by Bob Proctor from the movie The Secret.
So, me being me, I decided to do it right. I went to Excel, put at the top Gratitude List, and created 100 lines that I was going to make myself complete. And I did it, sitting down and hammering that thing out. It took me about 35 minutes to do, which was illuminating for a couple of reasons.
One, I don't think most of us sit around thinking about what we're grateful for, so I had to dig deep, and even though I froze a couple of times, I was able to proceed fairly quickly.
And two, even though it seemed easier than I'd thought, it was actually fairly hard. I'm the type of guy who tries to do most things in some kind of order, so when I got stuck, I might have sat there for 4 or 5 minutes, but when I thought of one thing, I'd think of other things along the same vein.
No, I'm not going to share my gratitude list here, but I did share it with my wife, who seemed shocked that I could get to the full 100; she got to twenty. Sometimes the task of doing something like this is all you need to remind you of why life is a pretty good thing to have.
Oh yeah; that was on my list; it's the only one I'm giving you. 🙂 Now, do you need to create a gratitude list for yourself?
Usualy when I feel bad I just buy useless stuff (well maybe not so much useless as just things I’ve needed to buy but never had the time or money to get. Like last week I purchased 2 500gb external drives to FINALY archive all those family pictures and movies). But I guess this idea might also work well to help with the mood.
Hi Nieru. Buying stuff can help, but usually it’s kind of a quick fix, not lasting all that long. I’ve saved this list, and from time to time I’ll pull it out and look at it and maybe even modify it as I go along.
I think this is a great idea! I am going to try it!
Good for you, Nikki; it will be illuminating.
Oh, boy! NOW you’re talking about something I KNOW!
I was first introduced to the ‘Secret’ in 1987, when my (then) company made it mandatory to watch the movie ‘The Miracle Man’ – the story of Morris Goodman (worth Googling and watching). He became one of the teachers of ‘The Secret’.
I have been doing a gratitude list ever since – every morning, right before my meditation and many times, these two things have been the cause of the saving of my sanity.
Many people pooh-poo the idea of The Secret, but that’s because there is not just ONE secret, but many and they all work together. For example, if you do not implement the secret of being ready to receive, how can you accept gifts from the Universe? You can ask, pray and even manifest, but if you are not receptive you cannot receive.
You see, in the book, The Secret, the editors had to cut down the amount of text, in order to fit it into the allotted number of pages and well…. they kind of left THE SECRET right out of the book!
Read ‘Ask And It Is Given’ by Esther and Jerry Hicks (The Story of Abraham) – and no it is not religious! This is one of the most valuable books I have ever read and despite buying MANY copies, have never been able to keep it. I lend it out and it never comes back!
Better yet – get it on audio. I found that I got more from the audio than the book – better voice inflection and emphasis and therefore greater meaning.
Stick with it, Mitch – gratitude is a long way to ‘getting there’!
🙂
Great stuff Althea. We actually have both the book and the audio to Ask And It Is Given. My wife is really into it; me, not as much. But I definitely was a bit proponent of The Secret, and I think a lot of people just missed what it was really all about. But obviously not everyone, otherwise it wouldn’t have become as big a hit as it did. And of course you know I know the story about Morris Goodman; what a tale!
I need to do my gratitude list more often, but at least I do it from time to time. 🙂