Power Hour: The Power of Gratitude

Power Hour: The Power of Gratitude - It's all about Being Grateful for What We Have, Not What You're Going to Get

With the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it's easy to forget about what and who you're grateful for.

I've been working on my gratitude for many years, and I'm still amazed at how challenging it can be to focus on what I'm grateful for at times (especially when I'm feeling sorry for myself, complaining or focused on what I think I should get, instead of all that I already have). I'm also blown away by how powerful and transformative gratitude is when we choose to pay attention to it, experience it and express it, especially during the holiday season.

I recently saw a show about a man who had been in prison for almost 30 years. When he was asked what he appreciated most about being out of jail, he said, "Seeing the stars, listening to children laugh and hearing dogs bark." Wow—think of all the simple things we take for granted that we could choose to be grateful for each day, instead of focusing our attention on what we don't have, what we want or what we think we deserve (but haven't been given yet).

What are you grateful for? What do you appreciate about the things you already have in your life? What do you love most about the people around you? How often do you ask yourself and others these powerful questions? Sadly, many of us don't take the time to ask or answer these types of questions on a regular basis, especially in the midst of these difficult times and the stress and expectation of the holidays.

I hope you and your family have been and will be spending time focused on what you're grateful for during this time of year. However, focusing on gratitude is something that we can do all the time, not just on special occasions or during the holiday season.

There are many reasons (i.e., excuses) we have for not focusing on what we're grateful for:

• We're too busy and stressed out
• We're waiting for things to work out perfectly (which they almost never do)
• We don't want to brag (especially now, when lots of people are going through tough times)
• We focus on what needs improvement and the many things we still have to get done
• We focus on all the bad stuff in our lives, about others and in the world
• We pay a lot of attention to what we don't have, what we want and what we think we should get

While all of these reasons make sense and are understandable, they simply and sadly get in our way of tapping into one of the most powerful emotions and states of beings we have access to: the power of gratitude.

According to Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles and co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, "Gratitude is the single most important ingredient to living a successful and fulfilled life."

Gratitude not only makes us feel good, it's also one of the greatest attractors of abundance, love, peace, success, health, connection and more. The more we focus on what we already have, the wonderful aspects of our lives and what we appreciate, the more we end up having to be grateful for.

Stop for a moment and think about some of the things that you're grateful for in your own life. Make a list either in your head or on paper. We each have so much to appreciate. When we take the time to acknowledge our many blessings, especially at this time of year, we utilize the power of gratitude in a way that benefits us and those around us in a profound way.

Simple Ways to Practice Gratitude Every Day

We can expand our capacity for gratitude this holiday season (and in general) by creating simple and genuine practices. It doesn't really matter what we do or how we do it, just that we come up with easy and meaningful ways to focus on what we're grateful for during the holidays and beyond. Below is a short list of some different possible gratitude practices. Pick one, use many or make up your own practice:

• Write cards or e-mails expressing your gratitude for others: genuine, specific and personal
• Meditate and focus on what you're grateful for
• Have everyone at the dinner table share something they're grateful before you eat (or while you're in the car or other times you're together with your family)
• Ask people what they're grateful for (and/or ask this question as part of your outgoing voice mail message)
• Use a gratitude journal and write in it regularly

While so many of us understand and know about the power of gratitude, it's the practice and expression of it that really has an impact. During this holiday season—in the midst of the stress and activities this time of year brings—if we can take the time to think about, feel and express our gratitude and appreciation for life, others and ourselves, we can literally transform our experience of the holidays, as well as of our lives and relationships, in a beautiful way.

Power Hour: Seven Thoughts

1. See What You Want to Be:
“When I look into the future, it’s so bright it burns my eyes."

What do you see when you look into your future, because what you see is what you’re going to get. Do you see your future so bright it burns your eyes? If you do, then that’s what you’re going to get. If you see your future as mundane, then that’s exactly what you’ll get as well. What you see is what you get; I suggest you begin to see what you want to be.


2. The Power of Passion
“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”

Passion comes from doing what you love. When you’re passionate you can work all night long. Passion is power, it is the fuel that you need to succeed. Discover your passion and dedicate your life to fulfilling it, no matter how long it takes.


3. Focus on the Good
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”

What you focus on expands. If you focus on the good, you will get more of it. If you focus on lack and poverty, you will get more of that as well. Learn to recognize the good in your life and be grateful for it everyday. Soon your focus will change and so will your life.


4. You Must Change - To See Change
“We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”

In order to have more, you must become more. Nothing changes in your life until you grow. What are you doing daily to grow, to change? If you’re not changing, you shouldn’t be expecting your life to change. To the degree that you change is to the degree that your life will change. If you keep on doing, what you’ve always been doing, you’re going to keep getting the results you’ve always been getting, to expect otherwise is insane.


5. We All Fall Down
“Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.”

Imagine if a small child quit trying to learn how to walk after falling down twenty times. Imagine if he or she said, I guess this walking thing isn’t for me. In life you will fail, you will make mistakes, you may even get discouraged, but you must try again. The only people not failing are the people who are not stretching themselves beyond their current comfort zone. Dare to fail until you succeed.


6. Maximize Your Potential
“The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be.”

Are you maximizing your potential? Are you utilizing 100 percent of your skills, talents and knowledge, or are you settling. The purpose of life is to grow, to become all that you were intended to be.
Your purpose is to grow big enough so that you can help others, so the question is, are you maximizing your potential?


7. Think Bigger
“What you were intended to become goes far beyond anything you have imagined.”

So many people live beneath their capabilities because they are riddled with guilt by the thought of living a lavish life. You were intended to have the best, and to become your very best. The best was made for you! If not you, then who?

Power Hour: You Become what you Believe

Power Hour: You Become What You Believe

There came a time in my life when I needed to seriously look at my life, heart, mental/physical health, and overall well-being and... ask myself what do I believe? I spent so many years living the life that I was 'supposed' to be living or the life that society and those around me thought I was supposed to be living.. and it did not make me happy, it did not give me peace, it did not give me joy, and definitely did not give me happiness. I needed to make some changes..

These changes were not going to be easy, and these changes were not just going to impact me and me alone... I needed to make changes in my life, my relationships, my way of life, and perspective that I knew were choices that were going extremely tough, but I felt like I was having the life literally being sucked out of me and felt like I was dying... I needed to accept the fact that I deserved to be happy too... I needed to take the steps to make my life change... I believe that the growth and changes within my life are all part of the journey. And while I am on this journey, I am trying to ask myself questions, learn and grow...  

Do you believe that you are worthy of Happiness?

Do you believe that Happiness, Success, Abundance, Comfort, Fulfillment, Peace, Joy, and Love is your Birth Right?

Is that what you believe or do you believe something else?

Because you will Manifest the Life that You Believe...

Whatever you deeply believe, you will create...

Be The Change you want to see in your life

Here are some thoughts and questions..

• Close your eyes and "fast forward" to a moment 5 years from now, when you are living your best life to its absolute fullest. Describe the room where you wake up—where is it, how is it decorated, what is the energy like, and who is there with you?
• Think of something you wish to make happen— and in your mind create a concrete symbol to represent that wish coming true. What did you wish? What is the symbol?
• What is the feeling in your body as you imagine this wish coming true? Feel for ways to shift and reshape your vision until it feels possible and peaceful. In fact, it's most likely to happen if it feels like a done deal—normal. 
• What is it you know you can do, with your eyes closed on your worst day? Thinking about your falling-off-a-log-easy skill, how might you see that leading not just to pleasant outcomes, but to huge success? 
• To find out what you truly believe, write a description of your life situation—the people around you, your circumstances, and "blind spots" where your self-concept fails to align with your real self. 
• Look back on your previous answer, and investigate the beliefs that correspond to your life's worst elements. Rethink those beliefs.
• When has a negative statement called forth a strong feeling in you that said, "No, this person is wrong. I am meant to succeed"?
• What offhand remarks have you said—or heard someone else say about you—that turned out to be a sort of prophecy?
• Are your actions in alignment with what you say you want in life? Where are you staying in a situation where other people are treating you badly, waiting for them to change? Passivity in a situation of injustice creates a damaged life.
• Do you undermine yourself by thinking, "I'll never..." or "that doesn't happen for people like us"? Instead, find examples of times your negative belief was wrong. Focus on the places where your life plays out in defiance of your negative beliefs.