As much as I try to nurture my inner PollyAnna, below zero temps and challenges in my 9 to 5 world are bringing out my underlying “Eeyore disposition,” as my husband lovingly calls it.
I left for work wearing a beautiful necklace that my husband bought me for Christmas. On the 45-minute commute to work, I got to kick back and relax because it wasn't my turn to drive the carpool. When we arrived at work, we were greeted by a nice breakfast spread the landlord provided to apologize for heating issues.
Since it is my 10-year work anniversary this month, I got to pick out a cute gift to celebrate my years of service. Then I went to a meeting with mood lighting, soothing music, and great conversation. Lunch arrived and we had more great conversation. I got scads of work done.
Only one thing went wrong all day—one thing that it shifted my focus away from every good thing that happened.
It was my story in the carpool.
It was my story when I greeted my husband.
It was my story when we went out to dinner with friends.
It consumed me. I fell into a negativity spiral, and I needed a way to crawl back out of it.Yet as soon as I put those thoughts out into the Universe, I started to see answers.
I read a blog post by Michelle at A Desire to Get Creative about her gratitude journal.
My friend Stacy, who is a certified Holistic Health Practitioner (lifecoach), is also a great resource when I need to reframe negative thoughts. So while I was online, I went over to her blog, Pandora's Compass, to get a dose of her sunny disposition.
Then I went out and bought a journal.
Today’s Gratitude Journal Entry (5 things I’m grateful for today)
- the cute polymer clay fish I made to illustrate this post
- a whole day to spend with my cats
- my sexy husband who loves to hold my hands
- warm laundry, fresh from the dryer
- Twitter/Facebook friends to keep me from feeling snowed in
Leaving you with a look on the bright side:
"It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily. "And freezing.” "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately."—Eeyore
Hi Marie,
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to hear that I inspired you! Wow! I feel wonderful that you started a gratitude journal. Please let me know how it goes.
Marie I LOVE the fishy!!! Such an excellent post.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words, and for the link. I'm so glad I could bring you out of your spiral. I love hearing that I've helped others through my blog, and hope that I can continue to inspire people.
ReplyDeleteI was just going through some old journals while packing up some belongings, and I was absolutely floored at some of the things I wrote. It's so powerful to be able to go back and see things that, at the time, feel like nothing but simple thoughts.
ReplyDeleteMakes me want to start journaling again. :) I like dream journals, too.
First of all, thanks for the complement! I too love the fish. Very cute.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Tara, I am a journaling fool. I love it. And for all the reasons she talks about. Like you, I find it's very cool to have a journal dedicated to nothing but happy entries. It's nice to look through and not have to hit those rough spots. Just pure joy and gratitute and purely all your own.
what a great post! and i love the way you turned things around with gratitude. thanks so much for the reminder and for the eeyore quote that totally cracked me up. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Leah! I love when you stop by. Your Art Every Day Challange is the reason my blog exists. It has been so fun. I don't know what I did without it.
ReplyDeleteNice, Marie. I like your blog, and I totally get it how you can let one bad thing color your whole day. One thing I do in my gratitude journal - I write my grateful for in the morning, and on the facing page I write "My Favorite Part of the Day Was"...that way, I go through the whole day looking for my favorite part! Try it! : )
ReplyDeleteA gratitude journal is a wonderful idea! I just may have to start one myself... :)
ReplyDelete