Gratitude Challenge
Could you take 60 seconds each day to list 3 things you are grateful for?
This small start begins to change the lens you see your life through. Your brain will begin to look for things you can put on your daily list.
Before you know it, you will be noticing the good things in your life that have always been there.
Seek and you will find.
Say “NO” To Your Inner Critic.
What would you do if you were 100 times braver? This powerful question is one Pastor Kris Valloton often asks his school of ministry students each year. Valloton claims that if you have any kind of answer to this question, then fear has reduced you.
I believe fear often disguises itself as safety seeking or self-protection. But fear can also sound like a self-critical voice. So what’s the story your inner critic is telling you? You can’t do that? People will laugh at you? Who do you think you are? You aren’t ______ (fill in the blank) enough?
You see, failure is not the problem. Fear is the problem. Breakthrough comes when you have the courage to keep stepping out, to keep trying, to keep chasing your dreams. So say “no” to your inner critic and take a chance. Go after your dreams. The world needs authentic, courageous dreamers like you!
Acceptance allows change.
It’s important to establish the starting point and the destination. Until you have those things identified, it’s hard to chart your course. It’s even harder to tell if you’re making progress.
It takes courage to look at yourself and your situation honestly but that is often the first step towards change.
Change IS possible.
Especially for those brave enough to accept the truth of where they are and to hope for a better tomorrow.
Comparison is a thief.
Have you ever compared yourself to someone who is going through something difficult and thought, “they seem fine, so I should be fine”?
This is not helpful and here’s why. Appearances can be deceiving. You do not know what is going on inside their head or their heart.
You also don’t know what kind of support they have or what they have experienced in the past which has grown their resilience to handle the current challenge.
You may have heard this before but it’s worth repeating, “comparison is the thief of joy.” Instead of trying to one-up each other in suffering or allowing how someone else handles challenges to add to your discouragement, why not reach out with compassion and a kind word?
Showing kindness to others can be a boon to our mood. You can let them know it’s ok if they aren’t ok, that you are an understanding ear if they need to talk. (Keeping up appearances can be exhausting.)
You could also ask about their resilience and where their strength comes from. Perhaps they can share some hope with you. Heavy loads are often made easier when carried together.
Why is self-care difficult?
77 sec video exploring possible reasons we avoid slowing down.
Could there be an underlying reason for your constant need for busyness? Why do we encourage others to take breaks to recharge but find it difficult to do ourselves?
Problems or Possibilities.
Does it feel “phony” or like fake Pollyanna positivity to look for what’s going right in your life? Do you feel like you’re “just being a realist” when you talk about what’s going wrong?
Guess what? Both positive and negative things are always happening. When we focus on the negative, however, our brain tries to help us out by filtering out the positive. As a result, things often start feeling more and more dismal and you may feel more depressed.
On the other hand, when you intentionally look for positives and what’s going right, again, your brain helps! You begin to notice more good things and typically, will then begin to feel more hopeful. It also increases your creativity for solutions.
We don’t want to ignore the negative things in our lives but it’s important, especially with the state of our world today, to be intentional about looking for positive things. Being intentional keeps us from losing sight of the good things which could spiral our moods downward. There’s nothing “realistic” about only noticing the negatives in life.