As someone who has made a living as a “Motivational Speaker” (for lack of a better term); these last couple of years have presented a number of challenges. As speakers, and for the audiences that we are here to serve. People have been, and are still struggling in coming out of this very strange time. I have found audiences are sometimes unsure of how to be together, to laugh, to share that communal experience of going on that journey – together.
There is such uncertainty right now, and I often hear it in the questions from people I meet on the road:
“How can I make myself feel better?”
“Why am I so anxious?”
“Where do I start?”
These are all deep and meaningful questions, some of which are out of my pay grade and professional standing, but I can humbly provide what insights I have gleaned over the course of this life.
Gratitude. Gratitude is the place to start. In particular, finding gratitude on your darkest days, is a super power. It is jet fuel that can kick start your healing and move you in a forward direction instead of stagnating or feeling stuck. When you can find a way to be thankful for something – anything – when you are feeling low, you are taking a first step. It can be the of simplest things: for the weather, for the food you ate, the wind on your face, the fresh air you breathed… anything. If you can find within yourself, the intention to be truly thankful for something – it’s a start. And in these times, a start is all anyone can ask for. You had another day on the right side of the ground, is a start.
You can take this simple intention and build it into practices that can become a part of your days, and that will truly kick things into high gear. I will not go into the science of it (because that is not my area of expertise) but I know from other speakers I know, and things that I have read, that ending your day with gratitudes (I do 5 or so) can literally change your brain chemistry and activate things that will make you start to feel better.
My practice is a journal at my bedside, that I will write “I am Grateful For…” at the top of the page, and then proceed to write 5 things I am grateful for, from that particular day and why I am grateful. Sometimes they are simple, sometimes they are obvious (especially if the day has been good) but sometimes, they are a challenge to me. I will often write down something that didn’t go well that day; a person I disagreed with, something that went wrong, a mishap, a misstep. Then, I will proceed to write down why I am thankful that thing happened. The lesson I learned, the patience it taught me, the perspective it gave. It is in those moments that life really starts to change, because you are being purposeful and intentional about finding something good that came out of something bad, or at least something that was less than ideal.
Everyone will find there own practices and the things that light them up and kickstart that healing, but if you truly want to start down that path, or encourage those around you to do so, find that gratitude on your darkest days and watch the world around you change for the better.
Let’s find a way to come together, to come out of these times stronger than we were before, with hearts full of gratitude for all that we have learned and all that we are yet to become.
Let’s go find that Silver Lining friends!
As someone who has made a living as a “Motivational Speaker” (for lack of a better term); these last couple of years have presented a number of challenges. As speakers, and for the audiences that we are here to serve. People have been, and are still struggling in coming out of this very strange time. I have found audiences are sometimes unsure of how to be together, to laugh, to share that communal experience of going on that journey – together.
There is such uncertainty right now, and I often hear it in the questions from people I meet on the road:
“How can I make myself feel better?”
“Why am I so anxious?”
“Where do I start?”
These are all deep and meaningful questions, some of which are out of my pay grade and professional standing, but I can humbly provide what insights I have gleaned over the course of this life.
Gratitude. Gratitude is the place to start. In particular, finding gratitude on your darkest days, is a super power. It is jet fuel that can kick start your healing and move you in a forward direction instead of stagnating or feeling stuck. When you can find a way to be thankful for something – anything – when you are feeling low, you are taking a first step. It can be the of simplest things: for the weather, for the food you ate, the wind on your face, the fresh air you breathed… anything. If you can find within yourself, the intention to be truly thankful for something – it’s a start. And in these times, a start is all anyone can ask for. You had another day on the right side of the ground, is a start.
You can take this simple intention and build it into practices that can become a part of your days, and that will truly kick things into high gear. I will not go into the science of it (because that is not my area of expertise) but I know from other speakers I know, and things that I have read, that ending your day with gratitudes (I do 5 or so) can literally change your brain chemistry and activate things that will make you start to feel better.
My practice is a journal at my bedside, that I will write “I am Grateful For…” at the top of the page, and then proceed to write 5 things I am grateful for, from that particular day and why I am grateful. Sometimes they are simple, sometimes they are obvious (especially if the day has been good) but sometimes, they are a challenge to me. I will often write down something that didn’t go well that day; a person I disagreed with, something that went wrong, a mishap, a misstep. Then, I will proceed to write down why I am thankful that thing happened. The lesson I learned, the patience it taught me, the perspective it gave. It is in those moments that life really starts to change, because you are being purposeful and intentional about finding something good that came out of something bad, or at least something that was less than ideal.
Everyone will find there own practices and the things that light them up and kickstart that healing, but if you truly want to start down that path, or encourage those around you to do so, find that gratitude on your darkest days and watch the world around you change for the better.
Let’s find a way to come together, to come out of these times stronger than we were before, with hearts full of gratitude for all that we have learned and all that we are yet to become.
Let’s go find that Silver Lining friends!