For the month of November I thought It might be appropriate to being thinking about the things we can be thankful for. Everyday we take so many things for granted, or a least I know I do. I often forget to be thankful for my good health, for my job, for my abilities (ex. ability to drive, to eat, to get dressed, to walk, to talk, to meet new people, to worship freely etc.).
In fact, If I'm honest with myself, more times than not I wake up thinking Murphy's Law, you know the one that says, "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong!" When I get in this mode of thinking, I begin to expect the worst and get so focused in on the things I wish I could be doing or that I am not able to do at this phase of my life. If I allow my self to continue this negative cycle of thinking I begin to feel depressed, ungrateful, and irritated, not thankful, and my mood then affects my behavior and this cycle becomes a self fulfilling prophecy that reinforces Murphy's law.
The good news is this cycle can be broken using positive self affirmations which a wrote about a few months ago and by practicing self awareness. In his research on "Dancing with the Brain," Dr. Dan Siegel, talks about the "Wheel of Awareness." This wheel takes the "keys" of the mind which are openness, objectivity, and observation and challenges an individual to not only look within themselves, but outside themselves as well. When a person can look deep within and also be aware of external sensations, he or she often begins to think differently due to changes in the brain. So I would challenge you to take 20 minutes a day to not only look within yourself for what is good, but without and make a list of things you are thankful for, all the way until Thanksgiving Day!
Jessica D. Cleveland
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