Day 102 in Gratitude

Brian Tracy has taught me many things...many, many things. Of all the lessons that I've learned in business and in my personal life, the one Brian Tracy lesson that has stuck with me for years is this; Wake each and every day and say out loud, "I feel terrific!" "I feel terrific!" over and over and over again until you've convinced yourself that you actually do feel terrific. For those of you who don't know who Brian Tracy is, Brian has dedicated his life and built a company on the training and development of individuals and organizations. So today, I feel the need to say thank you to Brian Tracy.I have learned much.

When a family member is going through a challenging health situation it always seems to help people put things into perspective. Today I made a commitment to myself that I was going to be very cognizant of how many times I complained about something trivial.

First it was the belt on my car engine. For the past week, every time I start and drive my car, this horrible screeching sound penetrates my ears and the ears of the drivers within a mile of my car. How embarrassing! As I drive down the street, everyone peers at me and makes this face as if to say, "shut that car up!"

The second time I complained was while I was at work. Going over a report, I was asked to re-structure and re-submit it. Ugh! After hours of logical thinking, strategically putting that report together and to be asked to re-structure it without the logic...what a waste of time!

The third time I complained was when one of my neighbors stopped by tonight to sell me candy for a fund-raiser. I was on the phone talking to a friend, catching up and I had to end the call to answer the door. After asking him which fund-raiser he was campaigning for, he told me it was for a start up not-for-profit. I came back in and looked it up, it didn't exist.

All of these things, all of these complaints were just annoyances. Distractions that annoyed me and/or took me away from something I thought was more important. How silly. The point of my challenge today was to bring attention to these things and when I realize I'm complaining stop, take a deep, long breath in and realize; I am healthy, my children are healthy, my husband is healthy. I can deal with and fix a squeeky belt on a car, re-do a report and take time to talk to a neighbor who I believe is just lonely. But by no means are these annoyances anything to complain about. My brother-in-law is sitting in a hospital room battling leukemia and if asked, he would much rather be home having to replace a belt on his car, re-analyze a report and take a few moments to talk with a lonely neighbor. I have my health and for that, I am truly grateful.

What are you grateful for? Share your thoughts, I'd love to hear from you!

Day 98 in Gratitude - A Pending Governement Shutdown...really??

There's so much going on right now. The US Government finally reached a tentative agreement to stay open for the next 6 days to continue their debates on spending. What an embarrassment and hardly inspiring that they took this negotiation down to the wire to come to an agreement to continue the debate. And, once they do finally come to a majority agreement, it will be time to debate the 2012 budget! I am proud to be an American, I appreciate that we do have differences and everyone has a right to be heard. But these issues should have been addresses months ago and a resolution reached. A government shutdown is not the end of the world and we have come through it before, but at a time when the economy is in such disarray and the fact that we've had 5 or 6 extensions on the original 2011 budget that was brought to the table in Feb 2010 - this is tough to swallow. I am thankful that they have come to this agreement so that our military families will receive their paychecks.

My brother-in-law has his good days and bad. AML is a tough cancer that is so unpredictable and ruthless. It seems that one day he has energy to walk around the floor of the hospital, and the next he is exhausted. I guess this is fairly common. Most days his outlook is guardedly hopeful but some days he seems to force himself to look at his possible reality which seems dim. My husband stayed in NJ to spend time and to help in any way he can. I am very proud of his decision to offer his time and unconditional love and am thankful that his circumstances allow him to do so.

What are you grateful for?