Ya’ll. I can’t even lie, this week has been ROUGH.
Have you ever had a day where nothing is necessarily out of the ordinary but you just feel off? Well, I’ve been feeling off all week. I had no energy to do anything but go to work and sleep. I felt tired, annoyed and I had no idea why.
Everyone loves to talk about affirmations and thinking positively. Hell, I do it all the time. But to be real, sometimes that shit just does not work. I must say, this mood shift happened after months of me trying to be as positive as I can. I listened to inspirational music, meditated, prayed, and overall tried to be as upbeat as possible. It sounds easy, but with everything going on in the world right now, having a consistent happy-go-lucky attitude can be hard. This week was proof of that for me.
As a goal-oriented person with a type-A personality, I have a tendency to want things done in a timely fashion. This goes for my goals as well. I set a goal for myself at the beginning of 2020 and eight months later, I still haven’t reached it. Even though I know achieving this goal is a process, I also know the hard work I have been putting in to make it happen. After months of prayer, fasting, and manifesting, I reached my breaking point this week. I was fed up and tired of putting my effort into something that felt like wasn’t meant to happen.
I spoke to a good friend of mine about my situation and her advice was to take a break, relax, and reflect on the things in my life that I am grateful for. At first, I got defensive. I consider myself a grateful person and I felt like she was undermining my feelings. But she helped me understand the difference between being a grateful person and practicing gratitude.
Gratitude is at the core of living an abundant life. According to an article by Derrick Carpenter, MAPP, people who regularly practice gratitude experience more positive emotions, feel more alive, sleep better, express more compassion and kindness, and even have stronger immune systems. He also explains that gratitude should not be reserved for momentous occasions, but for life’s simple pleasures.
So on Friday, in the middle of my funk, I decided to get out of bed, have a cup of tea, and jot down all the things I’m grateful for. From my family to my health to my overall peace of mind, I realized just how much I have to be thankful for. We may not have everything we want, but God has provided us with everything we need.
The first step of gratitude is being present which is something that I’ve struggled with. Meditation and journaling have helped me to be more intentional with being present. I’m taking this journey of gratitude one day a time, but it has definitely helped me appreciate the many blessings I’ve been afforded.
Thanks for reading! Down below, comment one thing you’re grateful for.
