Express Gratitude

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it:" - Unknown

I have found this quote several times during the last week while browsing the internet as part of a personal project at work.  Each time I read it brings to mind something I have not expressed gratitude for lately.  It is a reminder to me to notice and express pleasure in little things that happen I may not do otherwise.  There is encouragement in this quote to share and talk with others about the positive things in life.

Gratitude begins with a feeling of appreciation  which until it is expressed in some manner, be it through song, written word or verbal announcement, it stays within.  We can choose to stay focused inside ourselves or decide to reach out and share with others.  This is the moment when the feeling turns from appreciation to gratitude, h from a recognition of something pleasant to being thankful.   The next natural step is the joy that comes from allowing someone else, in even a small way, to share your happiness and perhaps be encouraged to look at their own circumstances for blessings and the good they are surrounded by. 

I encourage you to take a few moments to reflect on your life. What are the things you enjoy doing, having or learning?  Who are the people that make a difference in or touch your life?  What talents, skills or special knowledge do you have?  What activities do you participate in that make your life better, richer or more meaningful?  What things do you own or use that someone else might not have or would like to have?  Are there places you go that bring you pleasure?  Do you believe in a higher source of power, inspiration or guidance? How is your health or how do the systems and parts of your body work from day to day? 

Now find a way to express the feelings you have.  Write a poem.  Dance with a family member.  Sing a song.  Tell someone you care.  Send a letter to someone.  Draw a picture.  Shout out your feelings.  Express your thoughts in prayer.  However you choose to do it, enjoy and give away the gift of gratitude. 

Well Done Is Better Than Well Said

I have been doing a lot of research lately and I have found this thought comes to my mind often as I sift through all the material and look for information. 

 

Sometimes in life things become so overwhelming that you find you need to pause, sift through what you have or are looking for and set a limit.  You have to decide what is important and what you can let go or walk away from. You have to create your own level of deciding what is of worth to you in the present moment.  Circumstances change, so it is okay if you find what you decide today you feel differently about at a later time. 
I decided to do some research lately on writing, for business, as a business or just for fun.  What makes the difference between a well written story or book and a best seller?  As you can imagine, there are hundreds of books already written and many more everyday coming out everyday on "How To......(write a novel, write good characters, write a plot, write a novel in X days, or write a book in X hours).  I could see quickly, with so many to choose from, I needed to narrow my search.  So I decided to look for authors who I admired because of their well done best seller novels or books. What I found is that those who are busy creating the stories and books I love to read are not the ones out there expounding how to do it.  I noticed that they are examples to me of well done is better than well said.   Their accomplishments speak louder than any words they can speak and are much more powerful.  They don't tell how to write, they show how to write with feeling, power or personal knowledge.

Saying I am a writer means nothing if I am not putting pen to paper, fingers to keyboard or screen to paper.    I have to do these thing well before I can say they are well done.   Until I share what I write I am a writer not a teacher or author.  It is the well done act of sharing that makes the difference.   I can write as many pages as I want but it is the well done act of combining them into a book you can enjoy or learn from that makes the difference between saying I am a writer and saying I am an author.  Well Done is better than Well Said. 

This concept can be a positive motivation tool in everyday choices.  It is better to do, to act, to move, to take a step than to just say you are going to.   How many tasks, jobs, chores or projects do you accomplish during a day?  Do you consider them well done?   Did you use a skill, tools, instruments, knowledge, energy, effort or personal intuition?  Give yourself credit for a job well done.  Never mind whether someone else from their experience or perspective considers it well done, you are the one whose opinion counts.   

So take a moment today to stop and see how you can use this idea in your life.  Make this phrase personal to you.  Share it.  Show it.  Say it.   Be the best you possible today. 

START - Your own way

I had a friend who recently recommended a book for me to read.  
START: Serve, Thank, Ask, Receive, Trust”
― Richie Norton, The Power of Starting Something Stupid: How to Crush Fear, Make Dreams Happen, and Live Without Regret . 

Although I have not yet purchased this book, the message to START something stuck with me.  When I first heard about the book I thought I wanted to dedicate a single blog to each one of these concepts.  I immediately, went into this blog and set up a draft page for each idea, thinking I would come back to them later.  Well, later took much longer than I had anticipated, as it often does as life does not go exactly as we plan.  However, the thought stayed with me that these five words needed to be shared in some way, as they each really do impact our lives every day. Each one of them is a skill to master. 

The words and order the author of this book had chosen were very good for the message he wanted to share. Yet as the weeks have gone on I realized that the power wasn't in the five words he selected the letters to stand for, but in the very word START.    During the past week I have found that what I really wanted to share here was encouragement to just start something.   I found that the word START seemed to change dependent on my own focus for the moment.    For instance, when thinking about a loved one, the words START stood for Serve, Trust, Act, Receive, Thank.   When thinking about goals at work I found that I wrote START as Set Goals, Time Limits, Act, Review, Think Again.   As I began writing this, and another blog post, START stood for Share (these thoughts with you), Trust (that I can touch a  heart or mind), Ask (you to believe in yourself), Receive (the chance to hear back from you) and Thank (you for your trust and trying it for yourself).  

We all have the opportunity to START.  Some may start something new.  Some may start from a place where they last were.  Some may need to start again after a pause or event.  Some may start alone and another may start with a friend.  Some may start today while another may wait to start tomorrow.  Some may start one thing at a time and stick with it while someone else may start many things at once and then work a little on each as time allows.   However, or whatever, your starting place is or what you want to start, it is perfect.  It is perfect for you in some way.  So I encourage to think about what you want to START and go for it.  Go for it with passion, belief and the knowledge you can and will succeed in some way.  It may not be what you expect, but you will not be the same after you have started that you are at this moment.