Day 5 is running so smoothly! Tell me, what makes you grateful today? I’m grateful for all the people who have partnered with us and joined the Gratitude Project! It’s an opportunity to deeply key in to the power of giving thanks consistently for an entire day, and to walk away with an amazing box of gratitude tools that you can use for manifestation and prosperity whenever you wish. Take a moment to find out more here!
Today’s second writer is someone I look up to and admire! I am so grateful that she took time out of her busy schedule to join us! Paula Eder, PhD, founder of Finding Time is an internationally-known coach and published author who mentors heart-based entrepreneurs and small business owners, from the inside out, to align their core values and energy with their time choices and behaviors so that they make more money, create more freedom, and find more time. To learn more about Paula’s unique, Heart-Based Time Management System ™ and begin your transformational journey, sign up for her Finding Time Success Kit. Discover how you can find time for what matters most. Take a moment to connect with Paula through Twitter and Facebook!
Find Time to Walk, Live and Breathe to the Beat of Gratitude
By Paula Eder, PhD
Finding time to slow down, breathe deeply, and savor your moments is a daily challenge. And this can be especially challenging during the busy holiday season. I know the feeling and I am guessing that you do, too.
When life is buzzing with activity and your To Do List is overflowing with plans and tasks, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that your cup is filled right to the brim, too … filled with things you can feel grateful about!
The thing is, we just get so busy sometimes that we forget. We don’t see. We lose our heart-based connection to ourselves and our moments. If we sense that something is missing, we’re likely to just work harder and move faster, thinking that will help.
But it’s really the opposite that we need.
So here’s what you can do.
Pause and be still in the quiet. Breathe in and out. Feel your heart beat. Keep breathing deeply as you let this heart-based rhythm carry you inward. Know that this is the warm and sustaining engine of your being. Let yourself feel grateful for its steady and life-giving beat.
From that foundational place, let your gratitude expand outward. Let its light touch the people and events of your day. Perhaps a face from your past emerges … a teacher or friend who you remember with thankfulness.
Pausing to let yourself discover and move to the beat of gratitude is one of the most meaningful and rejuvenating gifts that you can give yourself.
But I would ask that you think of it as a responsibility … not a gift. That’s because living from a place of gratitude not only enhances your experience but also enables you to:
- Be more present to the people and the moments of your life;
- Have more energy and a more positive attitude; and
- Get more done!
Not only is it important to experience your own feelings of gratitude – it’s also vital to express your gratitude. It’s like breathing in and out – you need to do both! When you walk, live, and breathe to the beat of gratitude, you bring with you a powerful energy. This energy is expanded, deepened, and enhanced when it is shared.
As William Faulkner wrote:
“Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.”
So, to fully experience your moments, during the holidays and all year long, inhale deeply, savor completely, and exhale joyfully … you’re moving to the beat of gratitude. Give it a try, and I am quite sure that you will see a difference in your energy and your attitude as you travel this heart-based path!
Gratitude like energy cannot be created or destroyed but it doesn’t mean a thing until you use it.