This is Day 8 of the 14-Day Gratitude Challenge held in Aug 2013, where we practice gratitude for 14 days. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
Hi everyone, welcome to Day 8 of our 14-day gratitude challenge! :D We are now into the second half of the challenge. Let’s get started, shall we? :D
Day 8: Thoughts
It is said that our mind thinks between 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts every day. Are you aware of all these thoughts? Are all the thoughts that pass through your brain positive and grateful ones?
I’m normally a very appreciative person, but there are times when I carry–what I term as–ungrateful thoughts.
For example, I was on my way from Glasgow to Singapore (with transit in London Heathrow), taking British Airways. In our flight from Heathrow to Singapore, the plane was delayed from taking off for over an hour after we were all seated in the aircraft (and the crew never bothered to explain, too).
After fidgeting in my seat for an hour and eager to get back to Singapore to edit and upload the video for last week’s How to Stop Stress Eating Course (live coaching course) plus work on my proposal for my latest training engagement, I got frustrated and thought, “We’ve been sitting here for an hour. This is ridiculous. Why are they taking so long?”
No sooner did I make that thought that I realized that I was being ungrateful. For example, the crew could have been reckless with their pre-flight checks and take off quickly just to meet the flight schedule–which may cause dire consequences later on. Our flight could have been cancelled completely, rather than just being delayed for an hour–but it wasn’t. I was also ungrateful to the moment I was getting to myself. I could be taking the time to meditate, think about my latest proposal first rather than wait till I power up my laptop, or even rest, but I wasn’t.
Upon realizing that, I then changed my stance from one of ungratefulness to gratitude. I thought, “It’s good that we are here waiting rather than facing a plane hijack or takeoff accidents. It’s good that the crew are doing (what I assume to be) proper pre-flight checks so we will have a safe flight ahead.”
Then, rather than wait in frustration, I began to think about what to write for my latest training proposal. And after a short while, the plane took off. I subsequently reached Singapore 12 hours later and am home now, writing Day 8’s post for the gratitude challenge, along with finishing up other work.
Today, I would like you to transform an ungrateful thought–any one–into a grateful one.
Your Task: Transform an Ungrateful Thought
- Observe your thoughts today (or reflect on your thoughts for the past couple of days). Have you had any ungrateful thoughts? We think over ten thousands of thoughts each day, hopefully many of which are positive, but some of which are probably negative. Pick a negative (i.e. ungrateful) thought for this exercise.
- What makes this an ungrateful thought?
- How can you transform this thought into a grateful one? Rewrite the thought and pen down your new, grateful thought into your gratitude journal.
Daily Journaling: Write 3 Things You Are Grateful for Today
On top of today’s task, identify 3 things you are grateful for today. These 3 things can be events that occurred today, mishaps which could have happened but didn’t happen, or simply things which have always been in your life but which you suddenly came to feel grateful for today.
3 things I’m grateful for today:
- One of our engagement photographers has the photos of our shoot ready 1.5 weeks earlier than communicated and even offered to sponsor the full cost of the shoot he did with us!! That is such a pleasant surprise as we had not previously agreed on that!
- I’ve finished giving away my free tickets to Spark Summit, an upcoming lifehacking conference I’m speaking at this Saturday, through my Facebook page. So excited to see readers’ interest and hope the summit will be a blast!
- Your wonderful participation in this challenge! I’ve been catching up on some of the tasks’ comments and all of you have truly poured your heart and soul into the challenge, earnestly sharing your heart’s deepest thoughts in your comments. I’m so blessed to have all of you here, making the challenge such a wonderful experience.
Plus one more!
- I’m grateful to be back with high-speed internet access in my fiance’s home! Yay to crazy fast upload speeds and seamless group coaching courses online!
Share Your Results!
What was your ungrateful thought? What made this an ungrateful thought? How did you transform this ungrateful thought into a grateful one? (Take a picture/screenshot and share it if possible!)
What are 3 things you are grateful for today?
Share them in the comments section! :)
Once you’re done, proceed to Gratitude Challenge Day 9: Share Something You are Grateful For with Someone.
Welcome to Personal Excellence. If you like my free articles, join my newsletter and get my latest updates and articles sent right to your inbox.