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.
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Some of these have been so hard for me to do. I just can’t seem to put two words together that make sense for the activity involved. Day 8 is attached. I still need to do Days 9, 13, and the Reflection post. Have a blessed weekend!
Ungrateful thought:
My mom watches many of these shows about the crime in the country every night. Watching these various crime shows (2-3 per day in different channels), she has come to not trust anyone easily. She has come to assume that the world is bad by default. Whenever she finds something ‘informative’ coming on these shows, she urges that I too should watch it. Her watching these shows, thinking negatively about the world most of the time, and urging me to also think like her, sometimes irks me.
I’ve come to believe that you get what you attract. If you keep thinking that the world is bad, you would probably get to only spend most of your time with its bad side. Even if something good is presented to you, you’ll probably nitpick the bad side of it. I’ve figured that a better way to live is to trust everyone, forgive when your trust is broken, learn the lesson, but not stop trusting. To Not generalize. A person not fitting our idea of goodness doesn’t speak for all of his/her kind.
Grateful thought:
I do realize that my mom is only being concerned about me. She only wants me to be safe. She wants me to be prepared to handle what she feels is a big bad world out there. She fears people will misuse my trust in them. And maybe her carefulness has done a lot of good for us. I could never know. Maybe she has avoided many not-so-good people being in our lives through that. Maybe we’re better off now for that.
3 things that I’m grateful for:
– Had a day with lot of rest and rejuvenation.
– Ate some delicious sweets prepared by mom.
– Communicated through various means with many friends. Realizing how lucky I am to have so many good friends.
Hey Celes, loved your reframe–it inspires me to think of how I could do the same! :)
Thank you very much Christina!! :)
Still struggling to catch up, but I’m enjoying these exercises as they force me to reflect. I’m a naturally negative person, so it’s nice being pushed to think in a positive fashion. Thank you, Celes, for running this challenge! And for allowing room for us to fall behind. xoxo
As always, anyone interested in seeing more examples of positive thinking, quotes, and affirmations, I invite you to view my Pinterest board entitled “Gratitude-ish Things”.
Thank you for being a part of this challenge, Donetta. :)
http://donettas.wordpress.com/2013/08/24/day-8-rethink/
I probably needed this challenge the most out of all the last 7. Thank you.
Today, before my BF left for San Diego for a bachelor party, we were suppose
to go to the beach and walk our dogs. Due to him sleeping late last
night, causing him to sleep-in today, we didn’t have time to go to the
beach. My first thought was to be irritated, but almost immediately I
changed my perspective and cheerfully acquiesced to just going to the
park behind our home. I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal, but the
“controlling” part of me, the “ego” as some would say, would have said
something like, “you said…, how could you, the dogs will be
disappointed.., you slept so late, you didn’t manage your time, etc…”
Thank goodness my ego just kept her mouth shut. We had a lovely morning
=) – See more at:
http://inspirehappy.com/2013/08/23/gratitude-journal-challenge-days-7-8-9/#sthash.7mojK7GW.dpuf
Wow, all of the exercises seem to be hitting the nail on the head so to speak this week. I’ve been very anxious about money this week and how I can keep affording living in my house and worried about retiring in the future and my retirement savings. I mean I’m 50 and in good health. My parents lived into their mid-80s so I’m thinking I’ll live to be 100. Where is the money gong to come from to live that long? What will happen to people like me? For some reason I became so anxious about this I was waking up at night almost in a panic attack. I’ve learned over the years that if I felt depressed it’s because I was living in the past. If I feel anxious, I’m living in the future. I have been trying to live in the present the last 10 years more and more and thought I had gotten good at it. I read Eckhart Tolle and Wayne Dyer and can usually overcome some negative thoughts now pretty quickly. This just has a hold on me for some reason.
But I can turn it around and say I’m not homeless and I am grateful I live in a lovely little townhouse with my dog. I have a good job that pays well and have always had the ingenuity to have a second job or work overtime when I have needed more money in the past for a special trip or to put money in savings. I am a strong person and I feel I can come up with a plan to make myself feel better. I just need to do baby steps, one at a time to figure it out. I can’t really worry about 50 years from now.
I’m late for this post.
What ungrateful thought came into my mind these few days was… My college is having final examination period these 2 weeks. Lecturers are responsible to have invigilaiton sessions that were pre-arranged by the examination department. When I got the exam timetable, I got to know that I had 10 invigilation sessions, and I had 5 sessions that having 3 hours invigilation. As I know, I had the most of 3-hour invigilation sessions among all lecturers. 3 hours… I cannot talk, cannot do anything else other than walking around and looking at the students. It is kind of torturing for me as I’m a person that can fall into unconscious mind easily… I can walk and look at students without thinking anything. So, even if the students cheat in front of me, I might not notice if I was not conscious enough. =.=”
However, I still think that I’m having a good schedule for the invigilation sessions. At least, I’m not invigilating until the last day of the exam period. I can go for semester holiday earlier than other lecturers who invigilate until the last day of the exam period. It might not be a good thinking (some sort of laughing at other lecturers…), but I have to think that way to balance up my emotion… :P
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Yesterday, 3 things that I felt grateful for:
1. My students invited me to their vegetarian steamboat dinner at one of the students’ house. What a group of nice and caring students!!
2. After invigilation session, I went for a shopping with my students. They shopped for their steamboat dinner material, while I shopped for the BBQ gathering for today. They helped me to choose what were the better tools, better and cheaper materials to be used. I didn’t have the BBQ tool, and they told me that they could borrow from their friends, needed not me to buy a new set of tools.
3. All of us enjoyed the vegetarian steamboat dinner!! And I got to know another 2 students of my college who were taking other courses. After the dinner, we chatted until 10pm, and my students knew that I go to bed at 10.30am. So, they “chased” me out from the house, asked me to come back home and rest earlier. XD They “warned” me not to take the dangerous route which went through a mountain winding road, and also asked me to send them a message when I reached home. See, what a warm care from my students!! ^^
Apologies in advance, this is gonna be long!
One ungrateful thought occurred in regards to my current housing at college. I’ve moved into a five person apartment with three single rooms and a double, and I’m with my sister in the double. I was becoming not only grateful but actually -angry- that I was “stuck” with my sister again — we both acknowledge that rooming with each other for the past two years has been long enough and we need a break! Rooming with my sister isn’t exactly what’s making me angry (though I would like a break from family!), but a few other things:
1) When I came to college, I had the experience of having two different, random roommates. I didn’t have someone I knew to room with from the get-go. As a result, I started my first semester very lonely and it wasn’t until I met my second roommate that I got some friends. I dislike that my parents asked/encouraged me to be my sister’s roommate to “make it easier” and “less stressful” on her as she transitioned to college, as it makes me feel like they didn’t care as much about my well-being.
2) My mom uses us living together as a way to “monitor” us, always texting one sister asking what the other is up to, or saying we should do something/say something to her. This on top of my mom texting us each night simply to make sure we respond — I realize it’s quite selfish that I’m complaining about a nightly text, but it’s like asking you to come home at a certain time each day to press a button on a wall that doesn’t do anything. It (feels like it) greatly impedes on your freedom.
3) I made it clear to my future roommates at the time that if the option was available, I wanted a single room, not just to get a break from my sister but because I’m a senior in college and thought it was appropriate and about time to have a room of my own. Somehow, we managed to not fill in the form correctly so I had to sign that I’d room with my sister again, but I was told it would be possible to change rooms later. As time went on, however, I’m getting less assurance that this is the case and feel quite angry that I was told I could switch, because if I had known I could not, I would have gotten us another form to fill out at the time and prevented this all from happening in the first place.
As you can see, there’s a lot going on here! But to try and make this a grateful thought:
1) I should be grateful that I had the opportunity to move in to college without knowing anyone. If it weren’t for my second roommate, I wouldn’t have made my first friends at college. And by extension, I should be grateful that I’m close enough with my sister to hang out with her — a boy approached her randomly in class one day to hang out, so our friend groups both met up and now I’m close with that boy and his friends too! Ironically in both cases with my sister and roommate, I became closer to the friends I met through them than they did. xD
2) I suppose here the big thing is, I have a mom who is there and who cares. It’s hard to think about this and not think about all the things that bother me about it, but honestly my mom does a lot for us even if she doesn’t need to. She’s helped us get settled in and has gotten us a lot of food, for example. But honestly, I can’t tell if this is a case of a mother who cares too much but means well, or a mother who works by guilt and I should be more wary. I honestly don’t know the answer.
3) This one is frustrating. It still riles me up thinking about it, I think because I’m so detail oriented that the fact that things got messed up and weren’t fixed when they could be bothers me. But, I am grateful to have received on-campus housing at all — due to renovations, there was a housing shortage and many were left without it. Especially as a senior (the least likely to get on-campus housing), I’m glad I didn’t have to go through the headache of finding a “real” place to rent.
I was actually going to do another one, but the more I think about it the less I think it’s about a lack of gratitude and more an issue of self-esteem.
Thinking back on yesterday since I’m a day late, 3 things to be grateful for:
1) When we were on our way to campus, we passed through torrential downpours that forced us to pull over on the highway because we couldn’t see. I was so grateful we didn’t have to move all our stuff in with such weather, which would have soaked all of our things (and possibly ruined a lot of it)!
2) Because my sister and I were able to move in early, we didn’t have to content with three other girls (and all of their stuff) moving in at the same time through the single set of narrow and steep stairs to our apartment. Plus, my sister’s boyfriend was here and he was able to add some “muscle” to help my dad move our heaviest bags. =)
3) I got invited by some of my college friends to go bowling with them! It was a lot of fun, and I was so happy because I felt quite lonely during the summer hearing about most of my college friends still hanging out while I lived two hours away. It was great to see them all again, and I hope I’m able to hang out with them all just as much!
Hey! It’s great that you’re trying so hard to look on the bright side with your housing situation. I used to get frustrated too when I felt like I was being smothered and controlled by family, but I have to say it’s getting better :) I hope things work out for you too and you enjoy your senior year!!
Aww, thank you Cary! The rest of my roommates have just moved in today (my sister and I moved in two days early), and honestly I can say that having the double isn’t bothering me nearly as much as I thought it was. Then again, I’ve only been here for about two days so I guess we’ll see what happens. xD
This is an interesting exercise and I can easily think of one…
There has been almost no test on the testchip that I sent last year. There were bugs in the design that I had done and also on the testchip… So, even though it was present in two places no test was done. And, this meant that my plan of finishing PhD soon could not materialize. I was not feeling very good about it.
However, I am now focussing on the benefits that this delay has brought. I am being asked to resend the testchip again and now I can implement a few new features in it. This will lead to a much richer thesis at the end of the work. So this is a blessing in disguise :-)
As for some things that I am grateful for:
1. I am extremely grateful for the DTC bus stop that gave us a shed over our heads when it started to rain while I was waiting for the bus to arrive. Hundreds of other bus stops don’t have a shed.
2. So that I could complete more of my Gratitude blog, the bus experienced extra delays on the way to office.
3. While I forgot my umberella in the bus, I am grateful to the Driver for placing it inside the bus above my seat so that I could easily locate it in the evening.
NEGATIVE THOUGHT
“There is too much stuff to price, sort through, arrange, and have in the garage sale. This is all too overwhelming! How will I deal with all this stuff?!”
SO I started the transformation process. I am grateful to have the many things in the garage mostly organized, the signs are made, and I can keep fine tuning even during the garage sale itself. It is going to be a beautiful, sunny, breezy day, and many things can be put outside to attract all the cars passing by. I will focus on the bigger and pricier things selling. I will price things to sell. Many things sold add up many dollars!!
I am so grateful that I have so many things to sell….things that are really great things…things that have given me much pleasure, and now others will enjoy them. I am so fortunate! This garage sale will be great!
Even though it was after 6 PM and the sale doesn’t officially start till Friday morning, a car stopped by and asked if we had any tables for sale. In fact, we have two! and I had been focusing on them selling!
The law of attraction is happening not only with my focusing on having great sales, but I am attracting positive thoughts now about the garage sale. So upon that enthusiasm, I continue to go through my things with downsizing in mind…finding good homes for all the beautiful things it is now time to let go of!!!!
GRATEFUL FOR TODAY
1. My positive, transformed, enthusiastic attitude and mindset about having garage sales.
2. My transformed, appreciative attitude about letting go, clearing space and enjoying space, and enjoying experiences, not just stuff.
3. A new friend came by and we all had a lively visit here in the studio, and before we knew it, we had spent the whole day together! That “time flies when you are having fun” really proved very true today!
COLOR ME GRATEFUL!!!!!
Hi Sulthana, great job on catching up with the challenge!! :) Just to let you know that I’ve been reading some of your entries for the challenge (even retweeted a couple of them) and you are doing such an awesome job!! I love your entry for Day 6 in particular on giving thanks to your life!
With regards to your “ungrateful” thought for today re: your neighbors, it could be worse in that you could have neighbors who are outright rude–losing their temper at you and swearing and cursing at people, including you, just because they like it. (Believe it or not, my friend’s father-in-law is like that — he walks around and swears/scolds people, including strangers, for absolutely no reason. He also repeatedly verbally abuses my friend, on a *daily* basis, from cursing her to cursing her mom/family. He’s suffering from depression.) You could have child-molestation neighbors who are secretly coaxing young girls into their homes and keeping them there. (Saw several stories about this in Australia and U.S.) As far fetch as it sounds, it could always be a possibility.
Like you said, maybe them being noisy means they are happy (I don’t know what they are noisy about as you did not elaborate in your post). You know, I used to be really irritated by people (esp. teenagers who are very socially unaware) who talk or laugh *really loudly* in public; I saw it as discourteous and uncivil.
But then over time as I learned to be more grateful and positive in life, I realize it’s good that these people are doing so because it means they are… happy. Well. Or even if they are arguing loudly, at least there is something they are feeling passionate enough for them to lose their top, vs. being jaded about life.
So now whenever I see/hear people laughing loudly, I simply join them in their joy inside my heart. I rejoice that there are people who are happy, I smile to myself, and I join them in the joy as well.
Aww Celes, thank you so much for your comment and insight and for taking the time to read my entries when I know you must be inundated!
You make very good points about the neighbors; they were shouting so I’ll take the one about them being passionate!
I was irritated because it was at night time, well past reasonable hours, and making it difficult to sleep. But at least they feel passion and care about something enough to shout about it lol
My recurrent ungrateful thought, no matter how much I try to change it, is that I don’t have enough money. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not greedy, I don’t want a ton of money as to live in the lap of luxury, I just want enough money to achieve my dreams (and we’re not talking about astronomical figures, but rather of approximately 500 dollars a month). So when I’m trying to remove this thought from my mind I tell myself that I *do* have more than I need, because I am healthy and I am clothed, fed, going to university etc. and I am aware that there are people out there who don’t have even half of what I do. It’s true that it could be better, but it could also be way worse. Plus, a positive attitude propels you into a bright future, whereas ungratefulness only makes you bitter and unsatisfied.
3 things I am grateful for today:
-a friend invited me to her birthday, it was really fun; we also talked a lot and I love to get to know people
-I got my nails done
-my parents were in a particularly chatty mood in the evening, that happens rarely so I was really glad about it
Wonderful job transforming your ungrateful thought, Lina. You are so right that a positive attitude propels you into a bright(er) future. Remember that by appreciating what you have now (which is what you have done with your thought transformation), you are showing the universe gratitude for what it has given you, which gives it more reason to usher new, great things into your life. Soon you will see opportunities where you have not seen before and you will also begin to receive new opportunities as the universe sees that you are now deserving of so much more.
I know there are times we have ungrateful thoughts, sometimes without even realizing it. I know I have, in fact today I thought how ungrateful my husband was being by leaving trash littered all inside our car. At first I refused to take it out and dispose of it properly because it was not my responsibility but then I remembered something a teacher shared with me a couple of years ago of how her assistant would never clean up the food areas after lunch although it was her responsibility. When I began to respond by speaking my opinion of how that was not fair to her that she had to do additional work she stopped me abruptly to say that she didn’t even mind the extra work even though it was not her responsibility because she felt grateful unto God that she even had the energy and activity of her limbs to move around freely and get it done. So nevertheless after recalling that conversation I decided too that I was grateful for the activity of my limbs and the fact that I even have a car to clean trash out of. I don’t know if that recollecttion will work every time ;=) but I do know that I will be more conscious about checking my ungrateful thoughts and transforming them into grateful one’s.
3 Things I’m grateful for today:
1. Great expectations!
2. Taking steps for better overall health and fitness by eating more veggies!
3. Believe it or not at this moment I’m grateful for my husbands snoring ;+)
Hi blessedart, I chuckled at your last item of gratitude, which is that you are grateful for your husband’s snoring! :) You remind me of something my good friend said to me before: she told me that her boyfriend snores too, and it has come to the point where she is worried when he is *NOT* snoring because she will wonder if he has died in his sleep. (LOL.) I.e., she has come to embrace the as a part of her partner snoring vs. resisting it.
My ungrateful thought happened when I was informed that my sewing machine at work had been switched. I had everything already set up and ready to go when I get back to work tomorrow. What made this an ungrateful thought was that my coworker (who also happens to be my awesome sister…for real…I love her. :D) was trying to help me out because she knew I had been skeptical of using the heavy duty machines in the past. So to change it to a more positive and grateful thought, I reminded myself of those facts.
The three things I’m grateful for today: 1) supper was already cooked so I didn’t have to cook tonight; 2) I was able to work towards meeting one of my paperwork goals; 3) soot gremlins. Yes. Soot gremlins…from the movies “Spirited Away” and “My Neighbor Totoro”. I made some for my daughter’s 7th birthday, along with a Totoro purse. They sort of scattered but one is now residing in the tulip bouquet on my kitchen table. It makes me smile.
Yay. I’m grateful I have caught up with Gratitude Challenge, yay :)
http://sulthanabegum.tumblr.com/post/59052104903/transform-an-ungrateful-thought
August 22 – Day 8
In my
professional life I work in television as a video editor. It is a cool gig where I am able to at times
show my creative side but also provide useful information to those in my area. Though my job does not directly deal with the
public, there are times that I have to take phone calls. Today as I was getting settled someone called
in to ask a question about the weather.
In my local area thunderstorms are almost clockwork, spouting up just
around 4PM each day. Many of the
residents are aware and plan each day for rain, which will blow through for
roughly an hour or two. It was a bit
before storm time though when I was arriving and I was not yet fully prepared
for my evening when I took the call. The
guy on the other end first asked for another worker who is an expert on the
situation, which one was not available at the time. Instead of allowing me to
ask if he could hold or call back once someone could answer his question, he
decided to ask me. During the call he
repeated himself several times and seemed to ramble a bit. It did not allow me
to give any sort of answer for a good three minutes, which in my world of
thirty second clips is an eternity.
Though never said out loud, I could feel myself wanting to just yell for
him to shut up and accept the answer I was finally able to give once his
talking ceased long enough for me to give one.
It is common for many in my industry to refer to these people as “dumb”
or “crazy” depending on their topic. By
the time I was able to finally get off the phone with the guy I was clearly upset
and not in the mood for any other humans.
As I began to tell the story to someone next to me I looked over at a
map and thought about his ramble. The
man, though confusing and repetitive with his words, was basically concerned
for himself and those around him. I am
sure that I might go back on this at some point, but I feel as if I should
simply allow the people to call and be happy that they are. Even if I am not an expert, these people
trust my knowledge on given situations as I am here where the action is
collected. I hope to not allow my
personal attitude get in the way of helping others with information they need
to know in the future.
Three Things Grateful for Today
–
New coffee and tea machine at work was
refilled. That means more spiced chai
tea which helps to wake up the tired body and mind.
–
Throwback Thursday with many of my internet
friends. I found an old photo from one
of my Cancun trips years ago and made it my new profile picture. It reminded me that I have 50 days left until
my vacation.
–
So I had written out today’s entry only needing
one more thing to list and to be grateful about. I decided to grab lunch, and on the way
figured I would stop at my house and let my dog out. I have been with Tyson for about 1 ½ years
with him moving in shortly after my ex-wife left. It was a real challenging time for me back
then and in many ways having a pet saved my life. He gave me a reason to go home each night,
which I didn’t have after the breakup.
Anyway I opened the door to find Tyson greeting me at the door. This is normal for when someone else is home,
but not when he is alone. It is a big
puppy and can be destructive. Tyson has
chewed several items in the house including headphones, broken mini blinds
trying to go after something outside and has caused other forms of damage out
of boredom and be separate from his master.
I was confused to find him out but quickly found that he had slipped
through a side of his crate, bending the metal enough to pass. In the process his water bowl was knocked
over and had soaked his blankets along with some of my clothes that were
out. As with anyone who might find this
I got a bit upset and found myself yelling at the dog. I then stopped first remembering that dogs
don’t speak English but also thinking about today’s lesson. The mess made could have been worse, with
other items chewed or broken. More
importantly I could still be at home cleaning up after him as dogs have a habit
of using the bathroom inside when scared, which he was likely afraid of the
passing storm. It had only been three hours since I was last home but enough
time for an 80 pound animal to cause serious damage. I was able to clean the mess up instead
quickly putting the soaked items in the wash and securing the side of the crate
with a bungee cord that was in the garage.
Hopefully that and a few more ties that I stopped for while grabbing
dinner will keep him inside the crate from now on when I need for him to be
inside. As for Tyson he should by now
have my roommate at home to release him from “doggie jail” for the night and
for the weekend since the roommate is free from work the next few days. Though my neighbor and I are working on
building an outdoor pen for while I am at work during the day, there will be
times when Tyson must stay inside the house for a bit. I hope that a few changes will allow my
overgrown fur baby to stay happy and safe during those times, but also keep my
items safe from destruction.
I have to say this transforming worked like magic. Now I see the difference between negative&positive thought and un-thankful&thankful thought (although it’s actually the same thing in its essence (un-thankful=negative, thankful=positive) but the transformation itself is different!)
Negative&positive thought:
I often ask myself: what is good about this situation? And I try to replace/change the negative thought with positive one. But sometimes it kind of feels like convincing myself into something I really do not believe. Maybe that is because of the meaning of replacement/change: if I replace/change something (a negative thought), it means it doesn’t exist anymore cause I replaced/changed it with/into something else (a positive thought). And that means I don’t admit the negative thought. But a negative thought is also a part of me. Why would there be a part of me, that I do not want to admit it?
Un-thankful&thankful thought:
In this case I don’t try to deny the un-thankful thought. I leave it there and just look on the other, grateful side. And it doesn’t feel like convincing myself, but it feels like searching for something that is already there, I just have to find it. And I find it with my heart, not just with my mind. That is why I see it as transformation. From the “gratitude point of view” I feel, gratitude brings feelings. Replacing negative thoughts with positive ones is happening only in my mind, that is why I don’t really believe it, cause I don’t feel it. And I see two more plus in transformation: it is easier to recognize the un-thankful thought (at least today it was) and once the transformation is done, the un-thankful thought doesn’t come back :).
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Today I had this un-thankful thought, when a client wanted to have a meeting: I don’t want to have this meeting, it is a waste of time (it actually really is!), I will tell my boss why is a waste of time and I hope he will agree with me. I really hope he agrees with me, fingers crossed. And I also do not want to have this meeting cause it is out of my comfort zone.
The transformation went like this: if my boss decides that I will have this meeting it is OK, because: that is my job, it is a chance to have a meeting (I will one day have more of them and I have to start once, so why not this time), I will prepare for the meeting the best that I can (if there will be something I do not know, I can ask my boss; if there will be something I forgot, I can call a client later), it is a chance to go out of my comfort zone, it will be a challenge, it is great that I have this job and a chance to learn.
Because of this transformation I felt peace: I left the decision about the meeting to my boss with no more “hope I don’t have this meeting, fingers crossed, pleaaaaseeeee”. And I was actually OK with whatever decision he would made.
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Today, I am grateful for:
– all new ideas for better organization at work,
– a guy who said “soooooooory” from his car when he drove with his car in front of me (not on purpose) while I was riding my bicycle (I wasn’t upset cause of it, but it really made my day cause of actually apologising),
– the idea of transformation an un-thankful thought into a thankful one.
At the moment I am working and studying. So today when I was coming home from work, I was thinking ‘Poor me, all I have are obligations the whole day, every day. No fun, no free time just for myself or to do whatever I want to. Even when I do something for myself I am feeling guilty because I have the feeling I should be studying :-( And so on. In short I was feeling sorry for myself.
However after reading about today’s challenge, I realised how lucky I am to have a job at all with the current economic situation in my country and so many young people out of work. Related to my studies and the seminar paper I am writing, I am happy that I enrolled into these studies as they are interesting and this is something I have wanted for a long time. The studies are not perfect but I am still benefiting from them.
3 (actually 4) Things I am grateful for today – Day 8
1. Receiving a parcel from a friend abroad
2. My boss was in a good mood
3. Relaxing walk in the evening
4. I am also grateful that the challenge today didin’t require a lot of time
1. My negative thought… ‘I don’t like how busy London is, with all these aggressive, unkind, unhappy strangers around me – this is not my home anymore.’
2. It’s great that London is busy. It means that our economy and life are moving forward. Life can’t stay the same – it always moves!
3. Transform – ‘I love how busy London is, with people living their lives and doing different things. It is buzzing with activity and positive change. So many people – so many potential friends and yoga students! This is my home and I’m proud of it.’
3…
1. I have been so focused, active and organised today at work in preparation for my week long break.
2. For the cards I bought for dan and becky’s wedding and Mandy’s birthday.
3. For phoning a contact about starting a yoga class at her centre which will open up near where I live. Thanks to my dad for meeting this lady and putting us in touch!
It’s the night of the arts this night in my hometown Helsinki (the whole city is filled with music, poetry, theatre, exhibitions… you name it, all night long). Tomorrow I’ll have to work hard writing a script to a documentary we are making with my husband and also to do some schoolwork. My friend asked me if I would join her to go listen some good bands. I would have loved to but decided not to go and started to feel sorry for myself. I then changed the tought to how interesting the project is and how fun it actually is to work with my husband. How blessed am I to have such diverse job! And also, I could have gone but decided instead to have enough sleep before the long day tomorrow. It was my own decision! Why shold I pout about that?! I’m grateful to be able to make the right decision that won’t make tomorrow a miserale but a great day :)
Three things to be grateful today:
1. Finishing a seminar work I hated writing. 10 pages of good-enough stuff done. I never need to study that anymore. Wohoo!
2. A great lunch and a long, sunny afternoon in the city drinking coffee and talking with a dear friend.
3. An evening walk with my husband, planning the future move and our projects in India.
My sister and I are planning a trip to Spain next year. It’s my turn to plan since she planned the last trip to Belize. WELL! She’s constantly asking me when am I going to make the arrangements for this part of the trip, when am I making the plane flights, when, when, WHEN! Argh. Her emails have felt like nagging of the first order. I’ve had to count to 20 before answering and read my reply many times before hitting the send button. My change in attitude took about two months. I finally let go of my annoyance at her constant questioning and realized that she’s excited! She is so excited that she is antsy with anticipation. Once I was able to view her emails in that manner, I have been able to embrace an appreciation for her joy at the prospect of being able to go to Spain for the first time in our lives. Who wouldn’t be thrilled!
Three Things I am Grateful for Today
1. Working with two amazing and talented women; they surprise me in the most unexpected ways. I couldn’t be happier to be a part of their team.
2. Teaching two back-to-back sessions on different topics and having both of them go very well.
3. A co-worker thought I was crying (I was actually laughing), so she stopped by my desk after waiting until I seemed calm and quietly asked if I was okay and if there was anything she could do for me. How thoughtful!
Ah, trip-planning! I love waiting for a holiday. It’s almost as fun as the trip itself :) Enjoy Spain with your sister!
This morning I had a phone call to which my initial reaction was to b annoyed and frustrated…. There was some electrical maintenance work needing to be done near work, and the electricity supply was due to be turned off tomorrow. We had planned for this, although it was going to be very inconvenient, and I had changed my work day to today, as I wouldn’t be able to work without a computer. I was initially cross when I was thinking of the unnecessary planning, changes and arrangements we had made – but then i stopped myself, and thought about t. The electrical work was not essential to us – so cancelling it didn’t matter – in fact it was good because it meant that our business wasn’t going to suffer and could continue as normal – and hopefully it will be re-arranged on a different day when the shop is not open, or on a day that won’t cause so much disruption to us, I decided that I would still work today, as I had planned (it was a rainy cloudy morning), and then I would only need to work a short time tomorrow, and be able to get home for most of the day – when it is forecast to be hot and sunny :) So, all is well – its so much better to look on the positive side of things, and be grateful for how things turn out.
3 things that I am grateful for today are;
The lovely lady i the flower shop who offered to re-wrap the flowers I bought, and did so beautifully.
My best friend, and a lovely catch up over tea and scones this morning :)
Our favourite restaurant still having availability this weekend, so we can take our friends there (usually we cant get in at such late notice!)
Thank you x
It is a good thing that you wrote this particular article today; I needed it, as I’m sure many do today.
Well, yesterday I wrote that my friend was leaving off to college; I currently attend a community college. Basically, the college nearest to my town; she’s residing in another state. Although, I was happy for her, I felt envious; I’m older than her by the way. I wanted to dorm; I wanted to go away, and experience the “full” college experience. But unfortunately life got in the way, lack of finances, support and motivation
On top of that, she knows what she wants to do. I’m almost done with college, and I’m more unsure of my future than when I started.
I appreciate the education I’m receiving; I appreciate what my mother can afford; I just wish things turned out a little different for me. I wish worked harder in high school; I wish I was more motivated. Maybe I would have gotten a scholarship or something.
In relation to this gratitude post, I decided to look up possible career options. I revamped my schedule, and decided to give myself something to look forward too! I’m taking a PIANO CLASS! I’m participating a lot this semester. In the paper, in Student Goverment and clubs.I’m determined to find my passion in something instead of just going with the flow.
So, my thought process before was ungrateful because I wasn’t taking advantage of my college experience. Now I attend to end the year with a bang! ^_^
I love reading your post by the way, and I intend to follow your blog for a long time!
Good luck with the Summit Conference! And I’m also wishing you the best in your life with Ken.
My blog post on today’s challenge…
http://randomthoughts-musings.blogspot.com/2013/08/gratitude-challenge-transform.html
I ‘m thinking about my country specifically its development .What make it unpleasant thought is that most people do not think about it .They r complaining. I turn it to a grateful thought by intending to work on my purpose .Change starts from within!
today i noticed manifestation of two intents one is about improving my life and the other is about having a brighter and beautiful face
I ‘m grateful to my ability (i ‘m able to forgive others)
i ‘m grateful for my break fast
wishing you the best in your life with Ken
Change does start with in. If only more people realized this, there might be less struggling. :) Good post!
Oh how timely Celes! After work I walked into my hotel room to see that the ironing board was still sitting where I left it in the morning. I was so upset that housekeeping didn’t do a good job. But as soon as I said it, I stopped for a second and thought how grateful I should be to get housekeeping in the first place. How awesome is it to walk in to the room after a long day at work and find the room cleaned up and the bed made and all supplies replenished. And there I was cribbing about one little thing they missed.
I was just being spoilt! Instantly I changed my thoughts and was thankful for housekeeping service. I wanted to find the person who cleaned my room and give them a hug!
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