50 Things I’m Grateful for Right Now

Coaches often make gratitude sound easy. Like it’s a switch you can flip on when you feel like it. Or like all you need to do is find someone with bigger problems than your own to put things into perspective.

That would be nice, but  it’s not that simple.

Let’s look at the definition of gratitude.

Note the use of the words, quality and readiness. Not only is gratitude a quality {characteristic} you need to possess, but you also you have to be ready to express it.

Why is Being Grateful Hard?

Let’s say you’re a bit of a negative Nancy {that’s my mom’s name, but has nothing to do with her…} learning how to adopt an attitude of gratitude is gonna be hard. Like most things, you’ll have to practice. After all, you’ve been practicing doing it your way for a very long time.

And yes, in order to fully embrace gratitude, you’ll have to be willing give up some of your negative patterns like jealousy, blame and pity parties. Whether you realize it or not, those are things that serve some purpose in your life… even if they’re just your way of feeling comforted when you’re frustrated.

Hmmmm… sounds like when someone tells you to follow X diet and to lose 12 pounds in a month. In case you haven’t figured it out by now, that’s not going to happen. ‘Cuz life. And ‘cuz you’ve been doing it your way for a long time. And ‘cuz when you want to make a major improvement in your health you have to give up some things that serve a purpose in your life that aren’t best for you. Like nightly bottles of wine to relax. Yup, change is hard.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been talking a ton about gratitude {and ways to be more productive} with our coaches and members at the gym. I love the positive vibe and reading the gratitude board as it slowly fills up through the month. Yesterday, I noticed someone wrote down something they are NOT grateful for. It was just a small thing and I don’t know who wrote it, but it really got me thinking.

Gratitude is something you have to practice. Much like your success in your health journey, creating a change in your attitude starts with believing you can. One little baby step at a time. Know that you’re going to get frustrated with little things and you’ll have days where gratitude is the last thing on your mind. That’s okay. Just like when it comes to most tough things, there’s no liner path to success.

My Attitude of Gratitude Practice

I’m generally a pretty darn positive person, yet I had one of “those” weeks last week. Nothing major, just lots of small things not going as planned, one after another. I felt like I didn’t have any right to complain because I knew it could be so much worse and personally know many people fighting through huge things right now.

My worries were small. I knew that. I could have convinced myself that I had reasons to whine. Heck, I tell my clients they don’t ever have to apologize for their concerns, even if they seem small in comparison to someone else’s. Sure, perspective is beautiful, but if you’re worried or anxious about something, it’s your feeling and who am I to tell you if it’s okay to feel that way right now?

As silly things kept going wrong, I kept thinking about our member contest. I kept practicing focusing on gratitude and slowly things started to shift. It got easier as the week went on as I sent texts to my husband about what I’m grateful for, took deep breaths and kept finding the good in little mishaps.

I realize this is going to be much harder when the issues are larger, but I’m learning there may be something to this gratitude thing after all. Even if being more grateful means your pity parties are a bit shorter and further in between, that’s a very good step in the right direction.

50 Things I’m Thankful for in This Season of Life

A few months back Mike and I wrote a list of 50 things we’ve learned in 5 years of owning a gym. Once we came up with 50 in a very short amount of time, I realized I could have written 500.

In sticking with improving my gratitude practice, I wondered how long it would take me to come up with 50 things I’m grateful for, big and small. Just like I discovered in our business lessons, it was pretty darn easy. I could’ve kept going. And I bet you can too.

1. God. I’m here. And blessed.
2. My hysterical 2-year old. I can’t even take his huge personality stuck inside his sweet little body.
3. My sensitive, loving and hard-working 6-year-old.
4. My husband. This guy. We work together, parent together, live together and date each other. It’s hard, yet so ridiculously awesome. My mom said something to me the other day about how your relationships should bring out the best in you and I do believe we do that in each other. Usually. 😉
5. Teachers. I don’t know how you do it, but THANK YOU.
6. A great parent/teacher conference. Connor’s teacher told us he’s doing great academically, which is nice to hear. However, she also told us he’s happy, social and polite. Polite may or may not be the case at home all the time so it’s nice to hear that part from someone else.
7. My sister. It’s fun to connect in our adult lives and bond over our similarities and differences.
8. My parents. I could list 50 more things I’m grateful for about my parents alone. They’re my best friends and biggest supporters. They don’t stop giving. They’ve accepted my husband as their own and as far as my kids…forget it. They’re loved and spoiled beyond belief. I’m thankful for the examples they’ve set for me in marriage, raising a family, working hard, and making time for play.
9. Girlfriends. I would be LOST without my girlfriends. Like, seriously lost. Husbands are great (see above), but you need your girlfriends. Men and women function differently and girlfriends just get you in a different way.
10. New friends. It can be hard making friends when you’re an adult. Everyone’s busy working, raising kids, seeing family, going to 7,000 sporting events for their kids, etc. Do it anyway. It’s so refreshing to connect with others and build new relationships.
11. Old friends. You’ve seen each other’s highs and lows. Yet, no matter how much changes or how long you end up going between visits, there’s nothing more comfortable than spending quality time with lifelong friends.
12. An awesome high school education and experience.
13. Making it through college in one piece and actually getting good grades.
14. Wine. Red and white.
15. Coffee. Iced and hot.
16. Protein coffee. Making a good thing even better.
17. My ongoing nutrition coaching and accountability group. I love seeing so many like-minded individuals connecting and sharing as they keep on truckin’ in this journey towards improved health. By the way, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s not just about the food.
18. A flexible work schedule. I never realized how important this truly is when you’re a mom.
19. Podcasts. Whether I’m driving or walking or training or folding laundry… I can now still feel productive. Type A dreams fulfilled.
20. Audiobooks. I’m now actually “reading” at least a book a month which is something I’ve wanted to do since before Connor was born.
21. Taking risks. Honestly, I’m not great at this one, but my husband is. Fortunately, this means I’ve been forced to get better at this one.
22. Our house.
23. Small town living. I was a city girl for awhile and never quite pictured myself living out even further than where I grew up, but as life has gotten busier, I appreciate the silence and space so much more.
24. Nights away with my husband. The logistics can get tricky when you have two young kids, but it’s soooooo worth it.
25. Muscles and movement. Duh.
26. Our coaches at Skill of Strength. I get emails almost daily about how awesome a session went with a coach, how inspired members are feeling on Saturdays in classes…on and on. These are my favorite type of emails to get.
27. Our members at SOS. Any business owner will tell you, you meet crazy people along the way. But, I’m here to remind you, you also meet a lot of awesome people. Fortunately for us, it’s been mainly the latter.
28. Tortilla pizza. Daily.
29. Overnight oats. Also, daily and really just so delicious.
30. Food prep helping me feel like I’m winning the day every time.
31. This podcast. Particularly lately as we haven’t been getting to church.
32. Contacts. Sure, I’d like Lasik, but since I’m not a candidate I’ll take the fact that I get to wear contacts instead of glasses every day.
33. Sleep. Like this needs a description? I LOVE sleep and our new mattress.
34. Salt baths. Game changer for sleep, sore muscles and stress. Do it.
35. Warm coats and hats.
36. Cozy blankets and fireplaces.
37. Skiing. There’s nothing like a really good ski day. Not too cold, too windy or too icy. And plenty après ski afterwards. 😉
38. Massages. Now to figure out how to make them last longer than 60-90 minutes.
39. Manicures and pedicures. The only way these nails ever have color.
40. Makeup. Because some weeks you have wrinkles, zits and dark circles all at once.
41. Target where you can buy ALLL the things. And friends who harass you until you get the red card so you start saving a little more here and there. No brainer.
42. My coach. Sure I’m married to my coach, but man having a coach who knows you’re capable of more than you think you are is priceless.
43. Home gym equipment. Yup, I own a gym, but train at home quite a bit due to schedule/logistics. Money well spent…as long as you use it.
44. Babysitters.
45. Daycare. Sure, it’s scary dropping your kid off at first, but it’s so fun to see your kid start developing social skills and learning new things daily.
46. Public school.
47. American Eagle jeans. Try ’em. Even if you feel like you might be a little old. {40% off everything right now!}
48. Amazon Prime.
49. Athleta 7/8 Tights. Because I’m about 7/8 as tall as many women so they fit me perfectly.
50. YOU.

Can you take one small step towards improving your attitude of gratitude today? I know it sounds cliche, but the more you practice having an attitude of gratitude, the easier it gets to find the good in most situations.

Thanks for hanging with me here on this ‘lil blog and I hope you have a wonderful and very Happy Thanksgiving!

C’mon share 5 things you’re thankful for. GO!

XO <3

Amanda