The power of gratitude

January 3, 2012:

Yesterdays question was... "what are your hopes and fears for the new year?" This question must not have got to the heart of it with my spouse. The conversation was not memorable. Although Perry and I didn't wax eloquent for long on the topic.. I asked some other friends the question. And I thought about the idea personally, a lot.

My fear is of change. I like life to be predictable and in the month of January some "big rocks" in my life may change. One of them being my professional work. I asked the blog question before reading Chapter 4 in The Law of Happiness by Henry Cloud. The chapter title is: Happy People Don't Wait For "Someday". The Chapter highlights a few different Laws of Happiness and the one that stuck for me was "Living in the present will make your stress go down and your happiness go up." That became my answer as I shared about my hopes and fears. My hope for 2012 is that I will live in the present and savor the moments that are in front of me. I am expected to be a good steward, to prepare, to work, to complete the tasks assigned and then "leave it on the court," as they say in basketball. With basketball you train, prepare, have good sportsmanship, play hard and enjoy the team dinner after the game. Once I have completed the work, filled out the applications, finished the interviews, reviewed our budget, I can walk away and "let it go." This is a simple concept that is not easy. And it is my goal for 2012 - to "leave it on the court" and enjoy dinner with my family.

Tip for today: Pick one activity today that you do wholeheartedly. Go for a walk without your cell phone. Listen to your child after school without your PDA in hand. Look at your spouse in the eyes and hear what they say without words. Enjoy the moment!!!