In general, I’m an optimistic person. I don’t dwell on negative thoughts too much. But sometimes I have episodes in my day or week or month when these toxic feelings take hold of me for a while.
One exercise that immediately deletes my negative thoughts is to count 10 or more things that I’m grateful for in the last 24 hours. Sometimes I do it in my mind while lying in bed. Sometimes I write them down. Like today. Here are 16 things that I’m grateful for today in the reverse order: 1. That I had a good night’s sleep; 2. That I didn’t check my phone in the middle of the night; 3. That I didn’t check my phone before going to bed; 4. That I said “I love you” to Ausra last night; 5. That we watched a romantic movie “Two Weeks Notice” together; 6. That we ate a juicy and sweet watermelon while watching this movie; 7. That I picked up apples that were fallen under our 5 apple trees; 8. That I drew "Pinky and Spiky Underwater" comic strip; 9. That I wrote a post “Whom To Ignore”; 10. That I ate tasty blueberry dumplings that Ausra’s mom cooked for lunch; 11. That Ausra and I came up with a funny theme for this week’s Pinky And Spiky Drawing Contest (Spiky Cuts Himself); 12. That I cut myself while shaving; 13. That together we cleaned our house; 14. That together we practiced our organ duet program for the upcoming recital at St Paul’s Cathedral in London next Sunday; 15. That we ate a tasty omelet which Ausra had made for breakfast; 16. That one Total Organist student sign up in the morning; As I wrote this list down for you, the first 6 were kind of easy to remember and the rest were much harder. But I have to keep going until the list of 10 is complete. Sometimes even 15 or 20. Don’t give up when it’s tough. Notice that not all of the things on this list will be positive because I have to be grateful for negative things too because they may lead to some positive outcomes or because they are a good exercise in humility. So there you have it. My 16 things that I’m grateful for today. AS soon as I wrote them down, I feel positive energy and happiness run through me again. I’m ready to create today. Try this exercise today and let me know if it helps.
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