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I was recently asked during an interview (yes, an interview) if this blog will give you an easy 5 step instruction on How To Make a Life. I laughed because I suppose it can come across as if I think I have all of the answers. I will never pretend that I do – however I am willing to put myself out in the world as I attempt to discover the best way to Make My Life. Yes, I am a Counselor by training and I have helped many individuals to make changes in their life. However, I do not pretend to have it all together and any counselor (or other helping professional who does) is not truly being honest with you or with themselves. I like to think I have obtained insight over the years and I have been fortunate enough to take this transition time in my life where I reassess what is next.The one “How To” I feel should be on every one’s list is the practice of gratitude. During my morning run/walk, rather than listen to music I chose to listen to a Ted Talk podcast on Simply Happy. There were many wonderful topics and discussions but the one which stood out was from Brother David Steindl – RaRast, a monk and interfaith scholar. He believes that happiness simply comes from gratitude.But why is gratitude so difficult for many? Many believe it is because we are such a busy culture and society and desire instantaneous results that we do more time reacting to a situation than stepping away from it. True, there are moments when there appears to be nothing to be grateful for, but they are there. Mixed in with the feelings of anger/despair or hurt there is something to be grateful for. Research shows that establishing a gratitude practice will lead to an improved change in mood in less than five days. The Ted Talk suggested a short How To Lesson in regards to developing gratitude and happiness in moments of stress. He used the example of how we learned to cross a street as children. Stop. Look. Go. Stop: Slow down. Stop multi tasking and worrying about 10 different things and take a deep breath. Look: Look at where you truly are in a situation. Explore the options. You may be overlooking things. Go: After weighing the direction you feel is best. Take off in that direction. During my darkest days of watching my Mom and Nanny battle cancer, I daily acknowledged the things I was grateful for. I had friends who were checking on me. During my most intense times of grief I have not had to worry about a 40 hour/week job that may not have understood my emotions. Most importantly I’ve been given time to slow down and look at where my life should go next. Regardless of what you may be going through I encourage you STOP. LOOK. and GO. Every given moment is a given opportunity to be grateful. 
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I definitely needed this. I work 2 jobs and very seldom have time to myself to do the things I absolutely love to do. It’s important to remember to just slow down and think about what direction I want to head in the future.
Stopping by from Jack of All Trades // Great post. I also work in mental health + it’s funny how people assume that anyone who works professionally in the field must have all the answers in life. Gratitude is so key to accepting where we’re at, and loving every bit of it. I loved this!
Sometimes I think being in the mental health field does help me to be more aware of how I am living my life. Saying gratitude is key is so true, basic and needed. I think people expect it to be more complicated but it truly isn’t. So glad you stopped by!
Wonderful thoughts! It’s so easy to get caught up in how bad things are, or how bad we perceive them to be, but really, we are more blessed than we realize! Gratitude is certainly something we need to practice and work on each day. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
You are so correct. It can become so easy to rush through our days that we truly don’t appreciate what we have. So glad you stopped by!
Taking a step back and being thankful is SO important!
I know for me gratitude is such a way to keep my life and my mind in a better perspective.
I agree with you that gratitude is something that everyone should practice!
Just stepping back and getting a different perspective can change everything. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
This is an excellent post. I often forget to be grateful for everything I have, even in moments when I’m not stressed. Thanks! It’s an important reminder.
Ah, I love this Sheryl! I know I need to work on gratitude more, thanks for this!