So yesterday I was telling you about mine and Sarah’s technology woes. In essence, I was complaining about a magic technology box that works 99% of the time, and sometimes breaks down.
A magic technology box that can do insanely complicated calculations, change finger touches to sentences just like these, allows me to communicate with people in any corner of the globe AND look up pretty much the entirety of the worlds knowledge in milliseconds.
Thinking about it like that, it seems mad to complain right?
It was 1 year ago today (thanks Dean) that I was in the Excel Arena in London for the first day of Anthony Robbin’s Unleash The Power Within 5 day event, and something he said there has stuck with me ever since.
When you trade your expectation for appreciation your entire world changes in an instant.
It’s so easy to EXPECT things to go in your favour, to feel ENTITLED to whatever you want, and to be DISAPPOINTED when they don’t go your way.
There’s this funny part of your brain called the reticular activating system (RAS). Essentially, it focuses attention and perception on what you’re thinking about.
Ever had a friend get a new car in an unusual colour, and despite never noticing it before it now becomes ALL you see on the road?
Or start a diet, KNOW you can’t have pastry, and that become all you can see again and again and again?
That’s your RAS at play – the things you focus on (remember, trying NOT to focus is in itself, focus) become more and more frequent in daily life.
And that’s why gratuity is so important. It’s the underpinning of almost all positive psychology. Recognizing what you have, what you’re grateful for and what you want more of, instead of the things you don’t have, or the things you hate.
Positivity and gratefulness will get you more of each, anger, jealously and frustration will get you more of that too.
So how do you do it?
Simple.
The Self Journal, 5 Minute Journal and almost every other journal of that kind is built in such a way that it forces you to think of things you’re grateful for.
But if you want to do it yourself, grab a note pad, and each morning write down 3 things you’re truly grateful, and why. And each evening, write down 3 good things that happened that day and why they were good.
And if you can’t think of any, ask yourself “what would I write down if I did know?”.
It’s hard to switch it on when you’re in a huff, but if you regularly commit to staying on top of your state management, life becomes a lot better.
Remember;
Trade your expectation for appreciation and your entire world will change in an instant.
PS, my 3 for today;
#1 – Waking up early and reading in bed for an hour – I appreciate having the structure around my day which affords me the opportunity to do it
#2 – Our new interns, Paul and Niamh, coming in for their first training sessions this week. It’s an hour to have someone trust you enough to guide them for 12 weeks
#3 – Breakfast. I struggle the most with breakfast because I’m just not hungry and don’t want to eat in the morning. So when Sarah made it for me today it set me up perfectly for a good day of eating