One Practice You Can Do to “Wow” Yourself | VictorSchueller.com

Everything has its season, and I firmly believe that this is the season for us to take time to participate in one very important practice.  As a matter of fact, if you’re going to only focus on doing one thing between now and the end of the year — one thing that can have a huge impact on you, and absolutely allow you to “wow” yourself, you’re going to want to do this.  The best part of it is that it doesn’t take a lot of time, it is totally pleasant and fun, and it’s super easy to do.

Here’s what you do: grab a piece of paper and a pen or pencil.  Reflect on the year gone by, and try to recall as many things as you can that happened during the year for which you are grateful, or that which was a pleasant surprise.  When you think of or recall something, write it down.  See how many things you can write down.

Something you can do to help you better recall what happened would be to grab your calendar from the year.  Take a look at the months.  Maybe you wrote in a get-together with some family friends.  Perhaps you went to a concert, or watched one of your child’s events at school, or went along on a field trip.  Maybe you took a vacation or small family trip or celebrated a milestone like a birthday or anniversary.

What’s the reasoning behind this?  I have a couple of reasons I can share with you.  First of all, for some, the holidays can bring feelings of melancholy or a longing to reunite with people who have passed either this year or years past.  It’s easy to dwell on how much we miss the people who are no longer with us, and those feelings can lead to other emotions that bring us down.  By focusing on those things that we do have, rather than those we do not, we are reminding ourselves of the joys of life and things that we can be appreciative of because we still can enjoy them today.

Secondly, when we are focused on gratitude-based activities, we are affecting the neurology of the brain, setting it to a frequency consistent with joy, happiness, and positivity, which helps us see the world that we live in in a more positive light, and it helps us adopt a mindset that makes us more appreciative of life in general.  It’s kind of like when you are at the baggage claim at the airport, looking for your luggage.  If you have a red bag, you will pay attention to all the red bags that pass along, ignoring the other colors as they go by.  If you are grateful, you’ll pick up on the joys in life and sort of ignore the negatives as they pass by.

Third, I firmly believe that people underestimate how phenomenal their year was when it comes to an end.  This is your chance to “wow” yourself by looking back and seeing just how awesome it was for you, and how much you accomplished!  Just take a look at all the great things that happened throughout the year, and just think about the possibilities that lie ahead in the upcoming year!  You’ll be surprised at what you discover when you commit to this practice at year’s end.

One last thing you can do as the “icing on the cake” is to just look at your life in general.  Did you get up this morning?  Are you healthy?  Are your family members healthy?  Are you cancer free?  Do you have the full use of all of your body parts?  Can you walk?  Do you have food on your table?  Can you provide for your family?  Think about the abundant blessings that you simply take for granted every day, and realize how fortunate you truly are each and every day you’re alive.

The year’s end is a fantastic time to focus on your blessings, and remember all that is good in your life.  As you look forward to the new year, you can even start writing down the good things that come along, or you can write down some things you’d like to accomplish in the upcoming year, or simply enjoy the holiday season as it unfolds.

As I write my final blog entry for 2014, I wish you a wonderful holiday filled with blessings and gratitude.  I wish you a wonderful start to the new year, filled with anticipation, hope, and wishes for the future.  May you enjoy your blessings, and may your heart be filled with joy and love.

Take care, and as always, many blessings to you.  Happy holidays, and have a very happy new year!

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