How to Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is the perfect reminder to be grateful and give thanks for all our blessings.

Even on our worst days and during our most trying times we have so much to be thankful for.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret…you don’t have to wait for Thanksgiving to show and give thanks.

By starting each day with gratitude, we are able to flip our perspective on life and the day ahead. An attitude of gratitude can shift your entire outlook.

A few ways I like to give thanks daily and express my gratitude:

• I write down 3-5 things I’m grateful for each day

• I verbally share my thanks with those around me

• I quietly say 3 things I’m thankful for before I meditate

Find a way to express your gratitude, something that works for you. From experience I can say that writing it down or saying it out loud can be very powerful, and it will actually help shift your nervous system into a more parasympathetic state.

Photo By Jontel Chere

Holiday Journaling Prompt

Hi Friends! Can you believe we are only 16 days away from Christmas?? The holidays are in full swing in my book. This time of year can be one of the most stressful, overwhelming and lonely times of year for many of us…in a “normal” year…but it’s 2020 and these feeling are x100 for so many.

I am a big advocate for daily journaling…daily as in every single day…not just when your life is upside down. Daily journaling helps us to get all those thoughts out of our heads. We can put them to paper and decide, “hey, that’s a great idea Jen” or “hmm…yeah, I’m going to put that negative energy aside”. Journaling allows us to be unbiased and write/communicate without ANY judgement…that’s kind of amazing!

For many of my clients I recommend journaling as a way to begin communicating with themselves, be truthful and honest with their feelings in a completely judgement free zone. Often times many of us hold back on communicating our true feelings for fear of rejection, ridicule or fear of not being understood. At our core we all want to be seen, heard, valued and understood. This all starts with us, within us.

I have been journaling on and off for years, and have dozens of journals piled up in my office as we speak. However, it wasn’t until this year that I really stuck with a daily journaling practice - remember it takes a minimum of 21 days to start a new habit!

Now that I have I can not imagine going back. I’m someone who constantly has a million things going on in my head (and on my desk). I am working on projects well into 2021 and early 2022 (yes…insane but so exciting!!)…and journaling helps me to clear my thoughts professionally, personally, and on a deeply emotional and spiritual level some days. I am able to get everything “off my chest” and onto paper. The act of writing it down helps me to immediately feel better, more organized, and more rational in my thoughts. Sometimes my journaling looks more like a to-do list, some days it’s just my gratitude list, but regardless of what I journal I always feel better.

Back to the holidays…

Stress and depression tend to be at an all time high this time of year, ironic since this is supposed to be the happiest time of the year. To help my fellow readers, clients, and followers out I thought I would give you a holiday journaling prompt to help guide you through this time of year.

Start by writing down 3 things you are grateful for (don’t overthink it…just the first 3 things without judgement).

Then write down what your ideal holiday season would look like. (dream BIG)

Then take a moment to reflect on this list, and see what you can possibly accomplish this year (COVID-19 and all). Did you want a family dinner on Christmas…okay, FaceTime or Zoom call with your family. I know people who all make the same recipe then video chat and share the meal together.

You do not have to be alone this holiday season.

What else can you accomplish from your ideal holiday season? You want to open presents with your family and friends, okay great! You want to bake cookies with your Mom, awesome! You want to send Christmas cards, do it! There are so many ways in which we can all be together this holiday season…without actually being together IRL.

Write it all down…dream big…allow yourself to smile and fantasize about the holidays. Allow that holiday magic to fill the air.

If we continue to focus on the good - the magic - it will drown out the sadness and the inevitable changes of 2020.

Just know that you are not alone, and you can always return to your journal - as often as you’d like - to dream, ponder, and consider the possibilities.

This post came about because one of you recently reached out and requested tips for journaling and journaling prompts, so I began last month with my Attitude of Gratitude journaling post (if you haven’t checked it out yet definitely do so!) and thought it was a great idea! If you have any questions about journaling or would like more journaling prompt comment below and let me know!

What I am most thankful for this year...

Wow, what a year!

I had very different plans for this year. If you are anything like me then you have been through it this year. I feel fortunate that none of our hardships or tragedies were COVID-19 related, but it doesn’t take away the pain of this year.

Every Thanksgiving my family gathers together and we discuss what we are most thankful for this year. This year is going to look very different since Thanksgiving will just be my husband & I, but we will be keeping our family in our hearts (and on our phones) through the holiday.

Since it will be a much smaller and more intimate holiday season this year, I thought I would get a head start and tell you what I am most thankful for this year.

In many regards this has been the happiest year of my life, I experienced more joy than I thought possible… and with that joy and happiness I have unfortunately also experienced the deepest pain and trauma ever.. The year has been full of extreme highs and lows for me and my family.

As I sit and write this I am still healing and grieving, but through the sadness I still feel an immense amount of gratitude and thanks.

My Husband is my rock, my best friend and my life partner; I would never have survived this year if it weren’t for him, and he is what I am most thankful for this year.

I consciously choose to keep parts of my life offline out of respect for my husband (he is very private) and to keep some things sacred for me ad my family. So although news of the sadness this year may be new to most of you, we are still moving through this and appreciate the privacy and your support during this time.

I am incredibly thankful to my tribe of family and friends (and let’s be honest many of my close friends I consider family), many of which I have actually seen even more this year thanks to technology!

I am thankful for a business that has weathered the storm of 2020 and COVID-19 smoothly and some how amidst it all has remained in the black and profitable this year. Many of my friends and colleagues have lost businesses this year, so this is not something I take lightly. I am immensely grateful for Lean and Green Body®, the hard work I have put in…but also for YOU!!

I am grateful for my clients, everyone of my social media followers, the ones who like and comment on every post, who subscribe to my You Tube channel, and the ones who read my blog…thank you!! I could not do what I do without you, your support means so much!

I would love to know what each of you are thankful or this year! Comment below and let me know.

Happy Thanksgiving!

xxx

Jennifer

Attitude of Gratitude - Journaling Prompt

Journaling can change your whole perspective.

It’s not only incredibly therapeutic, but it can be a wonderful way to help clear your head.

If you are anything like me, you probably have a million things swirling around in your head at the same time. Journaling provides me with clarity. It allows me to channel and organize my thoughts.

In the mornings I write in my gratitude journal. I write down 4 things that I am most grateful for - in that moment. I don’t over think it, I simply write the first 4 things that come to my mind. Starting my day with gratitude, actually allows me to keep these 4 things front and center {and on my heart if you will} as I move through the rest of my day. So when someone cuts me off in traffic, or I’m rushing to meet a deadline, or I forgot something - I am able to breathe, reset, and bring myself back to these 4 things.

If you are reading this thinking “yeah, right…that will never work for me” trust me I get it, I was skeptical at first too. Even after years and years of journaling I was doubtful whether writing in my gratitude journal daily would keep my mind focused and positive all day. After a year of doing so, I can tell you first hand it does. In fact, some days at night when I am preparing for bed (and completing my evening routine) I think back to those 4 things, and it really helps to calm my mind.

At first I thought my 4 things would always be the same…my family, my job, etc. But after months and months of writing I can tell you that they change daily. Sure, I am always grateful for my family and my job, but the “in the moment” 4 things change daily.

Now let’s be honest, some days journaling - and even a journaling assignment as simple as this - can be tough. Some days you may wake up on the wrong side of the bed, or be working through trauma or loss, and finding even one thing to be grateful for can be overwhelming. However, as someone who has endured more loss and trauma than some experience in a lifetime, I can tell you it is possible to find gratitude daily. It is in these difficult dark times, that it’s so important to focus on the light and the simple or even mundane things that you are grateful for.

Take a moment right now and write down the 4 things you are most grateful for.. Don’t think, just write.

One of the things I like best with this exercise is that there is no wrong answer. There is no judgement when expressing gratitude. You are simply thankful, and that is it.

My favorite gratitude journal is from ESPWA but you can also just take a journal you already have and write your own 4 things in it daily.

Happy Journaling!