Gratitude with Mind the Noise

Hello poppets!

Hope you’re all well and of course Happy New Year!

A brand new sparkling year is upon us and with that comes a brand new sparkling blog post.

Today i bring to you a blog post in the form of a challenge. Thats right, today or rather this week i teamed up with the wonderful Matty for a wee challenge. This week myself and Matty will be choosing 3 things each day that we are grateful for and sharing them with you!

Who the heck is Matty?
Matty runs a wonderful blog over at mindthenoise.com where his mission is to educate others about mental health and remove that terrible stigma attached to it.

Now to the topic of the day; Gratitude. Oh the art of being grateful.
Gratitude is something i preach daily and had to learn from a very early age. I actually remember the first time gratitude played such a huge part in my life. It was the day after i left my main abusers care. I was in an apartment and for the first time in my life i was safe. I felt like the whole world had lifted off my shoulders. I remember opening the window and watching the cars, seeing the trees and hearing the birds. All things i had seen before but oh how different they were. I think that moment was the true moment i noticed gratitude. I was grateful for everything.bEven those teeny tiny things that you don’t often think about.

Over the years i lost a bit of it especially after developing mental health difficulties. I didn’t exactly become ungrateful and gratitude still had a huge space in my heart but it was hard to be grateful for a lot because life was well…hard.

Since leaving therapy however i have been making a conscious effort to be grateful for more and to hold onto that little feeling. I completely daily gratitude journals and hold them dearly to my heart.

With that note here are mine and my sweet beans 7 days of gratitude!

My 7 days of gratitude:

01.01.2017

Today i am grateful for:
– Beautiful weather
– Mindfulness
-Lunch break in the sun

Today i am grateful for mindfulness as it helped me get through a tricky shift at work. I am also grateful for the beautiful weather as i was rewarded with it on my lunch break.

02.01.2017

Today i am grateful for:
– Seeing new places
– Long walks
– Team work

Today i am grateful for traveling to new places and exploring. I am also grateful for good wholesome people and teaming together to come up with great ideas.

03.01.2017

Today i am grateful for:
– Having the strength to cope with tough situations
– Hot cups of tea
– Early nights

Today i am grateful for having the ability to deal well with tough situations. I am also grateful for hot cups of tea and early nights.

04.01.2017

Today i am grateful for:
– A wonderful day at work
– Work buddies
– Polite friendly folk

Today i am grateful for a lovely day at work with nothing but smiles and laughter. I am also grateful for my work buddies that help me do my job to the best of my ability. I am also grateful for the smiles and friendly comments made by people on my grocery shop.

05.01.2017

Today i am grateful for:
– The people in my life
– Pomegranates
– Little conversations that make me smile

Today i am grateful for special people in my life that have always showered me with love and support. I am also grateful for little red gems of goodness in the form of pomegranates (Which i am eating too many of, whoops!) I am also grateful for littlest conversations that bring so much joy.

06.01.2017

Today i am grateful for:
– A productive morning
– Songs that fill your heart
– Good food and good company

Today i am grateful for a productive morning where i got lots done. I am also grateful for the songs that filled my morning and heart with joy. I am also grateful for a wonderful evening with good food and good company.

07.01.2017

Today i am grateful for:
– Social media
– My health
– Rainy evenings

Today i am grateful for lazy mornings in bed catching up with friends on various social media platforms. Though i feel a little ill today i am grateful for my overall health and that my body has the ability to fix the little hiccups its faced with. I am also grateful for quiet calm evenings listening to the rain.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Matty’s 7 days of gratitude:

01.01.2017

Today i am grateful for:
– Nature
– Family
– New year

Today i am grateful for Waking up and being able to travel 20 minutes to be surrounded by nature and hills with my family, while welcoming in the New year.

02.01.2017

Today i am grateful for:
– Opportunities
– Never give up
– Life.

Today i am grateful for being true to myself as it has allowed me new opportunities and a new perception on life.

03.01.2017

Today i am grateful for:
– Anxiety
– Laughing
– Running

Today i am grateful for anxiety. It’s hard to say, yet anxiety has taught me so much, it has made me laugh and cry, even when on a long run.

04.01.2017

Today i am grateful for:
– Burrito
– Health
– Creative thinking

Today i am grateful for Eating vegge burritos its my favourite and I swear it makes me more creative in life lol.

05.01.2017

Today i am grateful for:
– Friends
– Job
– The ability to help others

Today i am grateful for being able to help others through my life experiences, and having friends around me who care.

06.01.2017

Today i am grateful for:
– Family
– Being able to show emotions freely
– Hot chips

Today i am grateful for being able to hug family members and being able to show my true emotions, something I have struggled with in the past. And who doesn’t like hot chips.

07.01.2017

Today i am grateful for:
– Running long distances
– My pets
– People who care

Today i am grateful for long runs to clear my mind, my pets to brighten my day and people who care can change the world you are in.

What did my 7 days of gratitude teach me?
Noting down things i am grateful for can be a real eye opener. It evens out and balances tough days as it made the good things i was grateful for overpower the tricky bits. I was also able to pick the good things out of the tricky situations. I also felt i noticed and appreciated the little things even more.

What did your 7 days of gratitude teach you Matty?
The last week was the perfect week for a gratitude challenge. It came at a time which was needed, so I could look back at what I was grateful for and see a bigger picture of my week, not just what I analysed in my head. Seeing what you are grateful for can really put things into perspective, when everything can seem to much. It will make you more feel more present as you are actually taking time out to see what you are grateful for.