Have you noticed that the standard answer to the questions ‘how was your day?’ or ‘how are you?’ is no longer ‘fine/good’, rather, it’s invariably ‘busy’. Some wear their busy-ness like a badge of honour, some thrive on being busy, many are constantly chasing their tales. Regardless, the simple truth is Life. Is. Busy.
In our household we have two adults who work full time and two teenagers at school. We’re all busy. We never get it all done. And three out of four of us are constantly (or at least often) overwhelmed. Number four (not me!), well, she is quietly and innately grateful. And she practices gratitude. I wasn’t even aware of this until 1 Jan last year, when I found her with a jar full of scraps of paper…turns out, she ends every day by writing down one thing she was grateful for that day, and pops it into the jar. The plan was always to read them all on new year’s day…which she did, but she tells me there were a couple of times throughout the year when she was feeling ‘a bit over life Mum’ – so she grabbed a handful of notes from that jar, and reminded herself of the moments and things she’d been grateful for. And felt better. On her own, and without making a big deal.
I don’t know how strong the link is between feeling overwhelmed and practicing gratitude, but we do know that there is a link between gratitude and happiness, so maybe there is something in that.
I came across this article which suggests a simple daily habit that will help you to boost your productivity and happiness; broadly speaking the habit helps you in the following areas
- Daily focus/prioirities
- Gratitude
- Self-kindness/forgiveness for your mistakes
Have a read of the article and see if it resonates with you…I might not commit to all three things, but I think I’ll take a lesson from a teenager, and start practicing gratitude…starting with her!