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Did you know how grateful I am? That you're here, right now? As we get into the season of gratitude, and we start thinking, what are we grateful for? Sometimes we're also thinking, how do we teach kids how to be more grateful for the things that they have? And you might have heard of a gratitude practice. But you might be wondering, what is it? Is it a specific set of steps that you need to do? Does it involve more of my time. So I wanted to get into some really quick and easy ways to show gratitude, why it's important, and how to get kids involved, too. So first, let's talk about why you need one. So one thing that we know is that our energy can help and you can think of this as woowoo. Or just Just hear me out for a second, your energy, if you are in a bad mood, you will attract the things that you want to attract, which is unfortunately, a bad mood. Now, you might be thinking, No, I don't want to attract more of a bad mood if I'm in a bad mood. But we know that energy can call to itself. We know that like attracts like, we see it in science, and it happens with us too. So let me give you an example of how that looks. Before you think that this is too much whoo for you. Have you ever gotten,
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you want to buy a green car, for example.
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And you just bought a green car, and it's a specific car. And suddenly they're everywhere, like you really thought you were buying? You know, there's no green cars out there. You're buying a car to stand out. But now suddenly you see them everywhere? Did the number of green cards change? No, they've always been there. But now you're looking for them. So we have something called the reticular activating system in our brain. It's basically the thing that helps us look for whatever we've decided to look for it. The problem with this part of our brain is sometimes we don't know that we accidentally are looking for things that we don't want to be looking for. And that means that if we're focused on the negative, then that's what we're looking for, even if we're not trying. Now, we also see this when I've gone on vacation. I've gone somewhere in particular. And suddenly, it seems like everyone's going there. I see posters online. No, I'm not talking about social media listing, I'm talking about the fact that suddenly, it seems like everywhere has gone to this place. It seems like everything has it on a t shirt or a bag, or you see bumper stickers, that's the reticular activating system work. So if we want to attract the good stuff, then we need to be thinking about the good stuff. Because I bet you never go outside of buying the green car and want to deliberately look for more green cars, you don't buy the green car and then go out and be like, Okay, now I'm going to count as many green cars as I see on the way home. So it works, you just see that you don't know that you basically told your brain to look for more of this particular object. Now why that is because that's what you're focused on. That's what you're focused on thinking about. So if you are focused on gratitude, and and the good things that happen in a day, what do you think happens?
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Exactly, we start bringing in the good, we start looking for all of the little teeny tiny things that make life worth living. So I wanted to teach you just a really quick what I call the 313 ways to cultivate a gratitude practice in your home. This is something that I do something that your kids can do. And it helps you really think about what's going on in your own life and what you're grateful for. But also it helps you put those good things so that you're looking out for the good things to come. So you're looking out for those opportunities to you know, maybe
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get a curriculum that you've been wanting, or it can be something like getting the job that you wanted, or finding that space, and a class or that extra five minutes of free time. A lot of things can go into this. But let's talk about what the 313 method is. So the first is when you wake up in the morning.
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Instead of saying I have to do all of this today, I want you to think about the three things that you get to do today. I know for me, I woke up this morning and I thought I get to record this podcast how
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Beautiful is it that I get to share this kind of thing with all of you,
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I get to get the biggest hugs ever. As soon as my kids wake up, they run downstairs. And literally it is my favorite moment of the day to get those morning hugs. It just, it's everything. And I get to go outside today and get some fresh air because it is going to be 70 here. And in Michigan. At the time of recording, it's almost Halloween, and the temperature can be a little bit dicey. So I get to go outside and have a really beautiful time and I cannot wait.
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So that's the first three.
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Now let's talk about the one what is the one
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the one is a connection. Because I want to be able to show someone that I'm grateful for them. So I'm gonna reach out to one person today, it could be a friend, family member, and tell them Hey, thanks for being you. Now. It doesn't have to be one of those weird and awkward conversations. This doesn't have to be a planned out thing.
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You can do it on the fly. Hey, thanks for coming over today, I really needed that.
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That can be said to a friend on a playdate at a group, you can thank your kid for something that they did for you. Thanks for getting me that water that was really cool of you. showing gratitude and connection to one person can be a stranger out there.
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But telling them something nice connecting with that one person putting that good out in the world. Oh my gosh, I love your shirt.
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That is the coolest thing ever. Where did you get it? If you've ever been complimented
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on something you're wearing?
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Maybe you think your hair's a mess, but someone compliments it outside
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feels really, really great. So again, cultivating that sense of kindness and gratitude. And then at the end of the day, three things that you loved about today, it can be the same things. Maybe for me, I love the fact that I had time to record two podcasts. I love the fact that I got the best hugs ever. And I love the fact that I got to go outside and choose the same things because all that's going to do is just cement it further that those things were amazing. Or you can pick other things.
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And I can't tell you any yet. Because the best is yet to happen today, as soon as I finished with these podcasts. So the 313 method, three things that you get to do today. Not I have to
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not I have to take my kids to gymnastics today.
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I get to take my kids to gymnastics today. And then watch as they're getting stronger and stronger.
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coolest thing ever that I get to be a part of it.
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One connection point
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with someone thanking someone for being amazing. And I know as I sit here exactly who I plan on talking to today, because there's someone at our gymnasts, our gymnastics that invited me over when we had a power outage. And we were all kind of freezing in the dark in the winter. She invited me over to get warmed up, she didn't even really know us. And now they become one of our closest friends.
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And then three things that you loved about today.
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And these are really beautiful conversations to have. Just as you're closing your eyes. Think about the amazing dreams that come from remembering all those amazing things.
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So it's a really quick and easy method to get started in gratitude. For those of you who don't want to have to keep a journal, like so many gratitude practices have, you can also write them down but you don't have to.
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You can say them aloud but you don't have to just think of
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just take your brain and train it
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to look for the gut
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and just watch what happens everyone till next time.
