Stellar Life Design Newsletter June 2009
On Gratitude
To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. Johannes A. Gaertner
Today I am grateful for the beautiful blue winter sky, the glass of delicious freshly squeezed orange juice I am drinking as I write this, meeting a new client later today, going out for lunch with a fellow coach and friend, and for the red hot pokers I see outside the window. It is so easy – and quick – to be grateful for all the good things in our lives and our environment when we put our minds to it.
Wikipedia defines gratitude as “a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive”. Putting our attention on positive things in our lives, and things that we are grateful for, helps us to appreciate all the good things that are going on for us, and to experience life more joyfully and peacefully.
Research studies have shown that people who are more grateful are happier and experience more well-being; they are less depressed, less stressed and more satisfied with their lives and their relationships. Grateful people also appear to have greater control of their environments, their life purpose and their acceptance of self, and are better able to ask for and to receive help and support. They are more likely to learn and grow from difficulties that they experience, and are better able to plan how to respond to problems. And they sleep better! I can attest to all of these benefits, and I urge you to try it out for yourself.
When I was training to be a Life Coach under the wonderful and wise Martha Beck, she encouraged me to find five things to be grateful for every day – and not the same five things every day. At first I used to struggle a bit to find five different things every day, but then I realised that there is SO much to be grateful for every single day, that I now sail though this practice (which I apply every morning). The trick, I think, is to allow yourself to be grateful for small things as well as big. So as well as being grateful for your family, friends and living in this beautiful country of ours, you can also recognise the smaller things – birds in the trees, a great cappuccino, the smile of stranger.
Oprah does it, Martha Beck does it, why don’t you do it too? Take a couple of minutes every day to give thanks for the good things in your life. I think you will like it.
I wish you a happy and gratitude filled June!
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.
Cicero
Judy
Coming Up….
I am happy to announce that the “It’s Never Too Late” e-course for Adult Children is now available on demand. All you have to do is mail me and we can set the process in motion. This is what some of the participants on the e-course have been saying about it:
“... I am shaking from the realisation that I can have the life that I want”
“...doing this course is such a help on this perpetual work in progress activity.”
“I woke up this morning feeling that I suddenly live in a different reality, a very exciting one!!”
“I am having lots of revelations and even comfort in seeing where issues stem from and I can feel my self esteem slowly getting so much better”
I am also really excited about converting the materials into my first e-book called “Into the Light” which will be available for online purchase next month.
Excerpt from book
Fiona and I had a wonderful time with the amazing people who attended the first “Design Your Life – Differently” workshop we had on 17 May.
“I LOVED Sunday - the people, the work, the vibe, the food and snacks, the horses, the horses, the horses... Thank you - for your preparation and your insights. To be able to speak and feel in an environment that is supportive and caring but yet direct is wonderful. and to have the chance to be that close to those magnificent animals - amazing - I will never look at them that same way again... “
“Thank you so much for the day. I really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it.”
We are planning the next one and can’t wait to see you there.
Please visit the website www.stellarlifedesign.co.za for details of future courses and workshops.
Stellar Life Design Newsletter June 2009
On Gratitude
To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. Johannes A. Gaertner
Today I am grateful for the beautiful blue winter sky, the glass of delicious freshly squeezed orange juice I am drinking as I write this, meeting a new client later today, going out for lunch with a fellow coach and friend, and for the red hot pokers I see outside the window. It is so easy – and quick – to be grateful for all the good things in our lives and our environment when we put our minds to it.
Wikipedia defines gratitude as “a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive”. Putting our attention on positive things in our lives, and things that we are grateful for, helps us to appreciate all the good things that are going on for us, and to experience life more joyfully and peacefully.
Research studies have shown that people who are more grateful are happier and experience more well-being; they are less depressed, less stressed and more satisfied with their lives and their relationships. Grateful people also appear to have greater control of their environments, their life purpose and their acceptance of self, and are better able to ask for and to receive help and support. They are more likely to learn and grow from difficulties that they experience, and are better able to plan how to respond to problems. And they sleep better! I can attest to all of these benefits, and I urge you to try it out for yourself.
When I was training to be a Life Coach under the wonderful and wise Martha Beck, she encouraged me to find five things to be grateful for every day – and not the same five things every day. At first I used to struggle a bit to find five different things every day, but then I realised that there is SO much to be grateful for every single day, that I now sail though this practice (which I apply every morning). The trick, I think, is to allow yourself to be grateful for small things as well as big. So as well as being grateful for your family, friends and living in this beautiful country of ours, you can also recognise the smaller things – birds in the trees, a great cappuccino, the smile of stranger.
Oprah does it, Martha Beck does it, why don’t you do it too? Take a couple of minutes every day to give thanks for the good things in your life. I think you will like it.
I wish you a happy and gratitude filled June!
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.
Cicero
Judy
Coming Up….
I am happy to announce that the “It’s Never Too Late” e-course for Adult Children is now available on demand. All you have to do is mail me and we can set the process in motion. This is what some of the participants on the e-course have been saying about it:
“... I am shaking from the realisation that I can have the life that I want”
“...doing this course is such a help on this perpetual work in progress activity.”
“I woke up this morning feeling that I suddenly live in a different reality, a very exciting one!!”
“I am having lots of revelations and even comfort in seeing where issues stem from and I can feel my self esteem slowly getting so much better”
I am also really excited about converting the materials into my first e-book called “Into the Light” which will be available for online purchase next month.
Excerpt from book
Fiona and I had a wonderful time with the amazing people who attended the first “Design Your Life – Differently” workshop we had on 17 May.
“I LOVED Sunday - the people, the work, the vibe, the food and snacks, the horses, the horses, the horses... Thank you - for your preparation and your insights. To be able to speak and feel in an environment that is supportive and caring but yet direct is wonderful. and to have the chance to be that close to those magnificent animals - amazing - I will never look at them that same way again... “
“Thank you so much for the day. I really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it.”
We are planning the next one and can’t wait to see you there.
Please visit the website www.stellarlifedesign.co.za for details of future courses and workshops.