Count Your Blessings
Gratitude Can Lead to Positive Change
Count Your Blessings
Achieving positive change in your life might seem like an uphill battle at times, but your mindset can have a big impact on how successful you are. One of the keys to positive changes that I have experienced is living my life from a position of gratitude. I choose to always be thankful for my situation because I have come to understand that while things can be better, they can also be worse. During the difficult times in my life, I understand that things can be more challenging and successfully use that fact to muster up the strength to push through.
As we make our way to Thanksgiving 2022 here in the USA, I wanted to share some of my blessings and to give thanks for all I have achieved. I am grateful for many things and continued blessings! God’s grace and mercy has played a major role in the milestones that have occurred and not the least of which is my continued health and mobility. There have been many other blessings as well, a new business, thriving children, continued employment, spiritual growth and increasing maturity, ongoing ministry outreach and others. This list goes on and I continue to acknowledge my blessings, even in difficult times. Doing so helps me keep a positive mindset.
This past summer, I unexpectedly spent a few days in the hospital. The result was favorable; however, lifestyle changes were a necessity. As a result of the changes, I am more healthy, alert, and grateful for the positive impact. Of course, the outcome of my health scare could have meant an inability to function in the same way as I have throughout my adult life, but that did not come to pass, which is one of the many blessings I have experienced this year. Another good thing that I recognize is that I can make life changes (in most cases) without any significant temptation to fall back into old habits. Don’t get me wrong, it is difficult in some instances, but that is not true across the board for me.
Since the beginning of 2020 (almost three years now), my wife and I have been focusing on better eating and a healthier lifestyle, but the pandemic years included understandable stress and many other forces that seemed to operate against our diet and activity goals. 2020 started well. I had lost 25 pounds by the summer, and we were walking roughly 7 miles daily. Later in the year, as the fall was in full swing, all the weight loss wins evaporated as the cold fall weather began to appear. The COVID weight gain showed up in a big way as the holiday season got into full swing.
At the end of the winter in early 2021, we went back to the business of healthy eating and walking, but much to my dismay, I dealt with a couple of injuries that limited my mobility. The most aggravating was a foot injury, and we therefore spent less time outside. As you would imagine, spending months with my foot elevated added to the weight gain but a breakthrough happened, the foot injury subsided in the early fall of 2021. I was blessed with the ability to walk again and took advantage as the season began to transition from summer to fall. The result is that I have now lost just about all of the COVID weight and I’m on track with my mid-term health goals.
The people in my life are another reason for my gratitude in this season. My wife and children are dear to me. My siblings, close friends from my college days and many of my church ministry friends and fraternity brothers also make up a network of people that willingly engage me in difficult conversations, provide advice and counsel when appropriate, and serve as my accountability partners as necessary. I have a wonderful village surrounding me, and they support me in difficult things and joyful things alike. I hope for many additional years of relationship.
Why You Should Acknowledge your Blessings
Of my many blessings this year, I have mentioned a couple that I have experienced. The power of acknowledging those blessings can include several benefits:
- It allows you to keep a positive outlook.
- It often provides the fuel needed to continue to press forward.
- It can dispel the myth that nothing good ever happens to you or in your life.
- It creates a mental record of positive outcomes that you’ve experienced and can be the catalyst you need to believe you can change your habits.
- It can give you proof that you are capable of successfully making changes in your situation.
Reflections
As you reflect on your own journey in 2022, what things are you counting as blessings? What things or people do you hold dear, and have you considered saying that you are grateful for their presence in your life? Lastly, have you considered that if you have things that you count as blessings, then maybe you too can dispel the myth that nothing good ever happens in your life?
Once you realize there is power in creating a mindset that can propel you forward, you only need to create a plan to attain your goals and celebrate all victories, big or small, along the journey. If you want to make positive changes in your life, I encourage you to start by counting your blessings. Happy Thanksgiving!
Professional Coaching from Hope Byus LLC
For those of you who could use an accountability partner for ongoing extra inspiration, a life coach can help you to find out what you need and can help inspire you to get there. Our goal is to successfully support you in realizing your full potential and assist in giving your life a new direction. Our task oriented, collaborative sessions will help you to identify any problems and concerns that stand in the way of achieving your goals, and we will support you in applying the actions I shared earlier. We understand that breakthroughs require growth and growth requires vision followed by consistent action to successfully reach your goals.
