Starting Your Day with Gratitude

Every person has a way they start their day.  Some people snooze at least 4 times, some people are early risers, some lay in bed and scroll through Facebook, some require a long shower to wake up, and some get up and exercise. 

Part of my morning routine is a simple….yet highly important task.  I start my day with writing three things I am grateful for in my life.  I also write a thank you note each day or do something equal to the effort put into writing the note, but I want to discuss the topic of thank you notes for another podcast episode.  Ok, back to writing three things I am grateful for each day. 

This is easy most days, but somedays I have to dig deep to find three things I am grateful for.  Those are the days that I actually NEED this routine in my life.  To get my head right takes work, but not just once or twice a year.  It needs DAILY work.  Big Boss Mare is all about trying to stay motivated. There are things in place that I focus my efforts on every single day to keep me revved up on “go-go energy”.  Lots of people can GET motivated, but they can’t STAY motivated.  It is the same battle with all sorts of emotions.  With me focusing on being grateful, I am setting the bar of what I am ALLOWING in to my thoughts.  I once read “what you think you become, what you feel you attract, and what you imagine you create”. 

I want to become even happier than I already am.  Sheryl Crow has a song lyric that says “It’s not having what you want, it is wanting what you have.”  Being grateful helps me focus on what I have RIGHT NOW, here in the present tense. 

I want to become successful.  My children’s book series has two of the six books printed.  The third book is gearing up to go to print.  After all six books are complete then I can get rolling on what I actually want to do which is have school districts use my books as part of a character develop series for students and have a professional development training program for educators.  My children’s book series is not too different than my direction with Big Boss Mare.  Same message, just a different audience.  Having a positive body image, GETTING and STAYING motivated, and silencing our biggest critic….ourself…..are all topics that have merit.

I want to become financially fit.  If your heart is in the right place, the money will always come.  If you have ever seen the movie Field of Dreams, the famous line “build it and they will come” has been our driving force behind the trail riding facility my husband and I have built. 

I want to attract the movers and shakers of the world around me.  You are a reflection of the 5 people you associate the most time with.  Champions, dreamers, do-ers, survivors, I want to be around people that not only see the glass as half full, but they are GRATEFUL for the glass.  Think about who your top 5 people are!  Do they lift you up or do they drag you down.

I want to attract the right clients.  I am not for everyone.  I have a bold personality and often times require forgiveness.  But I absolutely love what I do and love being a positive part in people’s lives.

I want to create a high achieving sisterhood.  Big Boss Mare feels right to me.  Through the events I have created at the ranch that were centered around women, to the competitive martial arts teams I was a leader of, to teaching teams I have been part of as a science teacher, ONE common thread has always been ABUNDENTLY clear.  WOMEN SHINE IN A SUPPORTIVE GROUP.  We literally are better, we get more done, we are happier, and it starts this ripple effect of POSITIVE MOMENTUM.  For those that do not have access to this type of sisterhood, I want Big Boss Mare to fill that missing piece or help polish what they already have in place. 

Not starting your day with gratitude is setting yourself up for pitfalls….for failure.  Those low areas that negativity gravitates towards and consumes you.  Once you allow your mind to have a spark of negativity, it takes on a life of its own.  It takes up time in your mind every hour you are awake and even time when you are asleep in your dreams.  Negativity will even rob you for your sleep.  What that means in other words is that negativity can LITERALLY decrease your physical health by interfering with your bodies time to rest and recover. 

Negativity can make you into a person you are not.  It can increase your aggression and make you where you are not generous with your assumptions.  It will make you turn innocent statements or actions into calculated acts towards you. 

It can take days, weeks, months, and worst case scenario, it can take years to overcome the thoughts and actions put into place that can all be linked back to a single negative thought.

By taking the time to focus each morning on three things I am grateful for allows me the opportunity to hyper focus of what is going right in my life, to take a step back and really take in the details around myself, it makes me enjoy the little pieces of my life that can oh so easily become normal.  The taste of my coffee, the feel of having all of the dishes done and the counter cleaned off, writing with my favorite pen, receiving a phone call, petting my dog, riding my horse, cooking a meal with my husband…..all of these tasks are easy to overlook if you haven’t trained yourself to reflect back and form a gratefulness towards the small things.  In the end, it is always the small things that matter the most.

I have had several people purchase one of the planners I designed.  They fill it out for a day or two, but then they do not open it again.  I hear that they did not have time to fill it out. 

I do not believe that.  People make time for whatever they want to make time for.  They have not made IT a priority.  The “it” I am referring to is themselves.  If they had to take the time to do this for anyone else, they would.  People, specifically ladies, are notorious for putting our needs on the back burner.  We put everyone else before us.  We will be there for our family when they need us, be there for our friends when their lives are turned upside down, but when it comes to our own needs, it is the first thing we cut timewise when our lives get to moving. 

Here’s the deal, we cannot be there for others if we do not take care of ourselves first.  This includes drinking enough water, eating correctly, sleeping enough hours each day. Working out, stretching, and above all it means taking care of our mental health. 

Being proactive is ALWAYS better than being reactive.  Let me repeat that, being proactive is always better than being reactive. 

Before you find yourself in a slump, before you find yourself in some dark hole in your head, be proactive. 

We take vitamins to stay strong and healthy.

We drink water to keep from being dehydrated.

We stretch to not pull a muscle

We work out to stay fit

We save money to prepare for retirement

Why would you not take specific steps to protect your mental well-being.

Especially when it can be as simple as three things you are grateful each morning.

Lewis Howes, a best-selling author said, “If you concentrate on what you have, you’ll always have more.  If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough”.

Here are three different days three things I was grateful for:

1. Ball caps.  I love being able to put on a ballcap and not have to wash my hair one more day.
2. Booking a wedding: I love being part of this stage in people’s lives.
3. Soup: The warmth is so comforting during winter.  I love how much time it takes to sip it.
4. Horses loving treats: It makes me happy seeing them perk up for a treat.  When they are happy, I am happy.
5. David loving his cows. He loves everything about being a cattle farmer, even the things that aren’t fun such as graining them.  
6. My kitten being mean: Cats are just fun to be around and my kitten being a stinker is pretty cute.  She will act like she is going to bite me but doesn’t even really sink in.
7. Mascara: It is amazing how much better I feel about myself when I put on just a little make-up.
8. Amazon: With living in the middle of no where, it is nice to have items delivered to our home.
9. Christmas lights: My personal favorite are when they are all in blue.

When you start your day with your cup half full and a positive outlook, you are putting your best foot forward.  You, my dear friend and fellow Big Boss Mare, are worth the extra time and effort. 

Thank you-

Brandy Von Holten