I don’t know about you but I feel really good about this New Year! I’m feeling strong! It’s only the second week of the year and the feeling of starting fresh is hanging with me. I hope it is for you too.
Think about what you want your 2018 to be like. When you think about it, try to be positive. If I have learned nothing else this past year I learned that when I remained positive and when I kept my focus on God and not myself, I began to feel down right good about the little things that previously annoyed me. You know, those little everyday things that you have to do that you wish you didn’t have to do. Things like cleaning the bathroom sink or cleaning the shower. The things that need to be done but you really would rather be lunching with your friends or riding your bicycle on a warm spring day.
This past year when I would focus on being thankful instead of feeling ungrateful my attitude started to change. I found myself smiling and laughing more and more. I realized that I became thankful for the fact that I had running hot and cold water in order to clean my bathroom sink and my shower. I would think about the women that came before me in history that had to cart their water into their homes and heat it over a wood stove. Yes, that sounds like it could be fun, once or twice maybe. I started to literally thank God for providing all the niceties of our modern world. The more I thanked him the less those tasks became “chores.” Do I still like cleaning the sink and shower? Not really, but I’m sure thankful to have a clean shower to hop into each morning, especially on those cold mornings when that hot water feels so good. I am thankful.
It’s really quite basic. We all have choices. We can choose to be grumpy and ungrateful and complain about everything. Or…we can choose to look at life as a precious gift and to appreciate everything we have. I think we all will reach a point in our lives where we wish we could recapture a time or a place that we took for granted. I don’t know where you are in life at this moment, but can you think of a time you wish you could have back? If you do, then take advantage of that feeling. Tell yourself your not going to take things for granted anymore. Tell yourself it doesn’t matter if someone leaves a mess in the spot you just cleaned. Be thankful and give that person a hug, tell him or her you love them and you’re thankful for them and watch a smile cross their face.
So how about it? Are you feeling like your starting strong this year?
