Count Your Blessings
It's Saturday morning. The beginning of the weekend. For some, the first of two days of Freedom from a 9-5 job. For others, the beginning of two glorious days with family. For a few, another dreary day in a life that seems to be an endless series of meaningless activity. And yet, each of us has this same time to use as we wish.
I'm sitting inside, at my desk in my home office. The blinds are open and the day looks to be overcast. The grass and Bradford pear trees are really, really green right now, and the traffic on the road is light. An occasional sedan drives by at the speed limit. It's Saturday…who's in a hurry?
Before I felt the Freedom to be myself, to think and feel and do what I believe to be right for me and my family…
I felt trapped.
My thinking was guided by “What do they think I should be doing now?”
My husband had been diligently working on me to change this thinking. Today I hug him and thank him, because I know it took a LOT of effort on his part. His loyalty and steadfastness has been instrumental in my personal growth.
To that end: Today I am counting my blessings.
Why?
Because I found myself drifting into negative space this past week. I wondered why I was putting forth the effort. I wondered if maybe I'm not on the right path. I wondered if my little space in the world was enough (you can see in a previous post how I was talking to myself). And it's time I focused on what's good – if nothing else, to balance my mind and my thinking.
My blessings today include:
A loving, loyal, husband who thinks I'm the most beautiful woman in the world, the smartest woman he's ever known – I know because he tells me on a regular basis that he loves me and why he loves me.
My mother. At 72 (I think…she says she's 29). She has had two stents in her heart for 10+ years and recently went to the doctor for a cardiac catheterization to see if she is ‘good to go' for knee surgery. All is well – her stents are fine, she's going to have knee surgery soon and will be playing golf by the end of June. She is blessing to me because she is my biggest fan (next to my husband).
New customers!
A new customer that wants consulting time with me to help them with their internet marketing.
A new customer with business research needs (oh how I love to find information!)
New Opportunities!
A friend in the business has asked me to co-host/co-present at a weekend event in July. (more to come later when details are confirmed).
I'm going to be the Bonus presenter for an online class conducted by an outstanding sales trainer.
Baseball!
A friend has season tickets to our local AAA team and invited me to attend the game with her. I also got to spend time with a fabulous family of performers. Trust me, I was a willing audience because they truly were delightful.
Pool!
I'm going to be in an 8 ball tournament today. It wasn't that long ago that competing in public was truly not an option for me. It took being a part of a team with a strong, focused captain that played in a few tournaments these past few years. Today is my first tourney on my own.
Book Evaluation!
I was asked, and paid, to evaluate a book for accuracy and completeness. It is a ‘soon to be' published book about networking using LinkedIn. I'm considered a power user of LinkedIn and was honored to be asked and happy to help – yes, I found a few gaps and helped fill them for the publisher. I'll let you know when it's published (if you want to know how to use LinkedIn effectively you can buy the book…or you can get on my list to be notified of the next time I conduct a webinar).
And now, after writing these few blessings, I'm wondering why I was doubting my path! Because there are more blessings to be counted: friends who make me laugh online and offline, professional acquaintances who tell me on a regular basis their respect for me and my abilities, and more.
No more doubts. Time for action. I'm going to shoot pool, connect with friends, hug my husband, call my mother and read a really good book.
What about you?
When was the last time you counted your blessings? Wrote them out so that you could see them in front of you?
I think it's good to remind ourselves that we are not always what we think. We're more than just what is in our mind. And more importantly, if you're like me and get lost in those thoughts – it's really, really good to be around people who can tell you the truth about what they think of you. I've learned that they think more of me than I do!
I'd love to know your thoughts. Please share below, connect with me on Facebook or Google+.
Until next time, much success to you on your quest for personal growth.
