The Secret to Making Lasting Changes

Do you remember when I wrote about my daily gratitude focus? I had connected my feelings of abundance to being connected with gratitude and I decided I was going to do a daily gratitude focus. I realized that when I focused on the gratitude in my life I felt fulfilled, joyous, and abundant. I even wrote myself a cute little note to remind me. Who wouldn't want to do something that made them feel good right?

Did I do it? Nope. Why, you ask. Who knows. I was busy, I forgot, my mind took off in a million different directions, it wasn't a habit. Blah, blah, blah. Can you relate?

About 10 days after I wrote that blog post I was introduced to a book called Make Miracles in Forty Days. The idea was to partner up with someone and to sit down at your computer within 30 minutes of waking and making your, "I'm grateful for" list.

The secret to this is that you aren't just focusing on all the good things that are going on in your life. In fact, you are supposed to start with the things that feel like they aren't so good. For instance, I start my gratitude list on many days with something like, "I'm so grateful that the sun isn't shining again and it is f@#%ing freezing outside." You get the idea.

The reason behind this is to focus on the truth and the reality of where you are right now. To allow for gratitude for exactly where you are in the moment whether it is good or bad.

So, I've been doing this with my bestest friend in the world Carrie every morning now for 35 days. Yes, I've actually stuck to it and done it every day! That alone is a miracle.

I would say the most amazing miracle that I've noticed is that I wake up every morning and the first thing I think of is, "What am I grateful for today?" I'm not kidding. I can be stumbling from the alarm clock, half asleep and unable to open my eyes and that is what I am thinking. What a complete and amazing shift that I can see being a part of my life forever!

Do you know what else I learned? Making changes is hard. Even changes that make you feel good. Even changes that you want to make, changes that will make your life better aren't easy to make.

But I learned that it can be done and it can change your life. I learned a few secrets about how to simplify the process and how to add some accountability. I feel like I can make any change I desire now that I have the tools. I can start a new, healthy habit every month of the year. Can you imagine making 12 new, healthy habits a year? How different would your life be if you were able to do that?

I've got an idea for my next challenge. It's definitely something that can be a life-changer. I've been wanting to do it for ages and just haven't gotten to it. I decided to create a 30 day program so I can share it with all of my friends here online. I am so excited about it and I started working on it today. Stay tuned!