Gratitude + Joy

Life is full of tough, annoying, hard stuff. Real stuff. It's amazing how something like a fuzz in my eye can throw my entire day off. Like I woke up just fine but then something was in my eye the entire drive and it was so annoying. That's it! $%^@)&$(#Y*(

Why is my life so hard?! hah! Sounds silly, but I know we have all been there. What a "God thing" that I am in the middle of reading a book called - Mastering the 7 decisions, by Andy Andrews. He is one of my favorite authors. The decision I am currently reading about is, choosing joy. Joy is a choice. You can choose to be joyful. It starts with gratitude. Take that in. Insert long pause. JOY IS A CHOICE. START WITH GRATITUDE. If you are reading this post you can be grateful for access to the internet. You can be grateful you have the ability to read. Fully embrace the idea of gratitude and how important it is. Back to the fuzz in my eye.... really Self? You are really going to have a bad day and make a bad day for everyone around you because of an annoying fuzz? So I chose to STOP the whoa is me and changed it up.

Andy Andrews had an exercise in the Joyful decision: Write 100 things you are grateful for. At about 32 I got creative.......... my pillows......the trees. Can you think of 100 things you are grateful for today? When I am frustrated or angry it is so very hard to think of things to be grateful for. It's not easy. Then again, in life is anything ever easy? Not for me! Never! Gratitude doesn't come natural to me. Honestly, I am not one of those people that is happy all the time. Real life is hard. I can choose it. I can choose joy. I can choose gratitude. It will be a new habit. Stop, breathe, be grateful.

The little guy in the photo is my youngest and this picture totally sums up his personality. Silly, funny, grateful and curious. This guy enjoys life. What happen to that in me? My little one is always up for some fun. I have so much to be grateful for, I mean I get to be a mom! I have 3 kids! I am a wife. I get to share life with a pretty cool guy. Anyway friends, on this Tuesday be grateful. Turn up music you enjoy. Carry around a list of 5 things you can be grateful for today. Someone out there wishes they had your "problems". Choose joy. Smile. Make it count!