One of the smaller and more “simple” things on the list is “Write a list of everything you’re grateful for.” I have started this and infact it’s something, IMHO, that everyone should try. Once you get started, it’s hard to stop and it does lift your spirits and help you to appreciate the simple things in life, even on the darkest of days. So, this “grateful” list will always be a work in progress and got me thinking of another twist on the name of my blog...T4four and more....
A while ago we had a team day at work and a very nice lady came to talk to us about wellbeing. As I’m sure you can imagine helping and building relationships with families whose children are seriously ill (www.sebastiansactiontrust.org), can be emotionally exhausting and it’s really important that we look after our own wellbeing so that we can help and support them to the best of our ability. This session really resonated with me....being a single parent to 3 children and working pretty much full time does not leave me very much time for my own wellbeing and self care. Often, I’m feeling overwhelmed, overworked and spread far too thin!
I am sure lots of you can empathise, even without being a single parent, life is extremely busy. Add to that all the “purple” jobs, (at the risk of sounding sexist, my friend coined the phrase “purple jobs” when we were talking about who does what in their home. She said something like “My husband does the blue jobs like fixing things, taking out the rubbish, mowing the grass etc, I do the pink jobs like cooking tea, doing the laundry and shopping. You do everything in your house, so you’re doing purple jobs!) and I sometimes feel like I am going to combust with everything I have going on! Ash has flown the nest now but even that has it’s downfall - he had finally passed his driving text just a few months before he left.....just as a little light flickered in the “help-with-lifts-tunnel”, a draught blew it straight out!
Anyway, back on topic....I was relieved to find out that the “one simple thing” this wellbeing lady was suggesting could help me feel happier, does not actually take very much time atall. She explained that “Research shows that the happiest people take the time to appreciate the little things in life” and then went on to suggest/insist that we keep a notebook and pen next to our bed and take a few minutes at the end of each day to write down 3 things (or more) we are thankful for. They can be really simple things like “no traffic on the A30 this morning” or “someone smiled at me on the bus” or “my daughter remembered to empty her lunchbox when she came in from school”. She also suggested that on the very rare occasion that you cannot find 3 things to write down, that you go and do something that you can then write down you are thankful for, be that a phonecall to a loved one, make yourself a cup of hot chocolate, have a relaxing bath, tidy up a messy corner, look at some old photographs. The other thing you can do on the really bad days when you are struggling is to go back and look at all the things you have written down previously (this is one of the reasons it’s important you write down the things you are thankful for rather than just say or think them). You will be amazed at how this works. It helps you concentrate on the positive, it helps you to be grateful for little things, it helps you smile more, it helps you think about other people more and it most definitely helps you feel happier. I haven’t been doing it for the last couple of weeks and I’ve definitely been a bit of a grump! Time to get my notebook and pen out again and start my T4four and more.....Thankful 4 four things and more....
