Whatever is going on in your life currently, the following exercise is a lovely way to reflect on your year!
 
We are near the end of the year and preparing for the holidays with family and friends. It is a time for giving, sharing time together and attending social events.  But there are some of us that struggle at this time of year.  No matter, how hard your year may have been, there are always good things - blessings you’ve had throughout the year.
 
When we remind ourselves of all the things that we are grateful for, they help create positive neurons in our brain. The phrase “Neurons that fire together, wire together” was phrased by Canadian neuropsychologist, Donal Hebb in 1949. It means that every thought, feeling, physical experience we have forms a neural network. When we repeat certain thoughts, tasks over and over, the brain learns this new way as being the new normal. The more we are grateful, the more ingrained this practice becomes and the easier it is for our brains to automatically process gratitude.
 
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow” -  Melody Beattie 
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What if Thanksgiving wasn’t one day in the year?
Use an old jam (jelly) jar or mason jar with a bunch of coloured sticky notes.  Sit down in the evening for 5-10 minutes each night for the next few weeks and look back over this past year and write down the things that you are grateful for that you experienced during the year.  It doesn’t take long.  This is a fun project to share with your kids and loved ones. I have done this with my family and we have used Thanksgiving Day to open our jars and read several of them out loud to everyone at the dinner table.  This jar of gratitude notes can be opened on New Year’s Eve or even on New Year’s Day before the beginning of a New Year!  You will be amazed at how quickly you will fill up your jar. They are also a wonderful keepsake to have to look at years from now as reminders of all the many small things that make your life a blessing.
 
My youngest daughter used this idea to give as a gift to her best friend when they were 10 years old. Instead of what my daughter was grateful for during the year, she wrote on the sticky notes, all the things she was grateful for in her best friend. All her great qualities and how she valued their friendship. She gave it to her friend on her birthday.  I also received one on my birthday from my daughter and it is very special to me. There is nothing like getting a jar full of positive statements of love about you to cheer you up!  This can be done for your partner or spouse too to show them you appreciate them and love them. 
 
Happy Thanksgiving to you all this week!

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“Honesty is the fastest way to prevent a mistake from turning into a failure.” – James Altucher
  
In one of my recent Vlogs, I talked about blaming others when we find ourselves overwhelmed with challenges. We don’t take responsibility for our actions and act like a victim, helpless to our situation.
 
When we make mistakes, we do the same – we try to blame others because it’s just too painful to feel like we failed. But if we don’t take responsibility for our mistakes, we avoid all the learnings. We must admit our mistakes, be accountable for our actions, move away from blame and move towards understanding what went wrong. There is no shame in making mistakes, only in not learning from them. Many of us feel when we fail, we are failures, when we make a mistake, we are a mistake. This is of course not true but the shame of failing sometimes is so great, it feels that way.
 
Mistakes are a learning opportunity but in learning, one must be willing to be completely honest about the facts. Learning requires ownership – I allowed this to happen knowing or unknowingly. I need to figure out what went wrong, unemotionally, and understand why whatever happened, happened!
 
Don’t compare the next time with the last time because the situation won’t be the same. Every situation will have a different outcome when new learnings from previous mistakes are applied.
 
Change your perspective – making mistakes is showing you are trying new things, experimenting and being courageous. If you never make a mistake, never take risks, you are not growing and developing your true potential.
 
How many of us have failed at something we are attempting to do, accomplish, or achieve? The correct answer is all of us – everyone of us fail from time to time. What do you do when you make a mistake? Do you give up, move on to something else or do you dust yourself off and start over?
 
Successful people certainly do the latter – develop resilience, tenacity and have a ‘can do’ mentality. Mistakes/failing is not the end but rather a bump in the road, a stumbling block, something to be avoided in the future.  Mistakes reviewed equals possible future successes. Lessons learned builds resilience, leads to a growth mindset and creativity in individuals who cannot be kept down or held back.
 
So next time you find something failed or a mistake was made, ask yourself:

• Did I give myself enough time to complete the project or task?
• How would I do the project next time, based on what I learned?
• Did I share my lessons with anyone, get another person’s perspective?
• What do I need to do to insure I don’t repeat my mistake?

 
There will be any number of questions that arise after your review, but that is good, take the time to answer the questions – these will help you create your roadmap to avoid similar failures, and future success. Taking responsibility is always key, and the more you review, the more you will make improvements and grow.

If you would like help in applying this to your life, personal or business - please click here to book in a complimentary call with me Schedule-A-Call​