Your Magenta Monday Magic.
Sometimes when life gets really tough and nothing seems to be going your way, staying grateful may be the last thing on your mind.
Instead, we can unwittingly get caught up in a downward spiral of negativity.
This Oprah quote comes to mind.
“What you focus on expands, and when you focus on the goodness in your life, you create more of it.”
This also holds true when you choose to focus on the bad stuff.
Want some proof? Have you ever been with a group of girlfriends complaining about something and ended up feeling worse after the conversation than when you started?
Negativity spreads faster than COVID!
And, trust me, I’d know.
I recently became an official member of the COVID club.
It was following my dad’s memorial and like any good super-spreader, what started as a celebration of life ended with the majority of us getting COVID.
Talk about adding insult to injury!
Like my sister said, “Boy, it was a fun time but the party favors sucked!”
I hardly ever get sick and, and although it was a relatively mild case, I didn’t feel good at all.
And when I was in that compromised state, I found that it was easy for me to feel really sorry for myself.
Wah wah wah.
Not only did I apply this feeling to my personal state of misery, but I also extended it to include all of the crappy things that were happening in the world.
Just added proof that we were all going to hell in a handbasket!
I was focused on the negative - how I was feeling- and by doing so, that negativity expanded to encompass the ways of the world at large.
“What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.”
It wasn’t until day 3 of my illness that I got tired of feeling sorry for myself and chose instead to focus on what I was grateful for:
that my house is large enough (and empty enough) for my husband and I to safely cohabitate without putting him at risk;
that I am so lucky to normally have excellent health and a mild case of Covid made me recognize how grateful I should be for that;
that I was given the chance to mourn and grieve with my family when so many didn’t have that kind of opportunity during the height of the pandemic.
As I took on an ‘attitude of gratitude’, my mood lifted.
I started to have more energy, and I began to find more and more things that were uplifting instead of sucking on life’s lemons.
Monday Mindshift
I have attached the Live BRIGHTer Blueprint for your use in diving deeper into developing your gratitude practice throughout this month and on your own.
Activity:
Make a list of the things you take for granted - your home, your spouse or partner, your health, your kids
Imagine what it would feel like to be without that thing? What would your life be like?
Imagine getting them back one by one. Consider how grateful you’d feel.
Continue with gratitude practice - At least 3 things every night.
Now, this doesn’t mean we can’t feel sad or in shock or angry about a situation – especially at first. But ask yourself – does that mindset serve you in the long term?
It really comes down to a choice. Do you want to be stuck in that negative loop – will that make it easier to deal with whatever crisis you have going on in your life?
See if you can focus on another question. Consider why this is happening FOR you not TO you. Having the faith that there is a larger purpose at work can help give you context.
I’d absolutely love to hear what gratitudes you’ve come up with this week! Please pop into our Thriving Collective Facebook Community and drop them in the comments!
Love Xoxo,
Living BRIGHTer is...
B - Be Brave
R - Cultivate Relationships
I - Live with Intention
G - Practice Gratitude
H - Prioritize Health
T - Live your Truth
What is Magenta?
The color magenta is one of universal harmony and emotional balance. It is spiritual yet practical, encouraging common sense and a balanced outlook on life. Magenta helps to create harmony and balance in every aspect of life; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
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