How Career Prep Led Me to This Exercise…
I am currently aspiring to be a possible consultant and have been reading articles about the consulting industry on a daily basis. I was very fortunate to have found an article written by former McKinsey consultant Victor Cheng about how people mistakenly equate success with happiness, when it has to do with changing your reference point.
The original exercise, which was originally 50 things you are grateful for, was to be done in less than 3 minutes because you are more likely to write down things that you are actually grateful for if it is timed, instead of things you feel you should be grateful for. In addition, having a time constraint makes you notice the little things as well.
In addition, this is one of the things that I am encouraged to do for journaling during my AT class. I love killing two birds with one stone (does mental jiggly dance). Some of these things might seem similar, but I promise they are at least remotely different in certain aspects.
1. People bringing me tea and coffee when I’m working.
Count the smilies in your life.
2. My scholarships
3. Not being homeless
4. Encouraging friends who are great listeners
5. Warm coat
6. Shoes
7. Grapefruit (It’s beside me while I’m typing this.)
8. A Phone
9. The Bible
10. God’s grace and unconditional love
11. Patient classmates
12. Being able to have fun with these postings by using it as an opportunity to focus on things I tend to neglect during the school year.
13. Teachers who go out of their way to lend an ear and give advice
14. People who love me unconditionally
15. My cat when he likes to snuggle
16. Dark chocolate (on occasion)
17. Coconut oil
18. Friends who understand natural health so I can take less medication.
19. Mentors who keep me accountable.
20. Chapel services
21. Having a piano close by.
22. Teachers that respond to your emails (never take that for granted)
23. Garlic
24. Fresher salads at the dining hall
25. Google
26. Gmail
27. Networking opportunities
28. Voice lessons: I like voice lessons because they are one of the few courses I take that doesn’t compress my spine. Voice lessons have helped with posture.
29. Living on campus so I can take a quick nap when I want to.
30. My coworkers who always make the office relaxed and sometimes festive
31. My email devotional: keeps me on track
32. YouTube physical therapy videos
33. Quirky personalities in the music department that encourage me to be quirky, even in a different manner
34. Enjoying writing most of the time (which is good to appreciate at Bible College)
35. Not being graduated: I know this is usually not the norm, but I enjoy having more time to figure things out.
36. Small class sizes
37. Having two jobs when some have none.
38. Awesome piano students who love to learn.
39. Healthy relationships that energize me.
40. Health insurance
41. Bible study people who are so amazingly different from me.
42. My Job study class (so I can make more sense of my past)
43. Colored markers for note taking (I am more engaged when they are different colors.)
44. Having less pain when typing even when compared to a month ago.
45. Having a diverse set of friends.
46. Being able to use my skills to help others and have them appreciate it.
47. Random hugs from my students and the kids I minister to.
48. Having no classes Thursday morning so I can spend more time with spiritual activities.
49. Alexander Technique
50. Maximized Living Spinal Sleep Aids
51. Free study resources online
52. Trainer on campus
53. Black tea
54. Worship music on Spotify from clothing store Altar’d State
55. Headbands
56. Nail clippers
57. Diluted coffee
58. Clean water
59. Heaters
60. Pinterest
61. Lanyard to keep organized
62. To-go food containers
63. Accountants who are willing to help with your homework
64. Friendly campus staff
65. Less snow than projected this year
66. Miracle Balls
67. Internet (Even if it crashes sometimes)
68. A roommate that doesn’t mind that I come in at odd hours of night after doing homework
69. Kefir with fruit (more tart than yogurt)
70. Greek yogurt
71. Prayer team on campus who pray for you constantly on top of everything else they have to do.
72. Korean food
73. Steak salads at school
74. Having the financial means to tithe significantly to charity and support friends’ mission trips.
75. Pandora
76. Constructive rest–> evolved into constructive power nap
77. Being able to walk
78. Later curfew and coffee shop hours (to finish all this homework)
79. Edge Mentoring
80. Asian dramas (for those days when you are so tired and need to veg out)
81. Brene Brown’s research
82. Contacts all across the world
83. Banana peppers
84. Salmon
85. Chinese New Year coming up
86. People who laugh at my jokes.
87. People who let me rant to them late at night.
88. London fog drinks
89. Great grammar teachers in eighth grade
90. People who read my writing.
91. Chipotle salad bowls
92. Cat videos
93. Better stress management
94. Random conversations everyday
95. Trees
96. Coupons
97. Smoked Salmon (especially from Costco)
98. Trader Joe’s cookies
99. Awesome supervisors
100. Dawn detergent for chiffon clothing stains.
Here is a church that advocates gratitude lists as well.
Feel free to make gratitude lists below in the comments. Try as much as you can.
We can thank God together in this Inbound church <–Click!
