And Here’s Part 3

Well, I guess I started something here so I’d better finish with part 3! Back to proper non-weekend blogging tomorrow!

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More Dave Carroll

By special request from Anne – here’s the second part of the United Breaks Guitars trilogy:

Happy weekend!

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Gratitude

The subject of gratitude has come up a few times this week, starting with my friend Debbie Stumpf’s suggestion that I should participate in her friend Richard Paul Evans Gratituesday idea. Don’t you just love how connections work?

Gratituesday is such a great idea to really make us focus on the many thing we can be grateful for, so it will be appearing on the Outwith The Dots Facebook fanpage regularly from now on! The next thing was a reminder about a fantastic song on YouTube by Dave Carroll. When his band’s guitars were smashed by an airline he wrote this song and since then has had over 9 million hits on YouTube! Is he grateful to the airline for smashing his guitars? You bet he is!

So the funny thing about gratitude is we can be grateful about everything, even the stuff we label “bad”, because we never know where the bad stuff is going to lead us!

A number of people have asked me for more detail on how to create a gratitude journal. The only real answer is that there is no one correct way – the key is to create something that works for you and that you will use and be inspired by.

But here’s what I do – you can take what works for you from this and add your own ideas as well (and please tell me!).

First of all find yourself a really beautiful journal to write in. It needs to be something that looks and feels special. Mine is a beautifully bound leather book with fabulous quality paper, but the best thing about it is its been personally signed by the master of inspiration himself – Mark Victor Hansen! So its very special to me.

I don’t believe when you write in it is particularly important. Its more important that you do write in it, and write regularly! I do mine first thing in the morning because I like to set myself up for the day with some fantastic positive ideas. Some people say do it last thing at night so your subconscious can work on ideas while you sleep and that’s a great idea too. Sometimes I write in it a few times a day. For example if new ideas come to me, or if something happens that shakes me. I find its a fast way to shrug off the inevitable negativity that comes our way every day!

So what do I write about? Well, keeping in mind that what you focus on is what grows, I write mostly about the things that I want to increase in my life. I start off with “My intention for today is….” then I follow it with “The feeling I need to focus on is…”

I always use Bob Proctor’s formula to start each sentence – “I am so happy and grateful….” and I go through a simple structure that works for me – mind, body, family and friends, society, finances and spirituality. I look for all the things I am grateful for, and all the things I want to increase or maintain in my life in each section. Sometimes I just write a page, sometimes its three or four pages. I don’t think it really matters how long it is, its the intention that’s important.

And then I finish with “I open myself up with love, joy and passion to all this and more, in the spirit of service to all. It is so.” and then I sign it. Signing it is really important. When you put your signature to something, you’re saying to the world you really mean it!

So that’s it. Pretty simple really but one of the most incredibly powerful tools you will ever use. Enjoy!

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