Gratitude

People post lots of stuff on Facebook but the idea of a gratitude jar was something that caught my eye. For a while now I have been struggling with staying positive while faced with many stressful situations.

I decided to start a gratitude jar on New Year's day. I call it a "positive thoughts" jar. Basically the "rule" is to write down one thing that happened that day that was either positive, I felt grateful for or something that happened that made me feel good.

The first day wasn't so easy but I did it. I even got my husband and daughter in on it.

When I come home from work I have been going to it right away, writing down whatever pops into my mind.

Funny thing is that on day 3, I have to choose what to write because (believe it or not) I am finding so many positive things are happening.

Yes, in the midst of still struggling financially, still having "shit" happen, I feel like I am rising above it.

Today I even found it easier to get through the day at my job. I really don't like my job- customer service is very challenging when you are a moody bitch (LOL) but smiling when I pick up the phone makes it easier to deal with dumb people. I also try to remember that although some people might seem dumb, they really want my help and after all, it is my JOB to try.

I spoke my mind today with one of my supervisors and told him that I am finding it harder and harder to work for the low hourly wage that they pay me. I told him that I am handling far more than my assigned workload and I do deserve to earn a living wage.

I think I made it pretty clear to him that I am going to be working elsewhere unless some changes are made.

I felt some peace inside of me for speaking my mind and I also realized that if I don't get more money, I will find something else. Ultimately I cannot see myself doing this kind of work for much longer.

I have a passion inside of me and that is writing. I tried for many years to make a living out of being a writer and unfortunately I failed. I'm not the first.

I learned a lot from my years of web content writing and although I am not (financially) successful like many others are, I also am not the kind of "writer" they are.

I am not going to give up writing. I am just not going to count on it to pay my bills.

When I got into my car this morning and turned on the radio, I was welcomed with "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey. I chuckled to myself that this was a great way to start my morning.

Although it is terribly corny, holding on to hope is never a bad thing. This was just another little reminder from the universe.

Starting the gratitude jar is bringing all kinds of positive things to light.

The practice of daily thinking about all that you have to be grateful for seems to spill into every area of life. You cannot help but notice it.

I am hoping that soon I will be so overwhelmed with gratitude that all kinds of positive things will be attracted to me.

I really feel so hopeful about tomorrow and the day after that.

It's never too late to start your own gratitude jar. Just try it for a few days and watch the magic happen.