[INSPIRED JOY CHALLENGE – DAY 3] Gratitude & Appreciation

Welcome to Day 3 of the Inspired Joy Challenge! If you missed any of the previous emails, you can CLICK HERE to check them out.

I’ve been hearing some great results so far of people getting more present and feeling a deeper since of joy from within! Keep up the great practices everyone! 

3. Fill Yourself with Gratitude & Appreciation

Now that we have connected with our thoughts and emotions, Day 3 is about connecting to gratitude and appreciation.

Something I’ve noticed with many people I coach… We all are too hard on ourselves! We are quick to comfort others, but not good at practicing self-compassion – which has been proven to boost happiness, self-worth and body image. 

Be kind to yourself. The next time you fall or believe you have messed up something, stop and say out loud to yourself “It’s ok (insert your name), I will do it again and get better the next time.” We learn from our mistakes. Living our lives is practice not the pursuit of perfection! And ultimately, the goal is to love and accept ALL of our imperfections.

Research shows that putting your arms around yourself and giving yourself a big hug  activates the parasympathetic nervous system and produces a feeling of calm. Another practice and stress reliever is to place a hand across our forehead which also activates and calms the nervous system.

Allowing yourself to feel all of your emotions at any given time, and expressing those, is key to uncovering more lightness and joy within. 

Unfortunately, most of society was taught that they look weak when they cry or show emotion to hurt, pain and loss. Many people numb the pain with denial, TV, staying busy, and often with outside influences like alcohol, sex, our phones, other addictions, and the list goes on… When the pain continues to get numbed, you begin to become less connected to your own inner light and eventually you will have other physical, mental, emotional issues will be affected through your life. 

The key is to FEEL IT ALL & FEEL GRATITUDE for it all. It may not feel good in the moment, but the energy won’t get stuck in your body and you will eventually feel better as you release. The more gratitude you feel when embracing all of your challenges and lessons without judgment, the better you will feel.  

Always remember, Awareness is a gift, it alerts us that we can CHOOSE to change.  

Joy comes from within you, not what other people think of you.

One of the biggest ways my client started to pull in more money, a better position, created new amazing relationships, was when he began to feel grateful for the everything about the company he work for that he didn’t even like. 

You can’t be in fear and grateful at the same time! So as you begin to feel grateful for everything (I mean everything), you raise your energy to a higher vibration. In this vibration you begin to attract other experiences that are more aligned to the Joy your are feeling.

You see, the universe wants to give us everything we have ever wanted, but when you are focused on what you don’t have or what you want to change or have the I’ll be happy when mindset, you then close yourself off to the abundance available for you to receive.

PRACTICES FOR DAY 3:

1. What do you love about yourself? (Can you think of something about your personality, looks, body, strengths, character, beliefs) You get to choose! 

Then cross your arms over yourself and give yourself a big ol ‘hug for 30 seconds! 

2. Look at everything that is around you with new, appreciative eyes. We end up finding what we look for. Check out the friends, people, places, and nature that already exists around you. Begin to feel grateful for the abundance that you see.

For example: Do you have a roof over your head? Do you drive a car? What specific things can you choose to love about a friend, a relative, or in your environment?

Please join the rest of the challengers in the Facebook Group and share the following:

1. Share 3 things you love about yourself with the community (something about your personality, looks, body, strengths, character, beliefs) You get to choose! 

2. List 5 things (big or small) that you felt grateful for today.

To your abundance!

-Stacey

P.S. Don’t forget about the chance to win a 60 minute 1:1 Breakthrough Strategy Session with me, which can be used to discuss whatever you’re still feeling stuck on within your life or business!  All you need to do is actively participate inside the FB group, for a chance to win!

P.P.S. I’m grateful for you! And, I’m excited to share that I’ve created another way to celebrate one another. My dream is that we can all can continue to support one another and you can become one of my founding members in my BFree Inner Circle! Eeeek, I can’t hold it in much longer… Ok, more tomorrow!