I knew when I woke up this morning that inspiration would find me, bringing something new with it. I didn’t know what it would be or how it would find me. And I didn’t have to wait long to find out.
Scanning through Facebook this morning, I came across a TED Talk by way of Liz Gilbert’s page. She introduced her followers to Sarah Trimmer. I am so grateful that she did!
Diagnosed twice with breast cancer within the span of a few short years, Sarah decided to enhance her own health and recovery in an interesting way. She focused her energy on raising her level of happiness with a simple set of statements. Twice a day, every day, she took time to complete these five sentences:
1) TODAY I AM GRATEFUL FOR…
2) TODAY I HELPED SOMEONE BY…
3) SOMETHING THAT MADE ME HAPPY TODAY WAS…
4) TODAY I LEARNED….
5) TOMORRROW I WILL…
I was intrigued! I watched Sarah’s inspiring TED Talk. Using a timeline to chronicle life events, Sarah explained how she appeared to be living the adage “if something can go wrong, it will”. Refusing to give up on herself or her health after her diagnosis, Sarah sought a simple yet effective way to naturally raise the levels of her body’s feel good cheerleaders, dopamine and serotonin.
She wrote the five statements and created the daily habit of writing out her answers. Even on her most challenging days, Sarah discovered that completing those open ended statements triggered gratitude, which in turn brought peace and happiness. She chose to begin and end happy each day.
Listen to Sarah’s TED Talk HERE
I love this idea. It is a natural addition to journaling or free writing and I’m excited to incorporate the statements into my daily routine.
Here are my answers for today:
1) TODAY I AM GRATEFUL FOR…the many ways inspiration calls out to me.
2) TODAY I HELPED SOMEONE BY…taking time to get answers about a potential problem for one of my clients by setting up a meeting with a knowledgeable expert.
3) SOMETHING THAT MADE ME HAPPY TODAY WAS…running into my cousin Michael at Target and having a catch up chat.
4) TODAY I LEARNED….about Sarah Trimmer, thanks to Liz, and her five statements.
5) TOMORRROW I WILL…do this exercise again, at the end of the day.
I know the difference gratitude makes in my life. I’m looking forward to intentionally focusing on raising my gratitude on a daily basis, and being responsible for my own happiness. Will you join me?
