BECOMING: Grace & Gratitude
The First 7 Elements of BECOMING the kind of person it takes to achieve and live your vision and goals focused heavily on the preparation phase. The 8th Element is woven into the fabric of not only BECOMING, but in your way of being in the world.
The first 7 Elements make up the GPS and the supplies you need for the journey. Grace and Gratitude are the fuel. You will need to stop and refuel throughout the day, every day.
Grace
Because the world will keep spinning, you’ll hit detours that could set you back days or months. You’ll make a mistake –you’ll make MANY mistakes if you do it right. If it were easy and error-free, everyone would be doing it. You wouldn't be growing.
The faster and more you mess up and the more adversity you overcome – the faster and further you’ll succeed. This sounds counterintuitive, but it is the moments of challenge that build strength and create a power boost that wouldn’t otherwise be available if everything goes smoothly. Your wins exist because you adopted the mantra, “I don’t know, but I am committed to figuring it out.”
Grace allows you to get back up and keep on going. Grace is acknowledging reality without judgment. It’s the practice of elegantly and humbly refining your next move.
Grace is easy for me to extend to others. I assume the best intentions and rarely take things personally. However, when I am the one not measuring up, my inner critic is merciless. I notice on those days, that criticism masks the lessons available to me and causes me to freeze from taking the next right step.
As I learned to practice grace, treating myself with the same empathy, compassion, and encouragement that I would offer anyone else, my eyes and heart are opened to new perspectives and ideas. These in turn inspire me to try again - only better. Often Grace empowers me where confidence fails.
It’s when you face a hurdle with no new information or new approaches that discouragement sets in. But when you take what you learned and apply it, inspiration is born.
Gratitude:
When you focus on what you don’t want, you’ll experience more of what you don’t want.
It’s like moving toward your goals with an anchor dragging behind you. Often that anchor gets caught on something that halts you altogether. Sure, you’ll keep moving forward, but not as fast and not as far as you could go unencumbered.
When you focus on what you do want, that very thing becomes a magnet that pulls you forward, over the hurdles, and through the trials.
They’ll still be there, but they will hold no power over you.
As a kid, our family took a trip from Wisconsin to Yellowstone National Park. The journey was torturous. Nothing to look at. My sister kept hogging the back seat. I couldn’t even escape into the books because Mom would make us look out the window at the 1000th antelope that hour. It was hot. And to top it off, the only 8-track we could agree on – Elvis – got eaten by the player. (I had to listen to the Oakridge Boys for 15 straight hours!)
Now my sister lives in Utah, so I’ve made that same trip several times over the years. I love this drive. I am grateful for the freedom to see my sister and her family. I’m grateful for the great highways, Audiobooks, comfortable cars, beautiful landscapes, and the choice not to look at Antelope. I know some spots will be boring. I'll get uncomfortable. Yet, I choose to focus on gratitude, and my experience changes completely. And I know now that my experience is completely up to me, not my circumstances.
Gratitude is a practice – not a feeling. It’s a choice. Sometimes it’s hard. Some days I struggle to be grateful. In those days, I have my go-to: indoor plumbing, my bed, and fresh coffee. Basic? Yes, for me. But sometimes the gratitude for the things we take for granted is the very gratitude we need to become aware of the many other blessings.
An Exercise in Grace and Gratitude:
Time for your journal!
At the close of each day, take 5-15 minutes to reflect on your day. (This isn’t about “finding the time.” It’s about making the choice to prioritize this over something else. Replace your social scrolling or TV time, and you’ll find a huge shift in your energy after just 7 days.)
Here’s what you write:
What I learned today: __________________________.
What didn’t go as well as I’d like: __________________________________.
Tomorrow I will _____________________ to create better results. (Hint: this could be applying what you learned!)
3 wins from today ______________________.
3 things I am grateful for ________________.
The Exercise in Grace and Gratitude puts the inner critic to bed and allows you to listen to the inner sage who illuminates the path to creative problem-solving and inspired action.
This Exercise points the spotlight on all that is good, which, by the Law of Attraction, attracts more of what you do want in life. I’m still not sure that the Law of Attraction brings more of what you focus on. Rather, you see more clearly that which you focus on. I think both options are always available when you are open to receiving them.
If you are not grateful for the little things, you won’t be grateful for the big things. Practice gratitude, and you’ll have more to be grateful for.
If you beat yourself up every time you mess up, you’ll be wasting precious time that won’t get you any closer to your goals. Let it go. Forgive and learn. Carry the lessons forward, not the guilt, shame, and blame.
Take the Next Right Step
If you haven’t started, now is the perfect time to think about your vision and goals. Now is your time. There's still plenty of time in the year to create meaningful change.
Are you ready to stop wishing and start BECOMING?
You have everything you need to live into your vision and goals. No one is an independent success. You will go further, and faster when you partner with a coach or trusted advisor. I’d love to be your partner as you kick-start this part of the journey.
Click here for a complimentary vision kick-start session today.