Pierre Pradervand in his book, 365 Blessings to Heal Myself and the World, says he starts his day by saying “Yes, thank you” at least seven or eight times as he gets out of bed. The idea–whatever comes his way that day he will not only be appreciative of, he will be flexible enough to see the blessing in it as well.
Of course, we have choices. We can wake up already counting the hours of sleep we missed, annoyed with a child for forgetting to mention she needed a signed form for something or any number of things. As the day drags on we can add up all the small injustices and frustrations that keep mounting. And probably we’d be justified in doing so.
And from my perspective it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see starting your day with appreciation is much more strategic if you want success, happiness, less stress and more productivity. This lesson was brought home to me recently when I was standing in the door of my home looking outside for my cat. I had knee replacement recently and when friends asked how I was doing I’d discuss all the pain, the helplessness of not doing things for myself and the frustration of not being farther along. A neighbor came up, asked the same question about how I was doing, as I stood there leaning on my walker, and I gave her the same solemn reply.
She looked at me and said something to the effect, “You’ll never get better if you keep reciting all the things that are wrong, you’ll just keep getting more of them.”
Needless to say, she gave me the best gift of the day, a reminder I can remain a grump, helping no one, or I can wake up, lean on that good old walker, and say “Yes, thank you,” again and again. It’s a smart strategy for almost any situation.
