When it comes to realizing your dreams, there is one constant taught by many of the best life coaches & personal growth gurus, like Tony Robbins or my personal mentor Natalie Ledwell, that help you reach your goals faster & easier than anything else.

Can you guess what that is?

Let me see…🤔

Is it getting clear on what you want? Or gaining all the resources you need? What about making a plan & executing that plan?

Nope, although you’ve got a point there.

All of that is necessary. BUT if you get stressed out, anxious about the change not happening fast enough or too pushy towards it, then you’re creating resistance.

And that resistance can slow your progress or even stop it from happening at all.

Once you get too much in your head about things, overly thinking about what you may be doing wrong because you’re not seeing the results you think you’re supposed to be seeing, you don’t allow room for the creativity and enjoyment you need to be feeling.

You forget about your big picture “WHY” and get bogged down in the plethora of to-do’s on your plate causing you overwhelm.

Then the overwhelm causes stress, the stress freezes your brain function and before you know it days, weeks or even months pass by without progress.

This most definitely happened to me. I’ve been wanting to do this blog for a long time now but got stumped from needing to have everything just right. I got way too much in my head about it, wondering how to present my story and my knowledge to you in a way that made perfect sense, instead of just letting it develop on its own and going with the flow.

Which was silly of me considering that’s the only way my dreams of owning my own business and winding up going sailing came true. By letting them happen and going with the flow of it all.

No, the answer to my original question is not all of that “headsie” stuff my friend. The answer is practicing gratitude.

Yep, that’s it.

Super simple answer.

Understanding Why Gratitude Helps

Let’s try a little exercise to show you what I mean. This will only take a few seconds:

• Grab a pen & paper or a notepad app on your phone.
  You can also easily just open a document app.
• On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best), write down your level of relaxation and joy.
• Now pick anything that’s around you right now that makes you feel happy.
  It can be the cup of coffee you’re enjoying, the pet that you’re sitting next to, the blanket you have on your lap, or the sun that’s shining on your face. Or even the device you’re reading this blog on.
• Take pen to paper, so to speak, and start writing what it is about this one thing that makes you happy.
  Is it how easy it makes your life? How comforting it makes you feel? Or how excited it makes you to be alive during this tremendous time?
• Then say “Thank You”.
  Write down what you’re grateful for, whatever comes to mind. You’re grateful for the person that discovered or created this. You’re grateful for how it helps you. You’re so thankful for the ability to experience how this has enhanced your life.

[Here’s an example. This is what I chose to write about. Notice it doesn’t have to be anything big:
Bananas.
I love the way they are self-contained. I love that they don't need to be refrigerated. I love their slightly sweet taste & the nutrients they supply, which you can feel the effects of as soon as you eat them.
I love that combining them with almond butter is not only such a tasty way to start out the day but a nice & healthy one too.
I love that we have such an abundance of them no matter what grocery store I visit. And I love that they are so easy to love ❤️ 😋
I don't know who discovered them but I'm so grateful they did!
Thank you so much for the miracle of bananas.]

OK, great job!

Now pick that number from 1 to 10 again and rate how you feel.

Are you more relaxed? Maybe you’re feeling more positive, more motivated. Or you notice a bit of a smile on your face.

This is the state you want to be in consistently to allow the change you’re seeking to formulate.

This is the way ideas will “pop” into your head. This is where you begin to feel confident to take action.

This is where your dreams start to take on a life of their own.

Right. I get it.

Now you’re saying to yourself, that’s all fine & good but the second I close this blog and get back to my life, what's to say I don’t go right back to the way I was feeling?

How to Remain Elevated

Below are 4 habits you can start today that will help you remain grateful & stay in your elevated state throughout the day.

Start Mindfulness When You Wake Up

The state your brain is in when you wake and how you treat it can set the mood for the rest of your day.

There are different types of brain waves you have at different stages in your day. The Theta brain wave is what you are in when you are asleep and first wake up.

In this dreamy and transitional stage, if you can tap into the benefits of the theta state you can reduce stress, enhance creativity and tap into your intuition which gives you the best chance of finding opportunities to create the life you dream of.

So before you pick up your cell phone, make that cup of coffee or even go to the bathroom, try the quick little exercise we did earlier.

Pick something to be thankful for, spend 30 - 60 seconds focusing on why you love it, thank whomever or whatever brought it into your life, and write it down if you can.

Then pay attention to whatever comes to mind.

Maybe you’ll receive a solution to a problem you’ve been wanting to figure out or an action you can take to move closer to your ideal life.

Set reminders

You’re right. Happiness, or staying in your “happy place” throughout the day, is the toughest part.

You make your coffee, you check your phone, you see what the day has in store for you and you automatically start tensing up. All of the sudden you’re back in your head, thinking of all the issues you need to take care of or all the tasks you must accomplish.

YIKES!

Here comes the stress.

Now those dreams, the great ideas, the creativity to get you closer to your ideal starts slowly slipping away. Or so the chatter in your head starts telling you.

But does it have to stay that way?

Absolutely NOT!

A quick way to knock yourself out of this state and get back into the flow is to set reminders for yourself.

We use the phone for just about everything else. Why not use it to remind ourselves of the joy we already have in our lives?

My go to way of doing this is using an app like Outlook “Reminders” or Google Keep notes and set notifications at least 3 times a day. Once right before work or your daily tasks begin, once around lunchtime and once at the end of the day.

And when the reminder pops up on your phone, you can even make a little note to read that helps you focus on specifically in that moment of time.

An example can be affirmations like these:

• • Your life is filled with laughter & abundance
  • Today and every day, you block out what distracts you to remain committed to your dreams & goals
  • You do one new thing every day to improve your life
  • You are in control of your thoughts & emotions and today you choose to be happy

Journal It

You’ve heard time & time again. Journaling is the way to go to help yourself through the self-improvement process.

You know why? Cuz it works!

Journaling was the FIRST practice I incorporated into my life when I was feeling stuck in a no win situation.

I was in debt, in a totally unfulfilling career, plateaued with my pay potential and without any idea of how to make things better for myself.

Turning to journaling gave me so many rewards.

Not only did it help me write down my deepest fears and doubts but to acknowledge my hopes and dreams, giving me clarity and direction.

Anytime the stress and anxiety began to swell up making me sick to my stomach with hopelessness, I could write down what scared me and somehow turn it around to feelings of hope & belief.

It’s amazing how just jotting down whatever is on your mind helps to clear it and relax you.

You can do this anytime during the day but I highly recommend it whenever you find yourself stewing over an issue that’s bothering you.

It’s also super helpful at the end of the day just to review your little wins you’ve had so you can recognize what you’ve done to move yourself closer to your dream life.

Every little acknowledgement helps, even if you only spent a few minutes on the goals you’ve set for yourself.

If you’re having trouble finding time in your day to sit down and journal, try reading my blog on finding time to make changes in your life.

Selflessly Help Someone Out

When you’re out and about, try holding the door for someone.

Driving to the grocery store or work, let someone merge in front of you.

If you’re at the gym, compliment someone.

This not only helps you feel a little better about yourself, but it can make a significant difference in the lives of whomever you help.

About a week after my mother had passed, I was at the gym and this sweet younger girl walked into the locker room and graciously complimented me.

I was blown away by the sentiment. It cheered me up right away & made my day. I really felt blessed.

But the interaction didn’t stop there.

The next time she walked by, I told her how grateful I was that she said that to me.

I explained to her what I was going through & how much her words meant to me, asking her to never stop being so sweet to others.

She was super grateful to hear that too!

It was a win-win all around!!

And we both walked out of there smiling with joy in our hearts.

In essence, in order to move toward your goals and dreams as quickly as possible, getting and staying in a positive thinking state of mind will help you discover opportunities that you may not otherwise recognize if you’re wrapped up in too much thought about how to gain your success.

Incorporating these practices as habits into your daily routine can make all the difference between staying stuck or successfully moving forward. You can add one at a time into your daily routine until each one becomes second nature individually or you can add them all at once.

The first of these habits I began with was actually journaling but starting your day in gratitude is most likely the easiest one to incorporate first.

I’m not even sure where I picked up the habit of journaling. It's been so long ago now.

But the others I learned from one of my mentors I mentioned, Natalie Ledwell. She brilliantly put together a course called the Ultimate Success Masterclass which most definitely helped me achieve many goals.

It is what helped me get out of my longtime career that was soul crushing and into a much more enjoyable life living on the water, literally.

If you’d like to learn more about her methods and how they change lives, there’s a great book she wrote called “Never In Your Wildest Dreams”.

GET YOUR FREE COPY NOW! ⬇️⬇️⬇️