Gratitude Challenge Day 25: Ideas

I swear, this gratitude challenge list is KICKING MY BACKSIDE. On any given day, I have tons of ideas and love to play with my imagination. It’s so fun. Mostly. But there’s a dark side to having lots of ideas–I learned about the 11 cognitive distortions the other day, please don’t quiz me. That’s where your brain plays tricks on you and is kind of a bully and a liar. When I’m in flow, usually while painting or gardening or baking, sometimes even when writing, the bully takes a back seat. The fun ideas get to flourish. I’m immersed in play. I love that so much and am thankful for every.single.second of it. I know the more I do those things, the greater the possibility to whack-a-mole the bully.

Sometime, though, the filters get thin with lack of sleep, a discombobulated eating schedule, darkness outside, a bruised ego, heartache. Lots of little stressors can pile on and the imagination can run amuck and not it the fun way.

Nevertheless, I am also grateful for good ideas whenever they cross my path. One I learned today was to start a list in the notes application on your phone. At the top, enter the text “Good Things Are Always Happening to Me” and then start listing them when they happen. It’s the joy nugget tracker/accumulator and I love it. I just started mine today. I’ve been really sad the last few days. Layered sadness. And I’m happy to add good ideas to my tool belt like this one.