7 for SEVEN

Hellooo Loves! I have been reading up on gratitude and in his book ‘Thanks!‘, Dr. Robert A. Emmons describes research he carried out with three experimental groups over a 10-week period: The participants were split into three groups. Every week thy kept a journal where they described, in a single sentence, five things they were either grateful for (the gratitude condition) or displeased about (the hassles condition). The neutral group simply described five events that happened (the events condition).

“At the end of the ten weeks, we examined differences between the three groups on all of the well-being outcomes that we measured at the outset of the study. Participants in the gratitude condition felt better about their lives as a whole and were more optimistic about the future than participants in either of the other control conditions. To put it into numbers, according to the scale we used to calculate well-being, they were a full 25 percent happier than other participants.” – Robert A. Emmons from Thanks!

So clearly I’m on the right track. I’m certainly happier on a Monday now than I used to be a before my 7 for Seven practice. Thus, it is with great joy I share with you my 7 for Seven this week:

Celebrating the present. Right now, this moment is all I’m really sure about. So cheers to another day…even though I spent most of it completing the first of my exams. It’s still been a good day.

Quotes that inspire me. “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” – Meister Eckhart

Saying Thank you. I am so grateful for this life. That I get another chance to do something positive. Life is so short and fragile. Love now.

Successfully making it through the weekend and not doing laundry. HA! I blame exams for this.

Chocolate Chai Because I drink tea sometimes!

My four-year-old neighbour and his hugs… They truly make my day.

Which brings me to the imagination of four-year-olds. Today he told me a story about a bird that flew right at him…only the bird didn’t have any wings, the bird had feet and it walked right up to him and pecked him on the nose. The only thing is that in his version, the bird had “foots” and it “bite me on my nose”.

And there you have it folks, I hope that by paying attention to the little things, the every day details that make up all the blessings in my life and by sowing the seeds of faith and gratitude, I can truly carry with me and reap the rewards of “positivity + balance + bliss” throughout the days ahead.

Thank you for reading, I appreciate you! This is me blowing some glitter and confetti on you because you’re super blessed to have received the gift of another 86,400 seconds today, to spend any way you desire.

Make those seconds count!

I love hearing from you…what are you grateful today? What made you smile? Feel free to share below!

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