Step by Step - Grateful Joy Coaching

March 16, 2023March 16, 2023

Gratitude Is a Choice

Every day, every moment, I make choices.
Every day, every moment, I choose between options.
Every day, every moment, I have the option to choose gratitude.

When I wake up in the morning, I can choose to be grateful.
I have a choice to say, “Thank You,” either aloud or in my heart.
I have a choice to think of all I have to be grateful for.

When I choose to be grateful,
I am not oblivious to problems.
When I choose to be grateful,
I am not ignoring pain and suffering.
My inclination is to see what is wrong.
My opportunity is to see what is good.

When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
life is a precious, tender gift.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
the human body and health are to be valued and protected.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
other people, and human connection, are part of who we are.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
I have a place in this world, and you have a place in this world.

When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
the natural world is fascinating and awe-inspiring.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
I am healed by being under an open sky,
sunrise and sunset, the moon and the stars.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
I am healed by being near grass, trees, flowers,
plants, creatures, and natural formations of many kinds.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
I am healed by seeing the beauty of a mountain,
an ocean, a desert, and still and moving water.

Life is not without pain, suffering, loss, and grief.
Life is also not without a world of good that is all around.

I have more good than I realize.
I am hopeful when I choose to hope.
I am loved when I choose love for myself and others.
I am accepted when I choose compassion for myself and others.
I am forgiven when I choose forgiveness for myself and others.
I am joyful when I choose to practice gratitude.

Gratitude is a choice.

March 14, 2023March 15, 2023

The Time is Now

One of the biggest mistakes I make is thinking I have more time.

Realistically, all I am guaranteed is this moment.
I don’t have yesterday. I may not have tomorrow.

My challenge is to be mindful in this moment, aware, fully alive.
My challenge is also to believe in the future, and take action now.

The choices I made in the past are part of where I am today.
The choices I make today will be part of where I am tomorrow.

I choose to live now with gratitude and joy.
I choose to to let go of things I cannot change.
I choose to look forward with hope, and make good choices each day.

March 14, 2023March 16, 2023

Coaching

When you talk with a coach,
you are talking with someone
who will listen to you carefully.

When you talk with a coach,
you will hear wise words spilling out
from your own mouth.

When you talk with a coach,
you will choose what to talk about.
You will decide what you want to focus on.

When you talk with a coach,
you have the opportunity to recognize
you already have answers inside you.

When you talk with a coach,
you focus on what you want to change or do.
You choose what steps to take, how big, and how many.

When you talk with a coach,
you have the opportunity to feel seen and heard.
You have the opportunity to discover your own wisdom.

March 13, 2023March 14, 2023

ADHD is a Deficit of Executive Function, Not Attention

Those who have ADHD know this is true. Attention is everywhere except where it is ‘supposed’ to be. In fact, attention is rarely focused on the required task unless there is a sense of urgency and established consequences. You know what to do, yet you are often unable to follow through with your good intentions.

The person who has ADHD has ‘time blindness’. If you are this person, you understand how hard it is to be on time almost anywhere for almost any reason. Your intentions are good, and then you see something or think of something, and in your mind, you are sure you have time to get it done before you have to leave. Once again, you are rushing to meet a starting time you have already missed. Once again, you are embarrassed when you are late to an appointment, or a meeting, or work. No matter how early you start, somehow you are almost always late.

‘Out of sight, out of mind’ is something you understand, too. You may have things out instead of put away in your home or office, because you know if you put them away, you’ll forget about them. If you are a student with a paper or project due 2 months away, it disappears into thin air until the deadline is too close to ignore. You mean to work on it every day, but without small goals, and frequent reminders, it slips right out of your mind.

Your attention is everywhere, and it is so hard to pay attention and focus when someone is talking to you. You notice this. The people who want your attention notice it, too. It may be causing problems in a relationship. Maybe you fidget, or doodle, or make notes, or think about something else that passes through your mind. You don’t mean to not pay attention.

You are very sensitive to how angry and critical and disapproving people seem to be when you don’t follow through. It’s not that you wanted to let people down. It just happened. Then, it happened again, and again, and again.

You’re not a bad person. You know what to do. You simply have a brain that has difficulty taking you from knowing what to do, to taking the necessary action to accomplish your intended goal in the way you want to do it. You may feel very bad about yourself. You may feel like a failure when you don’t follow through, or meet expectations, or pay attention, or manage your life in the way you think you should.

It’s okay. You are okay. There are things you can do, steps you can take, to begin to follow through on what you want to do, wish to do, and intend to do.