Aspirational Gratitude

Hornby Island, old ferry dock. Beautiful, hot, sunny afternoon. 7.26.22 3pm

A fellow I know has a morning ritual that has served him well in life. He starts his day making a list of 25 things he is grateful for, matters like living in a nice neighbourhood and having no real commute to work make his list. 25 items, not a paltry 3, get recorded every morning. Without. Fail. He has maintained this practice for years. Win the morning. Win the day. “They say.” What this practice would do for you is immediately switch your tape from one of anxiety about the day ahead (if you are plagued by low mood upon waking) to a prespective of gratefulness for what the day before you holds i.e., it is pouring rain but at least I have a short distance to travel and a good raincoat. Aspirational gratitude (AG) is his lastest focus. If I heard him right, it the practice of being thankful for being in a position to work on things you want to work on. You may not be where you want to be but at least you are able to chip away at your goals. Small steps. Praise be! With this framework, instead of feeling weighted down by the prep for my upcoming Level 3 exam, I feel relief to be in a place where I am actually able to go write the thing. I have 5 months to pass it or have to re-apply. Super cool aside, today CrossFit announced a L3 prep webinar in 2 weeks. Great timing! Adding it to my AG list, just before wall walks…..