• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Join Newsletter
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Vote Best of Business
  • Login

Flagstaff Business News

Northern Arizona’s premier source for business, education and health news.

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED
The deadline for voting was midnight on January 15, 2022

Best of Business 2022 – Flagstaff Business News

  • Business
  • Columnists
  • Community Profile
  • Local News
  • Tourism
  • Calendar
  • Spotlight
  • Digital Issues
You are here: Home / Columnists / Gratitude: A Gift to Ourselves

Gratitude: A Gift to Ourselves

November 4, 2020 By FBN Leave a Comment

For so many people all over the world, these are stressful times, exacerbated by isolation and social and traditional media. There are worries about catching a serious disease, or others getting sick, negative financial situations, whether present or possible, and political and social unrest.

It’s natural to focus on threating things. The media tends to feature negative events. Scary, explosive, violent, fast things get attention. Peaceful, calm, slow things aren’t as exciting and don’t sell much advertising.

As previously discussed in this column, the conscious mind can only pay attention to one thing at a time. What you focus on is what you experience. Focusing on negative things results in negative feelings. Reliving painful memories can feel just as painful as the original event. Scary possibilities that might happen, but haven’t, can feel just as scary as if they are happening right now.

A quick, effective technique is to bring the mind to this moment by focusing on something happening in the moment. Noticing aspects of breathing, listening to music, experiencing nature, paying attention to anything happening now causes worries about the future and negative memories to stop, at least temporarily.

There are longer-term techniques to improve our outlook and mindset.

Knowing about negative things and then focusing on making positive change (in ourselves and the world) brings positive feelings, including empowerment and hope. Serving others changes the focus from the inner world to the exterior world.

November is Thanksgiving month. It turns out that being grateful by focusing on what there is to be thankful for increases the presence of those things in our minds. Remembering the positive crowds out the negative. Instead of concentrating on what has been lost or gone wrong, being mindful of what has been gained and gone right and being grateful can make a huge change in the way we feel about life.

“Nature’s beauty is a gift that cultivates appreciation and gratitude.” – Louie Schwartzberg

Living in Arizona, being in nature can be grounding, centering and a cause for gratitude.

“I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.” – Brene Brown

Gratitude can be for this present moment.

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” – Willie Nelson

An attitude of gratitude is life changing. FBN

By Don Berlyn

Don Berlyn is a practicing therapist and owner of Flagstaff Hypnotherapy and Coaching. For more information on hypnotherapy, coaching or anything related to using the power of your mind, reach him at 928-699-8263 or flaghypno@gmail.com. Consultations are always free! Sessions conducted in person, by phone and online. For more information, visit FlagstaffHypnotherapy.com.

 

Filed Under: Columnists Tagged With: Don Berlyn, Flagstaff hypnotherapy, Flagstaff Hypnotherapy and Coaching, gratitude

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Join Newsletter

Categories

  • Business
  • Business Calendar
  • Columnists
  • Community Profile
  • Elections
  • FBN Spotlight
  • Local News
  • On the Grid – Podcast
  • Sedona
  • Tourism
  • Video Spotlight
  • Williams
  • Winslow

Footer

Advertisement

Get FBN Email

COPYRIGHT © 2023 | FLAGSTAFF BUSINESS NEWS