Finding Gratitude When Things Are Hard

Do you ever hit a rough patch in your relationships or careers, or monotonous in your day-to-day life? Maybe you go through a season of feeling less-than with your body image or health. Honestly, I don't know why I posed that as a question. That was rhetorical, let's be honest.  I already knew the answer. The truth is, we all have had the rough patches. I know this because I dug so deeply into this topic when I set out to create Meant for More. I sat with my business coach and he wanted to understand why I was on a mission, what that mission was, and who I was seeking. He wanted to really dig deep as to what could've been so profound within my life that it caused me to go through the painstaking process of replacing myself within my business so that I could venture out and create a new one - this company - from scratch.I was seeking to save women - women just like me - that had gotten so busy with life, careers, kids, spouses, and bills that they lost their joy along the way. They forgot to ask themselves if they were living a life of purpose. I wanted an audience that felt the same way because I was finally coming out from under that dark rain cloud myself.I sat with my coach that afternoon and we "white boarded" everything I could articulate. He wanted to understand who, what, and why of this new journey I was on. After half of the board was filled up with words and phrases such as "vulnerable", "glass ceiling", "need balance", "internal battle", "unfulfilled", "meant for more", and "empty cup", my coach kept digging. I became irritated in that moment that he wasn't understanding everything I had him write up to that point. The phrases and words just kept coming out until I got to the point where I said, "we lost our joy." I realized that society's expectations for us as women, as mothers and as wives had gotten to a point that we were no longer in control. We were operating at as high of a frequency as we could, but without knowing how to slow it back down or to enjoy life's little moments.You know the ones...Your little wants to play a game with you, but you're trying to clean the kitchen after dinner.Your spouse wants to unpack their day with you, but you're stressed over how you're going to juggle all of tomorrow's tasks & can't focus.Your family is settled in to watch a movie and you're folding laundry down the hall.Your girlfriends are grabbing drinks and dinner after work, but you're working late (again).You need to get a workout in for your mind and body - it's been weeks - but you're exhausted from such a long day.Does this resonate? Sometimes it isn't about finding the opportunities to enjoy moments in life, but instead to feel wanted, appreciated, or comfortable in your own skin.There isn't a quick fix to this, but there is a process. There's a very intentional practice that truly begins to transform your outlook, your decisions and your emotions: GRATITUDE.Initially, I had started out writing 3 things I was grateful for per day - I tried to change them everyday - in a small, blank journal. My mind began to really think through the small blessings, especially when I had a rough day. There were days I would sit there and work to refocus my mind away from what I couldn't control, and to instead focus on what I was fortunate to have or to have experienced.Just over six months ago, I adopted a new journal. This one had been designed by my friend, Andrea, and was a guided gratitude journal. It was short and easy to get through each morning, and... inexpensive! It gave me intention and focus. I needed something simple and effective so that I would stick with it.Earlier I told you that I knew who my audience was from the get-go. I wanted to reach women & bring value to them in ways that I knew they needed it, and in ways I could serve them. I realize that so many times in life I often seek out people, products or services that feel familiar to me. I find a comfort in that. I knew I could continue to journal on my own and I knew how much it had shifted my perspective thus far, but I sought out this one because of the person behind the journal. I felt a familiarity with her. Ironically, she and I had both walked away from careers - at their pinnacle - within about a month of one another. As I learned more about her, I found that she sought to redefine her life on her own terms, and to slow things down to really embrace the gratitude and joy that is out there for each of us. I wanted to support her because she epitomized the journey I talk about all the time: Define your life. Take back your joy. You're meant for more.You can check out the.journal by clicking here.