I do a regular spot on a couple of radio stations, and I really enjoy it. I do ‘Thursday Thoughts’ with Pablo on Triple M, Karratha, and ‘Mental Health Monday’ with Elerrina & Jodie on Juice FM, Gold Coast. I am grateful for the opportunity to share some thoughts on great radio shows to help me on my mission to create a wave of wellness around the world. On Monday, Elerrina & Jodie asked me about some simple things people could do, in these trying times, to be happier and healthier. I encouraged their listener to take the 3G challenge.
There is no doubt about it, we are living in trying times. There is no doubt about it, we are also living in exciting times. So, which is it? Testing times or exciting times? That’s a question only you can answer, based on the meaning you give to the situations and circumstances you experience. In my last blog I spoke about being an inverted paranoid, and I would encourage you to read it, as it will help with this important perspective. What I want to do this week is offer you a challenge if you are up for it and want a more exciting and fulfilling experience of life. That challenge will require you to focus on three simple things each day for the next seven. They are the three G’s.
Gratitude
You’ve heard it, you know it and you’ve experienced it. The question, is focusing on what you are grateful for part of your daily life? You see, you can’t be angry, anxious, fearful, resentful, bitter or worried and grateful at the same time. We can only hold one emotion in our bodies at one time. My thinking is, why not hold an emotion that will strengthen your physical well-being, improve relationships, and help you make choices that will enhance your life? Gratitude neutralises the emotions that harm you and will potentially lead to harming others. It is so simple. No matter what happens, just ask yourself, what is there to be grateful about this situation? If you ask the question with intent, you will always come up with an answer.
It is easy to be grateful when things are going the way you want them to go. It’s not so easy when adversity strikes. So, let’s try this right now. Think about something that, at first look, seems adverse to you. Now, as hard as you can, try to find something to be grateful for about it. In Melbourne, as I write this, our sixth COVID lockdown has been extended yet again. My first thought was Sh#t, I am so over this. However, upon deliberate reflection, I am grateful that I get to help more people, spend more time with my cute pup, and reflect more on the blessed life I have. How did you go? Compare the feeling in your body when you thought about the horrible situation versus when you focused on what you were grateful for. Different right? Challenge 1: can you spend time every day, no matter how bad things may seem, to focus on what you have to be grateful for?
Give
Have you ever noticed, when you feel bad, or you are going through a challenging or traumatic time, how doing something for someone else always helps you feel better? Why is that? Because you shift the focus off yourself, and your own problems to helping someone else. One of the most abundantly powerful, joyful and healing strategies is giving to others. Giving love, giving time, giving encouragement, giving support, giving money and giving of yourself with change lives. Not just the life of the person you are giving to, but your own.
Not long after my mother had been diagnosed with secondary cancer of the liver and was given only a short time to live, she started working with Petrea King at the Quest for Life Foundation and giving support to other cancer patients. I believe this is one of the reasons she outlived the medical prediction for her life by fifteen years. Challenge 2: give one thing every day that helps another person in some way.
Grow
It is very easy, at this time in history, to focus on all the things we have had taken from us, and what we can’t do. I want to encourage you to focus on the things you are in control of. That is, your own growth. I want to encourage you to be creative and start taking positive action, today and this week, on something that will enhance your life. You could spend time each day listening, reading, and learning something that will help you in your life. You could focus each day on building a stronger family unit or improving your own physical wellbeing. You could get creative and start writing your book, painting, developing your musical ability, building a business, or starting a new hobby. Why not now and why not you?
One of the best things I did in 2020, was finally, as a result of lockdown, start The Wellness Puzzle Podcast. I have just launched episode 72, called Return to self, with Meryem Arpaci. What she talks about will help you on your growth journey with this challenge. Challenge 3: do something every day that will grow you or a part of your life.
In just seven days, if you focus on the 3 G’s, I know you will be a different person and have a different experience of life. I say it all the time. Life is way too short to spend focused on what you don’t want. What happens in your life is up to you and how you respond to the circumstances you are exposed to. Take the 3G challenge and take control of your life.
Thanks, Andrew I am working on gratitude for another day all the time. I am focusing on manifesting my best health. Thank you
Sooo good!!! Thank you Andrew! Wow, your mum is such an inspiration to us all.
Thanks.
I love the format for expressing the three G’s. Thank you.
A friend of mine is talking with a therapist about 3 R’s he uses when he suddenly finds himself in a stressful moment caused by whatever:
Relax – take deep breaths
Regain – mellow out for a moment
Respond – Now you’re more able to focus on resolving the issue
Maybe you can use these in your writings at some point…