Loa

Understanding the gratitude meaning will change your life forever!

Jul 262012

I want to talk a little bit about gratitude today. I think it´s vital for all of us to fully understand and realize the gratitude meaning and how much impact it can have on all of us. Do you know the meaning of gratitude and how much do you value it?

The definition of gratitude is: a feeling, emotion or attitude in acknowledgement of a benefit that one has received or will receive.

: Photo by Anton Belovodchenko

Gratitude is being thankful and ready to show appreciation for and to return kindness. While interacting with other people we have great impact on their overall well-being. Every gesture we make and every word we exchange with others will have some effect, either good or bad. Just by talking to another person over the phone for a few minutes will leave the other person with more positive or negative energy. So, we should interact with other people with this in mind and behave and speak according to the way we want to be perceived.

Recently I did a post on the importance of positive thinking and on how you can create more positive energy in your life, which will in turn increase your overall well-being. I highly recommend using positive thinking quotes. Gratitude is also a huge magnet on more happiness and well-being. By showing gratitude you will be attracting both more positive people and circumstances to you.

A pathway to well-being

Many studies have been done in the past on gratitude and the effect it has on other areas in our lives. Results have shown that gratitude is related to well-being and people who practice gratitude seem to be more happy with their lives, more optimistic and to have better relationships with others when compared to people who dwell on daily difficulties and hassles.(1) Results also show that there is a link between gratitude in teenagers to being optimistic, having good social relationships and being pleased and happy about life.(2) With this in mind we should put more emphasis on practicing gratitude early in life. We should encourage our children to be positive in all their endeavours and to think and be optimistic in life. We should also practice what we preach, that´s actually quite important. We should strive to be good rolemodels for our children and interact with others the same way in which we encourage them to. Otherwise we are without a doubt sending mixed messages that might be very confusing in their eyes.

When we express our gratitude in our actions we are also contributing to other people´s happiness. A gesture of gratitude is also a gesture of kindness. When someone does something nice for you or gives you a compliment, you probably experience some happiness. Just think about it for a minute.. When someone took the time to do something special for you, maybe wrote something extra special in your birthday card or complimented you on your wordrobe or on baking a delicious cake – how did you feel? Chances are you felt happy and glad. So why not do the same for others?

Smile!

When you feel grateful for something, say so! Say thank you or smile, when someone opens the door for you or compliments you. A simple smile will go a long way, it´s much more powerful than many people think. When someone smiles at you your first reaction is to smile back. When you smile you show your gratitude and both you and the person who you smile at, will experience a sense of happiness. This will make your day just a bit better and you´ll be happier. It´s amazing how much impact gratitude really has.

How can you show your gratitude?

There are many simple ways to practice gratitude, here are just a few to get you started on your „daily gratitude journey“:

Call or email someone just to say „thanks“.
At the end of each day take a few minutes to think about what you are thankful for. Maybe you met a friend or something you did went really well. Think about it and maybe even write it down in a special gratitude journal where you keep your thoughts about gratitude.
Exhibit patience, even when you are in a hurry.
Have an attitude of gratitude in all your relationships.
When you´re at the register at the supermarket, look the salesperson in the eye and even at their nametag to be able to say „Thanks Annie“. This will surely put a smile at Annie´s face.
Memorize a song about gratitude or a gratitude poem, one that reminds you to be thankful. Recite or sing it daily for a week, at least think about it.
Instead of frustration and thoughts about things that you do not own but want to pocess, think more in the lines of being happy and grateful for the things that you do have.

On that note I want to share with you one of my favorite gratitude quotes:

”Just think how happy you would be if you lost everything you have right now, and then got it back again”. Frances Rodman

This list of gratitude gestures could go on and on..

How many of these have you already done today?

Maybe I´ll put together a longer list soon and post it here on the site. In the meantime I would love to hear some of your ideas on expressing gratitude to others. What´s your gratitude meaning, what does gratitude mean to you? Please put your thoughts and ideas in the comments below, I would be very grateful ;)

Hope you have a wonderful day, today and every day.

Loa

Citations

Emmons RA, McCullough ME (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2): 377–389.
Froh JJ, et al. (2009). Gratitude and subjective well-being in early adolescence: Examining gender differences. Journal of Adolescence, 32(3): 633–650.

The power of positive thinking quotes

Uncategorized 3 Responses »

Jul 222012

I want to share with you my thoughts about the importance of positive thinking quotes.

Have you ever heard the phrase: „When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade!“? I simply love this saying! It´s great as it reminds you of the importance of positive thinking. This phrase gives you a different perspective on the possible challenges each day may bring your way, or potential opportunities, you might also say. That hurdle that you might stumble upon tomorrow might just be a blessing in disguise..This is where your personal outlook comes in, the way you look at your situation and the way you judge things. Whether you let those lemons spoil your day or if you simply make some lemonade. Is your glass half empty or half full?

: Photo taken by Doriana s.

It´s no secret that I´m a big fan of positive thinking. I belive that you can accomplish great things by having a positive outlook on life. Positivity is extremely powerful and by having a positive mind you will attract positive things into your life. You will be like a magnet on positive energy which will have enormous effect on your life.

There are many different methods you can use to „power up“ your positive attitude. Maybe you already are a very positive person and if so, then great! I encourage you to continue sharing your positive energy with the world. But, if you are not a particularly positive person you should maybe start to make some changes in your thinking, if not for nothing else then to see what happens. Why not? You really have nothing to loose, but a whole lot to gain. Right?

One easy and simple way to boozt your positivity is by purposely thinking positive, each and every day. If you´re not naturally positive this might be difficult for you and a big step for you to take. But, you must remember that as with everything else „practice makes perfect“ and this will become more natural to you as time goes by. Being a positive person will also increase your overall happiness. It´s difficult to imagine a person being both negative and happy, I think it´s safe to say that most people who are happy are being positive at the same time. There are also some other characteristics that will increase your happiness, make sure to check those out in another blog post, what makes people happy ?

Think positive! Be positive!

Now, how can you purposely think positive if you´re not used to it? By using positive thinking quotes you can easily bring more positivity into your life. If you use positive quotes daily you will most likely see some changes in yourself sooner than you think.

I use quotes every day. This has become a normal part of my daily routine. I state my positive thinking quotes in my mind and this is pretty easy to do. At first I read through a lot of positive quotes and I wrote down my favorite ones. I have a special book for my quotes and each time I come across a new quote that „speaks to me“ I write it down in my book. Whenever I travel I make sure to take it with me.

I want to share with you some of my favorite positive thinking quotes and I hope you will find them as useful as they have been to me. Also, I want to recommend that you have your own special notebook for your quotes.

Why not fill your day with positive thinking instead of negative thinking. Negativity will not bring you joy or success. It will only add oil to the flames and bring you more adversity and negative energy.

If you have your own favorite positive thinking quotes I would love it if you could leave a comment and share them with the rest of us.

So, here are my favorite positive thinking quotes.

Enjoy and have a great one!

Loa.

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in everydifficulty.” Winston Churchill

“You and I are not what we eat; we are what we think.” Walter Anderson

“Never mistake motion for action.” Ernest Hemingway

“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.” Author Unknown

“All personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs.” Anthony Robbins

“You see things; and you say “Why?” But I dream things that never were; and I say “Why not?” George Bernard Shaw

“What was once thought can never be unthought.” Carl J. Friedrich

“It doesn’t matter if you fall down or not, it matters if you get back up.” Vince Lombardi

“Just think how happy you would be if you lost everything you have right now, and then got it back again.” Frances Rodman

” Live out of your imagination, not your history.” Stephen Covey

“Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.” Auguste Rodin

“The trouble with most people is that they think with their hopes or fears or wishes rather than with their minds.” Will Durant

“Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” Mother Teresa

“Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well.” Robert Louis Stevenson

“Begin to see yourself as a soul with a body rather than a body with a soul.” Wayne Dyer

“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” Dalai Lama

“A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.” Marcus Aurelius

What makes people happy?

Uncategorized 5 Responses »

Jun 192012

In this article I am going to discuss what makes people happy.

Have you ever wondered why some people are more happier than others? Why is it that happiness seems to steer it´s way into the lives of some people but not as much into the lives of others. I´ve thought about this quite a lot and in my opinion there is no simple answer. There´s just not!

But, I do think that a number of things have a lot of influence on how much happiness each individual enjoys in life. I also think that we have much power over those things and that we can actually bring these specific things into our lives if they are non-excistent at present.

As I have mentioned before on this site I do belive that we, each and every one of us, have a lot of power over our lives just by controlling the way we think and what we do. Our mind is an amazing thing! We have so much control over our lives, so much more than most of us realize.

So, by realizing what specific kind of things, attributes, experiences or characteristics are the ones that bring us the most happiness we should be able to purposely seek them out and attain them.

So, what makes people happy?

People are different and we all have different opinions on what happiness is. For some it´s money, for others it´s family and friends and the joy they bring us. I think it´s safe to say that happiness is in the eye of the beholder. Meaning, that while some seek happiness with their family and by socializing with friends others try to find happiness through work and money. Personally, I belong to the first group of people. I value the time I have with my family the most and that´s where the source of my happiness is. Sure! Money can bring you happiness. You can do a lot with money, you can use it to bring other things into your life that will in turn bring you happiness. But, if you don´t have someone to experience all this with you…how happy are you really? That´s my opinion anyway..

Happiness comes in all shapes and sizes. Happiness for one person can mean something completely different to another. But there are some things that may have more power than others to bring us happiness.

A very interesting research by psychologist Martin Seligman shows that there are indeed some things that very happy people seem to posess and those results can give you great ideas about what makes people happy. Many studies have been done in the past on the characteristics and situations of unhappy people but this was the first research that was done on „very happy people“. In this study, Seligman and a fellow psychologist, Ed Diener, examined factors that seemed likely to have influence on high happiness: social relationships, personality, psychopathology, religiosity and exercise. What they found was that very happy people have rich and satisfying social relationships and relative to average happy people or unhappy people they spend little time alone. Also, there were some factors that seemed to be of great importance. The very happy people, those who were scored with high happiness, seemed to be very extraverted, they scored low on neuroticism and relatively low on psychopathology.

With these results in mind you should really take time in your life to dedicate to your family and friends. By having both a good family life and good social relationships you may be on your way to a happy life.

Use your time to be happy!

How much time do you give yourself with your family? If your are completely honest with yourself, are you really „there“ when you are at home with your family? Do you use your time together in the best way possible? If not, this may be the right time for a change. Why not treasure the time you have together? Enjoy every moment while it lasts, enjoy it as much as you can. You might regret it later on if you don´t.

You should also think about your relationship with your friends. When was the last time you called a friend instead of sending an email or a text message? When was the last time you had lunch or had an evening out? Value the friendships you have and schedule time to spend with your friends. Take the time to talk, to listen, to laugh together and to do all those things you love to do together. Think about how happy you have been in the past after time spent with your friends. You probably know by experience how effective your friendships are to bring you happiness. Remember those factors on what makes people happy, that very happy people value their social relationships and take the time to strengthen them. I highly recommend that you do so too.

I would like to leave you with a great quote (as I do love those..) that sends a powerful message. Please read it and then take time to really think about it..

Until next time,

Lóa

- What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner -

Colette

Who am I?

About 3 Responses »

Jun 142012

This website is a place for my thoughts and findings about a number of things that can all be summed up in the following phrases: „ health , lifestyle, well-being“. I hope this blogg will help you in some way, maybe raise some interesting points that will be helpful to you. Maybe guide you in some manner towards your goals and dreams.

About me

My name is Loa Gudrun Kristinsdottir and I live in Reykjavik, Iceland. I am a psychology student in my last year at the University of Iceland. For many years I have been extremely interested in self-development and through my studies in psychology I find it amazing how much power each and every one of us have to control our destiny, health and overall well-being simply with the power of our thoughts and by our daily activities.

I have work experience in self-development seminars here in Iceland and I find it amazing how much change can come about in people simply by changing the way you think, the way you look at your circumstanses, how you basically view yourself and the world and people around you.

The power of your thoughts has no bounderies! The sooner you´ll realize this, the faster you can use your thoughts wisely to implement the changes you want to make to yourself, your life, your work, your lifestyle etc.

We only have one life (many people tend to belive…) so why not use it wisely?

I have read countless books on self-development and other related subjects and I will share my thoughts on some of my favorites. Books are so precious! If you are not a regular book reader I encourage you to be one. Each and every day I take the time to read something that I find interesting. We can learn amazing things from books. We can educate ourselves on anything we want with books. Just think about that for a minute. You can choose to be educated about something, anything, that inspires you or that you find interesting. So why not? Why not use this simple way to learn about something. This is why I love to read and this is why I want to share my favorites with you. If something I have read can help you in some way then great! I hope you find it helpful.

I would love to get feedback from you, so please don´t hesitate to leave your comments.

Kindest regards and may you have a wonderful day, each and every day!

Loa Gudrun Kristinsdottir.

Do you know the definition of affirmation?

Uncategorized 8 Responses »

May 042012

The definition of affirmation is the following:
Affirmation is a declaration that something is true.
Simple, right?
Well, yeh! But…it´s so much more than that…

For many years now I have read countless books about personal development, positive psychology, goal setting and about how to achieve success. I have also gone to numerous seminars and have work experience in seminars on these topics. Lastly, I have read many research articles focused on these same topics through my psychology studies and all this I have studied with great care. From all of this I have gathered extensive knowledge that helps and guides me each and every day

Every day I put to use what I have learned. One of the things that I have learned and what I started to do a few years back was to use the power of affirmations.
I began making my own affirmations that coincided with my goals, which I also set regularly. By stating my affirmations every day, I am putting my goals in action much sooner than I otherwise would. Simply by using some time each day to think about your affirmations, you are sending a special message to yourself about what you want to accomplish. You are reminding yourself about all the things you want to do and achieve.
The power that you will unleash with this simple exercise will be amazing. I highly recommend that you do this every day. Make this one of your daily habits. Make it your regular routine to state to yourself your affirmations.

Not just a definition of affirmation

One of the things that I´ve also done is to write my affirmations down on cards (or paper, whatever is best for you..even a little notebook) that I keep in my wallet so it´s easy for me to look them up whenever I want or whenever I find the need to get some willpower from within.
This isn´t a complicated thing to do. This is actually relatively simple and something everyone can do. But, unfortunately, not everyone does. The sad truth is that many people never even consider doing this. They don´t even try, which is really sad because those people will never experience the amazing benefits they would get if they would.
This simple technique will get you closer to your goals sooner than you think. When you´re thinking about your own, personal affirmations which are all important to you, you´ll actually start to behave different from before and you´ll attract these things that you seek, much sooner than you otherwise would. You will start to put into place a series of events that will all deliver your goals in your reach.

What do you actually want?

I encourage you to take some time right now to think about your own life and if you are truly happy with everything, as it is right now! Is there anything in your life that you would like to be different? Is there anything that you would like to change? Are you happy with your job? It there anything else that you would rather be doing? Are you happy in your relationship? If you are a student, are you happy with what you´ve chosen to study? How do you react in different situations? Is there a skill or habit that you would like to have? If you´re not completely satisfied with the way things are right now you should consider what it would take for you to be happy. What changes would you need to make for you to be happy and satisfied with your life? What would you like to be different in your job for you to be happy? What would have to be different at home for you to be happy? What would it take?
When you´ve realised your ideal situation you should think about the following thing.

If you do nothing different, if you make no changes to your life – everything will stay the same. Do nothing and everything will remain unchanged! You have great influence on those changes that might possibly happen. Actually, you have the most power! There´s no sense in waiting for something to happen. You need to MAKE things happen! This is where the affirmations come in. Why not make your own affirmations to make it easier to make those neccessary changes you want to make in your life. You can use your affirmations for encouragement and as a reminder for those things that are the most important to you.

Just to give an example, I can tell you about one of my personal affirmation. One that I use regularly is: „ I am organized!“. Being organized is a skill that I value highly and therefore I constantly remind myself about it´s importance. Remember the definition of affirmation? Affirmation is a decleration that something is true! That´s right! That´s why I state this in this manner, as it were true. Of course this is something that I have mastered very well, but many years ago that was not the case..

Your affirmations can be about anything but the most important thing is that you make them about something that is really close to YOUR heart. Not anyone else´s. They should be about something that is really important to you. Something you care about. That´s how they will become powerful, because they mean something to you and you want to see them become realized.

The power of quotes

What I have also done is to collect various good quotes that I have come across. I even have a special notebook for these quotes, one that I keep with me wherever I go. These quotes are ones that have caught my eye as they are in one way or the other related to both my own affirmations and my goals. These quotes I then use alongside my affirmations. I will explain later, in a special article, in more detail how you can build your own series of affirmations in a few simple steps but this is something that can actually be rather difficult for some people. Even though it´s simple, some find it difficult. That´s also one of the reasons why not everyone does this. Sad, but true!

It´s easy to find some good quotes that relate to you and this is something that everyone can do.
Start by finding quotes that sum up some of the things that are important to you and that you can relate to.
Write them down and I highly recommend a special notebook for this.

My best quotes of 2011

To start you off I would like to share with you some of my favorite ones, those that helped me the most this last year, my best quotes of 2011. Maybe they will also speak to you and help you along your way to achieve those changes you dream of. You should treasure YOUR best quotes and read them over and over each time you need some extra encouragement, strenght or willpower.

And to finish, I hope you see my point of view when I say that the definiton of affirmation is not just a definition..it´s so much more!

Here are my best quotes of 2011. Enjoy!

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
- Confucious

“There are those who work all day. Those who dream all day. And those who spend an hour dreaming before setting to work to fulfill those dreams. Go into the third category because there’s virtually no competition.”
- Steven J Ross

“So many of our dreams at first seems impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”
- Christopher Reeve

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”
- Dale Carnegie

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
- Thomas A Edison

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
- Dr Wayne Dyer

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.”
- B. Olatunji

“Many of life’s failures are people who had not realized how close they were to success when they gave up.”
- Thomas A Edison

“Success is what you attract by the person you become.”
- Jim Rohn

“Do you know what happens when you give a procrastinator a good idea? Nothing!”
- Donald Gardner

“Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus when the limo breaks down.”
- Oprah Winfrey

“It isn’t what the book costs. It’s what it will cost you if you don’t read it.”
- Jim Rohn

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life’s about creating yourself.”
- George Bernard Shaw

Until next time..