Gratitude

I haven't written much about running lately and today is not going to be much different.

Today is my birthday and a very special one indeed. Not because I'm a certain age, I'm 46 (which is not exactly a milestone birthday as near as I can tell), rather because this is the one that almost didn't happen.

If you don't know me well then you may not be aware of the fact that last May, I had a heart attack and it was a doosie! So the fact that I am here to celebrate another birthday, this being the first since my heart attack makes this a pretty special day for me!

What do you do on such a birthday?

As with most days, it starts with a good long run! And then I will do what most of us don't do enough of. I will spend the rest of the day in total complete gratitude!

I believe one of the most powerful tools or gifts we can give ourselves is gratitude.

It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of every day living or "the daily grind" that we lose sight of all the things in our life we have to be grateful for.

It seems it is easier sometimes to focus on all of the negatives or the things we don't have yet or how bad things are with life or the economy. This makes for a pretty miserable life! And even worse, it sets you up to get more of the same!

No matter where you are at in life, if you are living and breathing, you have something to be grateful. And the more you are grateful the more empowered your life will become.

As Zig Ziglar says; "The more you show gratitude for the things you already have, the more you will have to show gratitude for."

So where will I begin?

Obviously, I'm pretty grateful to be here to have another birthday. You know, once something like a heart attack happens to you its hard to look at life the same ever again. (Its a shame that for some of us bull-headed people we have to go through something like that to finally pay attention.)

Then it's total gratitude for my family and my incredible friends. And how about the fact that I can write this. And then of course there's the fact that I live in sunny Southern California. My list will go on for hours and hours I'm sure because as I show gratitude for one thing another will come to mind. By the time my day is over I will be unstoppable!

Gratitude is one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself. If you practice it regularly, its life changing!

I personally can't think of a better gift to give myself on this a very important birthday than gratitude!

Have an awesome day!