Joy and Balance

Have You Caught the Gratitude Virus? Could You Be Spreading It?

Scott Mills, Ph.D.

The power of gratitude is nothing short of amazing!  When we focus on what we do have in our lives, from our health, to people who love us, or even things as simple as being pain free or breathing freely, we come back to the present.  We stop regretting the past and anticipating the future. And this power can be contagious. 

In a workshop led by visionaries Matthew and Terses Engelhart, the founders of Cafe Gratitude who are teachers and guides internationally, I witnessed a very powerful experiment.  At lunch we were asked to share with three people what we were grateful for that day.  Many were nervous at approaching someone else (overcoming their stranger danger) but upon returning many, many stories were shared of how this small practice opened up the teller and invited the hearer to reflect on their own sense of gratitude.  It became a gratitude virus.  Have you spread the gratitude virus today?  Try sharing what you are grateful for with three people everyday for a week and see how this tiny practice begins to shift you life!

Scott Mills,Ph.D. is an expert in the world of work life balance.  As a life coach and consultant he works to create passion, purpose and power in the lives of extraordinary people just like you. You can read more of his blogs or find out more about him at www.joyandbalance.com

Inviting Change with Gratitude: Mindful Practices to Create Change in Your Life

Scott Mills, Ph.D.

In the Western world we are suffering from destination addiction.  We are always trying to reach the finish line and often don’t even notice as we round the track.   When we reach the goal we rarely spend much time appreciating it.   Rather we take off for the next goal.

But what if you don’t reach the goal?  Does that mean that no learning, no living, no growth happens along the way?  For many, the answer is yes.   This narrow view of looking at the world not only robs the joy from our lives it also closes us down to the many opportunities we miss along the way while we are not paying attention.  One of the most powerful things we can do to foster positive change in our lives is to pay attention to it as it happens.  Here are four suggestions for how you can do that more often.

Becoming the Parent You Would Like to Be: The Seven Habits of Awake Parenting

Scott Mills, Ph.D.

    Every where that family coach Dr. Dan Kaufman and I go, we hear worried parents.  They are worried about their kids not doing well in school, doing drugs, having sex, getting into trouble.  We work with all kinds of families to help them wake up, see the possibilities and live as the families they would truly like to be.   In the process, we've identified seven basic principles or guidelines for awake parenting that really make a difference!  

     While we've written a book, Awake Parenting: Living With Purpose, Presence and Power (available March 1st), to explain these in depth, we thought you might like a head start.  This work draws together our years of working with children and their families. 

Practicing Gratitude: The Best Example Parents Can Ever Set

Scott Mills, Ph.D

“If the only prayer you say in your whole life is Thank You, that would suffice.” - Meister Eckhart

    It's Thanksgiving!  Are you?  Before you read anything further, take a moment and ask yourself a simple question.  On a scale of 1 to 10, how grateful are you for your life, just exactly as it is, right now?  How grateful are you for your family?  Be honest with yourself.

     The Western world enjoys more wealth than the world has ever known.  At every meal we eat better than most of the kings and queens from our history.   In our world of extreme plenty, there is an almost constant background track that tells us that we should want more.  Our lives are not okay.  You need to keep up with the Jones.  Our minds have fallen into deep ruts of comparison and want.   We look for what is wrong with us, what is missing in our lives, to figure out what we can buy or learn that will set us free.  And in the process, we often miss out on the incredible people who we call family.  Practicing gratitude, looking for what is really amazing about your children or your partner, is an incredible example to set for your children.