Attitude of Gratitude – The Grass is Always Greener
The grass is always greener on the other side.
It is a syndrome that affects all of us throughout our life from time to time. Wanting, wishing, and desiring things that we do not have.
Those pains of envy when your neighbor drives up in a new car or if they have a new house, or they bring home a new baby, or they have new clothes. All these things, these material things.
Realistically, it is all just matter of perspective because they are probably looking over the fence to your yard and at your life and at you going, “Oh, look at him. Look at what he has done. Look at who he has become and the life that he leads or she leads or what they have.”
One of the simple and most effective ways to manage your attitude and remind yourself of how great and how special you are and your life is, is by jotting down on a piece of paper a gratitude list. Things you are thankful for and grateful for.
It could start with I am thankful that I can see, or I can hear, or I can taste and touch and smell. It could be things like, I am grateful that I have a car, that I can drive from point A to point B, and don’t have to hop on a horse or ride a wagon train. My car is paid full. I have a beautiful wife and a great family. We do not have much money or many things, but we are happy. Our house is simple, but the love that inside so much more than a person with a 10 million dollar home might ever be able to imagine in their lives.
Look in the mirror. Be thankful that you exist because you change the world.
Try writing down at least five things you are grateful for everyday for a month (and you can’t repeat yourself!) This exercise can change your entire outlook on life.
What are you grateful for? Post a comment below.
Be Free!
Ken Budka
Instructor
Thanks for the reminder Ken!
Today i am grateful to you for all that you bring to Freedom Personal Development.
I’m greatful for everyone who participated in Freedom Fest last weekend ~ what an amazing time.
As we leave for Argentina today, i am grateful for all the technologies that keep me close to friends and family while we are far away.
I’m grateful that all of our needs are met.
And lastly, for today, i’m grateful for all of the people who have taught me to focus on my needs instead of my wants and to remain grateful for all that i have.
I am looking for an accountability partner to email the “five things i am grateful for each day.” Anyone interested?
be free!
eric
Comment by eric plantenberg — February 27, 2008 @ 8:56 am
I wish I was as grateful as you. I am so envious of your gratefulness!
I have had the opportunity lately to practice being grateful even for things I don’t like. I’ve been learning that we simply cannot judge the circumstances in our lives within the big picture because it is so difficult to see the big picture. Ultimately will this event or that event be good or bad? We really don’t know. So then whatever comes our way, even if it involves suffering, it makes just as much sense to be thankful for it as to complain about it.
I’m not very good at this, but it is a fascinating exercise. Fascinating to watch the emotional changes it brings on when I attempt it, and the way it seems to shift my perspective on the world.
Comment by Dave — February 28, 2008 @ 8:43 pm
what an exciting activity to take part in. it is human nature to want more. which is a good thing as long as we are wanting the right things in life. when i ask myself what, do i want or what do i want more of, the answer always ends up back to family, relationships in life and making myself better to help others. yeah, sure i want a new car, but my car serves it`s purpose. yes, i want a bigger house, but we have enough room here. when i think of what i have relative to the world, abundance is the first thing that comes to mind. with this activity, start with i am grateful that i live in a civilized country and all of the benefits of it. it could very well take up the first 30 days.
Comment by alan — February 28, 2008 @ 8:55 pm
Eric…I would be glad to be your accountability partner. I practice my gratitude list every night as soon as I get in bed…so I truly have “sweet dreams.”
Ken, this circles back to something we talk about often at FPD-getting back to the basics. Many of us want/wish for so many things we don’t have but when we look at the basics, the most important things, (in my case, health, family, and friends) I couldn’t possibly ask for more. Remembering to be grateful for the “basics” really grounds me and gives me the right perspective on my life.
Comment by Loren Barrows — February 29, 2008 @ 4:37 pm
In response to Dave – your perspective on judging things as not being good or bad and being thankful for all that life provides is awesome. How we feel about every moment of every day is all a matter of our own perspective. Our feelings are based upon our experiences up until this very moment. The exciting thing is we can change our perspective and shift our focus. I appreciate your comments and too am by no means the master of this topic. Simply having you participate gets me thinking about my own life and opens me up to views that I may not have considered in the past. You are as good as anyone else out there with this subject – keep sharing!
Alan – whenever I feel abundance and really live abundantly, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually – I am unstoppable. I feel powerful. I feel great! It’s those times when I feel resticted, stressed, the lack of this or that, the scarcity mentality, is when I stop moving and growing. The funny thing is, those times revolve almost exclusively around “me” and “poor me”, tired from the crushing force of my own worries on my shoulders. The solution always seems to be to partner up with others, lend them a hand, get the focus off myself. It ALWAYS works and before long, I am unstoppable again. Thank you for reminding me to live abundantly…
Loren – the basics form such a solid foundation in our lives and within our businesses. It’s difficult to reach out to the others when we are standing on shaky ground. The beautiful thing about the basics is they are so simple, they form a lifeboat even when the seas of life around us are choppy and begin to swell. Thanks for the reminder and the great examples of being brilliant with the basics you show me regularly! It fires me up and grounds me at the same time!
Comment by Ken Budka — March 1, 2008 @ 11:39 am
In the process of working with Eric P. (see first post above) as his accountability partner for the “5 things I am grateful for” each day, it seemed like a fantastic idea to share my 5 things with the group as we go. I have found that seeing what others are grateful for, many times are the same things I feel too, although I haven’t thought about them in the past. Once you get rolling, it’s pretty easy to find 5 each day.
In order to catch up, here are my first few days which began last week – I plan to post 5 each day for the entire month of March:
Friday, February 29th – I am grateful for:
1. Eric P. for your friendship, love and support since my first day at FPD
2. my life in it’s most amazing and awesome complexity.
3. electricity as it touches our lives in so many thousands of ways.
4. my children, that they are healthy and growing each day with the same awesome and mind-boggling complexity of life that I feel and experience each day.
5. my wife Michele, my best friend, partner, supporter, cheerleader, lover, dreamer, parent and a host of other dimensions and roles that I am aware of more and more each day.
Saturday March 1st – I am grateful fo:
1. The internet and the ability to communicate with you and the world as easily as if you lived next door!
2. Michele’s love of animals and for taking care of our 15 year old cat, Tigger with as much love and tenderness as when he was a kitten.
3. A good massage, whether giving or receiving, assisting blood flow to all muscles and helping them function seemlessly and do their job.
4. Cereal in a box – harvesting grain from a field, processing, packaging, shipping & distribution to a store conveniently located to my home and available for purchase when I stop in.
5. The opportunity to hold Addi’s hand (my 6 year old daughter) and coach her through a tear-filled, constipated moment in the bathroom, and then finding the humor in it afterwards and making fun of it literally, complete with a drawn out bit well beyond the border of ridiculous! Silly…yes! Human…we all are!! Learning to laugh at being human from time-to-time…priceless!!!
Sunday, March 2nd – I am grateful for:
1. My friends Kevin & Kelly who went on an overnight road trip with Michele and I to see a concert in Ft. Wayne, IN this weekend. I’ve known Kevin since high school and continue to become closer friends with him each day along with Kelly too – a three hour round of the “Newlywed Game” in the car coming home made the time fly and helped learn more about each other too with more than a few good laughs!
2. Speaking of concerts, I am grateful for good, loud, rock n’ roll music!
3. My parents, who have always been there for me, always! Every day I think about how lucky I am to have such great parents and be fortunate enough to have them both still be with us in this life. Totally awesome people, celebrating 50 years of marriage next month…
4. Soup.
5. My grandmother Sally (Cecelia), who always had soup for me, along with lunch when I would come home for lunch back in grade school. She really cared about all of us in our family.
Comment by Ken Budka — March 3, 2008 @ 4:22 pm
Monday, March 3rd – Today I am grateful for:
1. the telephone and being able to reach out to people anywhere on the face of the planet
2. my fingers and hands, the most amazing tools I own
3. shoes which protect and shield my feet everywhere I go, sacraficing themselves for me
4. being able to read, taking characters, letters, symbols, numbers, and interpreting their meaning and forming clear pictures in my mind as a result
5. the air that I breathe each day
Comment by Ken Budka — March 3, 2008 @ 4:40 pm
Tuesday, March 4th – Today and always I am grateful for:
1. my brother Mark, who has always been there for me and one of my closest friends
2. my ability to try and fail and then pick up and try again.
3. a comfortable bed to sleep in
4. good clients who open their doors to me and offer an opportunity to work together making the world a better place
5. my scheduling coordinator Jeff Caissie who focuses on the big picture and keeps our calendar full with an awesome, laid-back approach to life
Comment by Ken Budka — March 4, 2008 @ 12:31 pm
Wednesday, March 5th – Today and always I am grateful for:
1. Trees – as they provide food, shelter, oxygen, fuel, energy, resources, shade, beautiful landscapes, peace, and tranquility. Such amazing, living beings they are…
2. Rain – essential to life and the bridge from land to sea, it completes the cycle from ocean to clouds to rain to earth to rivers to ocean again.
3. Eyes – that expose our world to our mind. Our eyes are like our brains’ camera lens, capturing our physical world while we are awake.
4. Bar B Que grills – for tasty food and fun with friends.
5. Comfortable chair – at the end of a long day, feels great to put your feet up and relax!
Comment by Ken Budka — March 5, 2008 @ 9:39 pm
Thursday, March 6th – Today and always, I am grateful for:
1. Popcorn in a bag, salty, buttery, tasty, mmmm.
2. White blood cells, working 24/7 to keep me healthy
3. Strawberries that provide nutrients and goodness in every form
4. Software – for writing, creating, organizing, planning, presenting, entertaining, and a host of other applications…
5. Sunsets, one of natures most spectacular and unique displays of beauty and majesty
Comment by Ken Budka — March 7, 2008 @ 12:10 am
Friday, March 7th – Today I am grateful:
1) to have a warm house and a roof over my head on a wintery day
2) to have Dave Link, one of my closest and oldest friends in my life
3) for all the teachers who have impacted my life in so many ways
4) for emergency services like police and firefighters who risk their lives to help others
5) for a good pizza, especially when shared with good friends
Comment by Ken Budka — March 8, 2008 @ 11:14 am
Saturday, March 8th – today I am grateful for:
1) Ceramics in all different forms
2) Bowling, a fun, yet incredibly competetive sport
3) The library
4) Snowflakes, a reminder of the awesome power and unique ability of nature
5) The post office
Comment by Ken Budka — March 9, 2008 @ 1:42 am
Sunday, March 9th – today I am grateful for:
1. Hot water
2. Lazy Sunday brunch
3. Our Government and a reasonably decent sense of support and order
4. Farmers who form the foundation of our world food supply
5. Jet aircraft, an awesome technology bringing all points of the globe within our reach in a matter of hours
Comment by Ken Budka — March 9, 2008 @ 3:13 pm
Monday, March 10th – today I am grateful for:
1. Baby oil
2. System restore feature on Windows
3. David Shoup, a welcome friend and constant supporter
4. Re-runs of the Brady Bunch
5. The tenderness between Michele & Addi
Comment by Ken Budka — March 10, 2008 @ 10:07 pm
Baby oil! Do I even want to know why you are grateful for this?
I AM grateful for David Shoup too! Love ya Shoup!
Comment by Katie Brandt — March 12, 2008 @ 10:32 am
Tuesday, March 11th – I am grateful for:
1. Grass, emerging from its wintery blanket
2. Sleep
3. Fruits & Vegetables
4. Digestive system in all of its complexity
5. To feel love in my heart
Comment by Ken Budka — March 12, 2008 @ 12:41 pm
Wednesday, March 12th – today I am grateful for:
1. Our 24 club – the most awesome support staff I have ever worked with
2. Being a servant of a higher power
3. Chinese takeout
4. Speeches on my calendar
5. My life and how great it is to be alive
Comment by Ken Budka — March 12, 2008 @ 12:42 pm
Thursday, March 13th – Today, is a great day and I am grateful for:
1. Gasoline – or as my friends and I often joke, “the smell of fun”!
2. Chocolate
3. Cell phones
4. Coaches and people willing to invest their time to help me grow
5. Freedom of speech
Comment by Ken Budka — March 13, 2008 @ 6:31 pm
Friday, March 14th – today I am grateful for:
1. Ice Hockey – an all around great game to play and to watch
2. Realtors
3. Doctors
4. The stock market and the U.S. economy
5. Charities that genuinely help others
Comment by Ken Budka — March 15, 2008 @ 11:09 am
Saturday, March 15th – today I am grateful:
1. for all our service personnel willing to lay down thier lives to protect our freedom
2. for being blessed with a sense of humor and the ability to laugh at life, at myself, and with other people
3. for perspective from many sources and people willing to take time to share it with me
4. for my ancestors
5. for Freedom Personal Development, an outstanding organization with tremendous depth and genuine focus on helping people grow, including ourselves at the same time
Comment by Ken Budka — March 15, 2008 @ 11:13 am
Sunday, March 16th – today I am grateful for:
1. Vegetable gardens
2. Birds
3. Pets of all sorts and the smiles they bring
4. Addi’s enthusiasm for life
5. Michele’s storytelling creativity
Comment by Ken Budka — March 17, 2008 @ 12:12 am
I love reading these Ken. I have been doing this for a while myself, but you have inspired me to start it with my kids. Even though they are only 4 and 6, they get it. I am amazed at how easy it is for them to rattle off so many things that I know they are truly grateful for-and I know it makes them feel good too. (my favorite “i am grateful for our swingset because it makes me laugh to see mommy on our swing.”) THANKS FOR THIS POST KEN!
Comment by loren — March 17, 2008 @ 7:47 pm
Monday, March 17th – today, I am particularly grateful for:
1. My older daughter Eileen, now residing in Scotland
2. Brainquest – a learning series that Addi and I play every night before bed
3. Amps that go to 11
4. My ear for music – hear a song once and be able to play it
5. Carfax
Comment by Ken Budka — March 17, 2008 @ 9:11 pm
Tuesday, March 18th – today, I am grateful for:
1. My Grandaughter Emma
2. My marriage
3. Modern roads
4. The lightbulb
5. My Godmother, Maryann
Comment by Ken Budka — March 18, 2008 @ 11:16 pm
Wednesday, March 19th – today I am grateful for:
1. “Blue highways” and roads less traveled
2. Candles
3. Playing cards
4. Seatbelts
5. Scuba technology
Comment by Ken Budka — March 19, 2008 @ 8:45 pm
Thursday, March 20th – today I am grateful for:
1. The wheel
2. Puppies
3. First dates
4. Artists, poets and dreamers
5. Campfires
Comment by Ken Budka — March 20, 2008 @ 9:10 pm
Friday, March 21st – today I am grateful for:
1. Snowplows
2. Sunshine
3. Tow Weber, awesome coach & friend
4. Windshield wipers
5. Good friends
Comment by Ken Budka — March 23, 2008 @ 10:28 am
Saturday, March 22nd – today I am grateful for:
1. Stoves & Cooking Tools
2. Fire
3. Michael & Christine, my nephew & niece
4. Sailboats
5. Islands filled with adventure
Comment by Ken Budka — March 23, 2008 @ 10:29 am
Sunday, March 23rd – today I am grateful for:
1. Easter egg hunts
2. Small towns
3. Home Depot
4. Mom & Dad’s commitment of 50 years!
5. Spiritual guidance
Comment by Ken Budka — March 23, 2008 @ 10:31 am
this is reely coool!! I am greatful for time at home too play my games and that its easter. thank youu
Comment by Addi — March 23, 2008 @ 10:34 am
Monday, March 24th – today I am grateful for:
1. Crayons
2. Comedians
3. French fries
4. Skyscrapers
5. Starry nights
Comment by Ken Budka — March 26, 2008 @ 1:09 pm
Tuesday, March 25th – today I am grateful for:
1. My Father’s engineering ability
2. My Mother’s love of cooking
3. The United States
4. Law & order in our society
5. My memories
Comment by Ken Budka — March 26, 2008 @ 1:11 pm
Wednesday, March 26th – today I am grateful for:
1. Small towns
2. The smell of flowers (stopping to smell the roses)
3. Kites
4. Backyards
5. Cold beer
Comment by Ken Budka — March 26, 2008 @ 1:20 pm
Thursday, March 27th – today I am grateful for:
1. Power tools
2. Heated leather seats
3. Popcorn
4. Movies
5. Traffic signals
Comment by Ken Budka — March 29, 2008 @ 12:23 pm
Friday, March 29th – today I am grateful for:
1. Friendships without judgement
2. Birthdays
3. Car dealers with integrity
4. Neighbors
5. Classic Looney Tunes cartoons with Bugs Bunny & Road Runner
Comment by Ken Budka — March 29, 2008 @ 12:25 pm
Saturday, March 29th – today I am grateful for:
1. Modern appliances
2. Sunday afternoons
3. Katie Brandt
4. Our founding fathers
5. ATM machines
Comment by Ken Budka — March 30, 2008 @ 11:38 pm
Well I feel VERY special!!! Thanks for the shout our Budka!!! I am grateful for you and consider myself very lucky to work with you everyday
Comment by Katie — April 2, 2008 @ 6:45 am
Sunday, March 30th – today I am grateful for:
1. Beaches
2. Forest Preserves
3. Bike trails
4. The sun
5. My Uncle Harold & Aunt Sonya
Comment by Ken Budka — April 2, 2008 @ 9:30 pm
Monday, March 31st – today I am grateful for:
1. My 5 senses
2. Home cooking
3. Roller coasters and theme parks
4. Fishing
5. Music
Comment by Ken Budka — April 2, 2008 @ 9:31 pm
Tuesday, April 1st – today I am grateful for:
1. Yoga
2. Mountains
3. My health
4. Recording studios
5. Bicycles
Comment by Ken Budka — April 2, 2008 @ 9:33 pm
Well there you have it, with a few extra days thrown in beyond the initial 30! It has been a fun, sometimes challenging exercise to think of 5 things I am grateful for each day without duplication.
The truth is, after a few weeks or so, it has become a habit as well as a pretty amazing and inspiring list, which I will keep handy for those times I need a little boost.
Any time you can take a month and commit to a project or endeavor on daily basis, it becomes second nature and life-changing in a very positive way. I encourage all of you who have enjoyed checking out my list to create your own and add to it a little bit each day. One of the best by-products of the process is it takes the focus off yourself and puts you in the mode of appreciation for the little things that make life so rich and amazing. Enjoy the journey and be free!
Comment by Ken Budka — April 2, 2008 @ 9:42 pm
Hey Ken,
Thanks for being my accountability buddy for the last month! I have really enjoyed our emails and on our last day (for now) i am grateful for:
1. YOU for being such a great influence in my world this last month.
2. The warm house i slept in last night.
3. Tom and Peggy Weber for spending this month with Michelle and me in Argentina.
4. The thousands of people across the country that have applied for our sales / speaker position. I wish all of them great success finding a career they are passionate about.
5. The person who invented the heart rate monintor (it’s a super helpful training tool for me)
Comment by eric — April 4, 2008 @ 4:19 pm
I am thankful for my two beautiful children, my job, my lovely new home, my cats, and my family of course. I pray that I can get to a point in my life where I do not miss my first love so much that it hurts. I keep busy, and lead a very full life, but at the end of the day, I still want him! I have faith that everything in life happens for a reason, and I am learning more each day to accept the things that I can not change!
Comment by Kim — May 30, 2008 @ 9:56 pm
Thank you Kim for sharing some pretty honest reflection on things we cannot change, yet spend a great deal of our time wishing we could! I agree that everything happens for a reason and is part of some bigger plan or picture. You have many things to be grateful for, especially an opportunity to get to know yourself and grow as an individual.
Comment by Ken Budka — June 2, 2008 @ 8:41 am
Ken -
This was fabulous and I’d like to add a phrase a friend gave me yesterday: “the grass is always greener where you water it.” In addition to being grateful, we have the opportunity to make the things we have even better, IF we’re willing to tend to them properly and lovingly water them.
What a beautiful example and powerful encouragement you’ve given.
Thank you.
Comment by Jodi — June 16, 2008 @ 5:38 pm