Practising Gratitude Towards People

Practicing Gratitude-turning talk into practice.

Today, I would like to practice gratitude towards people who have, in some way or other, left a favorable impression on me and remember them with fondness. 

Those who may have shown kindness, integrity, or gone the extra mile for me.

Gratitude for my dad

My dad-the hardest thing is to limit dad to a few short paragraphs! An incredible man who loved his family and community. 

After his death, all the Hungarian clubs in Victoria that mushroomed from the first club he started, stood for 5 minutes silence in his honour, even though he had been off the scene for more than 30 years when he died at 86.

He left Europe to give us a better life and built a tiny bungalow for us to live in while he built our first brick home.

He was responsible for bringing out all our family, giving them free board and food until they could be independent.

The words 'nuclear family' meant nothing to us as we were always surrounded by a huge family, as well as community.

Dad also helped other young men and couples who migrated to Australia. They were always included in family outings and our combi van was always full of people and food.

He built up small businesses as a greengrocer and had a thriving fish and chips business. His days started mostly at 3.30 am to go to the market and home at 6pm.

He was a homing pigeon and always happy to be home, but sometimes did visit his brothers' families who lived in the same street or area, most of the time.

He never charged the family for food they took from our shops.

As the family did not have cars in the early days, he would do the rounds and pick up all my cousins and drive us to school.

He never complained about being tired, and when we were old enough to go out to functions, he would eat, have a shower and get ready to take us out and wait around somewhere until it was time to pick us up after parties, etc.

He always knew how to cut costs but give people a great feed. In his fish and chips business, he made his own fish cakes and they were so popular.

 On Fridays, I had to help as the shop was bulging at the seams with people and the cue went outside the door and down the side street alongside our side fence. 

We had two fish and chips shops on either side of us, just a short distance away- empty, of course!

Later in life, he became a real estate agent. I remember a time when the interest rates were very high in the 1970/80's and it was common for young couples to get second mortgages on top of a first mortgage.

A young couple wanted to buy a house from dad but he refused to sell it to them as he looked over their finances, and said that a second mortgage would ultimately lead them to lose their house and put pressure on their marriage.

The bank had okayed them for the two loans, as they did in those days!

There is so much more to dad, but the loveliest memory was when he would take mum to the station to go to work in the early morning.

 I would hear a clatter in the kitchen and he would bring me breakfast in bed, with a cup of coffee and a rose in a small vase. He always said 'a rose for a rose.'

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Gratitude for my teachers

Mostly, and unfortunately, the majority of my teachers were stressed, mean, or just interested in getting information across. 

The teachers that I have fond memories of were those who were able to get off their pulpits and show kindness and have a little 1:1 moment while teaching.

 Just reading what I have written, I wonder why I actually liked school!

My Grade 6 teacher

She was a nun and the kindest one in my four years at catholic school. Nuns could be tough ladies!

I don't remember her hitting us, as part of normal practise at the time, when they were annoyed at someone's antics. 

Often, the whole class copped it so we would get angry at the culprit and put peer pressure on him( yes, it was always a 'him').

My family went overseas for three months so she would sit with me every day, before we went, and taught me what I needed to learn.

Looking back, I would have done well with homeschooling as I was a quick learner and enjoyed the 1:1 sessions.

Mr. Pavlov

Mr. Pavlov was a Russian teacher who was a mixture of strictness but funny! He could get angry but no one was really scared of him.

 If the boys got on his nerves, he called them 'potatoes' and they knew they were out of line.

I remember his kindness- when he roved the classroom, he always spoke kindly to me and asked me how I was going. 

I was not backward in maths but I certainly was not super confident.

 If he thought I wasn't sure of something, he explained the concept quietly at my desk and he always got his message through easily.

Mr. Kuhne

Another maths. teacher who struck terror in us all! 

Everything was black and white and there were no excuses. 

He told us the rules on the first day and stuck to them. 

He took a lineup area and everyone rushed to be on time as even talking to a Principal etc was no excuse- you just had to be lined up on time.

What a nice surprise to find how patient he was on a 1:1 basis, and he made maths so easy to understand that I actually enjoyed it.

 He was kind on a 1:1 basis and was patient with students who needed some support.

 He just did not tolerate rudeness and those who wasted time in class.

Mr. Jones

My art teacher who was just a nice guy. You did not have to be good at art, just enjoy it. He was one of the only teachers, in that era, who allowed us to stay inside at lunchtime.

Miss Simpson

My English teacher for both English and English Literature. When I was a teenager, a lot of learning was 'chalk and talk', with copying from the board or answering questions on paper.

I remember being very upset as Miss Simpson would come in, sit on top of a desk, and just talk or fire questions at us. I was so concerned that my exercise books were empty!

She was encouraging us to think and talk, express our views. Our results were phenomenal- with the majority of our class receiving A's in our final year. This enabled me to get into the college of my choice. 

Miss Helen Welsh

Vice-principal at one of the schools where I do a substantial amount of casual teaching.

Helen has been so kind and this has enabled me to have lots of work, especially working in the grade 1/2/3 area.

She has respect for my experience and, as she asks for me by name when she rings the agency, she has given me a high profile as the agency has said that I am the only teacher that is requested by name!

 I am now an ambassador for the agency.

Rahul and Sheetal

The parents of two young students who I tutor, they are doctors and lead a very busy life as they are on call.

They tell me how they appreciate how I teach their children and asked, this past Christmas, if I would mind if they gave me a raise in pay!

The resident doctor who saved my life.

I was five months pregnant and was taken to hospital with appendicitis. 

 I had a high pain threshold but I remember the incredible pain. I was taken in about 9 pm and they were waiting for a doctor to arrive- a Mr., not just a DR.! 

Well, he just didn't arrive and they had to keep changing the time of my operation.

Finally, he arrived and it was about 2.30 pm next day that I was taken into theatre. By that time, my appendix had burst and the pain was escalating and I just wanted to escape the incredible pain.

The nurses said, with glints in their eyes, how lucky I was to have this doctor operating on me.

Well- Mr. arrived! He walked into the theatre (I was still conscious) and walked over to the nurses where there was a bit of giggling going on. Not even a look at me.

The last thing I remember was the resident doctor being very angry and shouting to others to get me ready for the operation as I was in a bad way.

Well, that week I had round-the-clock checks every 10 minutes. I remember not being able to open my eyes at one point but hearing what was going on around me.

 I remember a very high level of pain. I just wanted the pain to end.

I remember feeling that I could just slip away and then, feeling so scared that I could die, I talked myself into positive thinking mode- you will survive, the team in hospital will look after you etc.

When I left the hospital, the matron and the doctor talked to me separately and said that I had been so ill that it was a miracle that I was still alive. 

They actually used the word 'miracle'. So the feeling I had that I could pass on was real!

They also said that there was no word to describe my baby surviving the operation and my subsequent level of illness. They had expected both of us to die. Yes, they actually said 'die'.

My friend, Rob!

My friend who has stuck by me when I went through a bad depression and was close to a breakdown after my dad died and the family went to pieces.

He was there holding my hand when the doctor and nurse were trying to get my heartbeat back to normal, as they said I was having a heart attack, stress-induced.

He never judged me and understood what I was going through.

Who are you grateful for? Who are your 'standout' people that left their mark on you? I'd love you to share your memory with me.

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Gratefulness-How can I change my mindset and be more thankful?

Gratefulness and mindset 

I thought I might focus on gratefulness and how to change a mindset so that we are feeling thankful daily and becoming happier, regardless of a taxi being late, our children not getting out of bed, an unexpected bill......

  In a recent post, I discussed how gratitude does impact on our wellness.

I discussed how gratefulness connects us socially to others and also stimulates the part of the brain which sets off a chain reaction that ultimately improves our mental wellbeing. 

This can also work in reverse as negative emotions can also set a chain of chemical reactions, that are invisible to us but nonetheless wreak havoc on our bodies.

 For more reading about the connection between gratefulness and wellbeing, you can read this post.

If being a negative person can harm us physically,  can it also impact on us socially?

Well, how many memes have you seen on social media advising you to stay away from negativity, and that means that some people get a bad name for being negative, toxic, draining, doomsday merchants etc. 

This means that negative people are ultimately seen as bad company, poor examples of parenting, and draining partners or work colleagues! 

They cause negative reactions from those around them and this further embeds their feelings of negativity. 

So are you a positive, thankful person that is socially pleasing to be around?

Check your mindset and gratitude now:

Do you consistently groan about your day?

Do you ruminate on the past?

Do you go to work daily in a bad mood?

If someone mentions something in a positive manner, do you top it off with a negative statement?

Are you a grumbling, bad mood sort of person?

Do you focus on one bad thing that may have happened in the day, and pay no attention to the positives of your day?

Do you find it hard to find positives in your day, if asked?

Do you find it hard to find positive attributes in people? Are you cynical?

Do you feel apprehensive at the start of each day?

Do you feel down about life, life choices, and pessimistic about the future?

Do you feel unhappy regularly?

Do you want to become a more positive person?

We may have some characteristics of some of the attributes listed but they may vary in degrees. On a more personal note, I know a couple of people who are so negative that they can be labeled toxic. 

However, that is the extreme and most people are a mixture of positives and negatives! But there is always room for improvement.

How to form the Gratitude habit.

It takes 30 days to form a new habit and forming the habit of Gratitude can lead to more happiness in your life. 

It resets your mind and helps you focus on the positives in your life, instead of dwelling on the negatives.

If you would like to get into the habit of practicing gratefulness, you may find this Gratitude Bundle valuable. 

This Gratitude Bundle will help you get into the habit of practicing gratitude and becoming a happier person.

 Become more positive, have more success in your relationships and become a happier person through the habit of Gratitude. 

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Best Diet Tips For Weight Loss

My Best Diet Tips For Weight Loss

I would like to offer you my best diet tips for weight loss that may be unusual but can boost your weight loss efforts.

Some tips are daily habits that can easily be incorporated into your lifestyle and will help you with appetite control and losing weight gradually.

Starting new habits

If you want things to change, then you must incorporate change into your life. 

If you are serious about weight loss. whether you choose to do it gradually or quickly over a shorter time frame, then you must start new habits. 

The habits I chose to share with you are simple and easy to add to your regime.

Tip 1

I substitute coffee and tea with water laced with lemon juice or lemon essential oil. 

Lemons are so expensive at the moment and, as my partner and I both use it daily, we use lemon essential oil ( just a couple of drops in our water container)

It is thirst quenching-a lot of times when we think we are hungry, we are actually thirsty, so always have a drink before you go into the pantry.

It is a simple habit that controls hunger and you should prepare a bottle daily for you to drink. 

I put it in the freezer when I wake up and then remove it when I go to work.

 Just the right temperature and keeps cool most of the day. I start the day with this drink, the first thing when I hit the kitchen.

I noticed that when I drink tea and coffee throughout the day, I actually feel more hungry!

Tip 2

Apple Cider Vinegar-this is a wonderful product to have in your cupboard with many uses. I know some people shudder at its taste but it does not have to be unpleasant. 

I think people go overboard with the amount they use and any wonder they are not using it!

I use it only twice a day and that is enough for me as it curbs the desire to nibble on something.

There are a variety of ways to use it:-

i) One teaspoon in a glass of water (or half a glass, if you want to drink less) with one teaspoon of honey.

 Some say one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar-do what you can tolerate as you won’t do anything that pains you! 

Even if you are on a diet, you can still have desserts, so allow honey to be your special thing. It has good properties so I don’t have a problem using it for weight loss.

This drink has significantly helped in reducing my hunger pangs and tendency to reach for something to eat, and I drink it twice a day.

Tip 3

I read about turmeric for pain relief in joint pain and as a weight loss agent (as well as cancer) so I started incorporating it into our daily regime.

Note: For turmeric to work, it must have 2 elements added to it- heat and black pepper. Honey also must be pure.

We combined turmeric, a touch of black pepper, cider vinegar and honey with warm water. 

Hot water will take away the potency of honey and vinegar! Sometimes, we have this beverage straight or we may add it to tea or coffee, if we have a desire to have them.

My partner went to the Home Show and brought home a large container of Tumerix.

I wish we could be affiliates for this product as it is wonderful. It has everything in it that helps you with weight loss, as well as other ailments. 

It has black pepper, ginger, cinnamon….just to name a few spices.

 I also drink this twice a day sometimes, instead of the other drink. So I change it around with my mood but, either way, the drinks control hunger very noticeably.

If you use Tumerix with tea, then it is like a chai tea. If you put it in coffee, it tastes like Golden Coffee. So versatile and delicious!

And guess who throws it into her main meals, as well! 

Tip 4

I read the Boiled Egg Diet online, which is only meant to be done for a very short time.

 After one week, I lost 10 centimetres off my hips and chest, and 11 centimetres off my waist. The funny thing was that I broke it so many times, sometimes not my fault! 

Yes, I ate pizza and, on boiling hot days, I ate ice cream and I also ate crackers at night!

However, it works.

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The reason I brought it up was that I wanted to share ideas that were more long-term habit-changing ideas. 

I wanted to show how you can modify a short-term diet into a more long-term habit.

What I found with the Egg Diet was that I was never hungry in the morning. 

This surprised me as I was used to having at least one slice of multigrain toast for breakfast and I thought I would be hungry with the breakfast of 2 boiled eggs and I orange.

I have adapted it to eating the breakfast of this diet now. 

My habit now is to eat 2 boiled eggs and an orange for breakfast each day I work and I never feel peckish and can last comfortably until my snack and lunch breaks.

I can be a bit peckish in the evening so my splurges are a slice on toasted multigrain bread with vegemite or peanut butter or Salada crackers.

The habit of eating boiled eggs and oranges for breakfast has helped me with slow, gradual weight loss.

Tip 5

I'm lost without this in my fridge-natural Greek yoghurt, laced with garlic, chopped cucumbers and cumin. 

Yes, a snack in the afternoon or during the day is wonderful for keeping hunger pangs away.

I worked with a young Maltese girl who put me onto the cumin and I now love it!

I have shared just a few tips that you may like to try and add to your repertoire of healthy diet practices. I hope this post has been helpful to you. 

I am interested in hearing what you find successful so pop a comment below.

  

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