Hello and happy Thursday! Before I know it it’ll be Friday and the weekend will be here. I hope that your week is going by just as fast. I wanted to share my workout from yesterday before I get into gratitude.
I did my first cardio workout in nearly two weeks! I’ve been all about the Group Power classes lately. With four of those last week I was feeling a big run down, so I opted to take an extra rest day – hence the lack of any cardio last week.
It felt really good to get back at the heart pumping cardio today though. I don’t know if it was that I slept really well or that I just had an extended break from the elliptical, but it was a really great workout. I felt pretty speedy (for me) and I didn’t have to push myself to keep up that pace. After my 35 minutes on the elliptical I did a quick cool down on the track.
I also snapped this photo of a workout that was on a whiteboard at the gym as I was leaving. I thought I’d share if just in case you’re needing a little bit of workout inspiration to get active today. Let me know if you end up trying it out.
Over the last few months I’ve really been trying to develop a gratitude practice. I used to keep a gratitude journal pretty regularly, but I had let it go over the last year or two. I’m happy to say that I’m back in the habit of keeping up with my gratitude journal and a few other things that help me to keep gratitude front and center for me.
Keep a gratitude journal
One thing that I’ve done over the years on and off has been keeping a gratitude journal. I’ve been pretty consistent with it over the last few months, and I’ve definitely noticed a difference. Not only is it easier to come up with 10 things every time I sit down to write, but I also notice the little things that I’m thankful for that I wouldn’t have acknowledged before. I wouldn’t have even noticed that they were good things before. Once I started looking for things to be grateful for, it was easier to spot them.
Random acts of kindness
One of the things that I’ve done the last year or so is making sure that I have a couple gift cards for fast food places or transit tickets in my wallet. If someone asks me for money while I’m out I’ll find out if they like eating at the fast food place. If it’s a yes I’ll hand over a gift card. If I happen to be out of gift cards for food I’ll offer transit tickets. I actually gave away my last few transit tickets so I’ll have to stock up on some more.
It’s such a little thing for me to be able to do, but if it means someone can buy a meal and give them a warm and safe place to be for awhile while they eat, it’s worth it. It makes me appreciate everything that I have and I’m very grateful to be able to pay it forward in a very small way. I know that I get much more out of it than the person does who I’m sharing with.
Share my appreciation
I’ve gotten much better at sharing how much I appreciate other people and the things that they do for me. One way that I like to do this is with a card. Most of the mail I get these days are bills, so I know that I like receiving “fun” mail.
Even a quick text telling a friend that I appreciate something that they did for me or just thanking them for listening to me talk through a problem is something that I’ve started doing. A lot of times I just assume that they know that I appreciate it when something is done for me, but that’s not always the case. Now I make sure that they know it.
What’s your favorite form of cardio? How do you show gratitude? Leave your tips below – I’d love to hear them.