Here’s the self-assessment:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ProHappyTest
In the United States, we take this week to give thanks. And in the spirit of this holiday, I want to do two things:
As I’ll explain later, my life has been transformed by this one simple step: keeping a Gratitude Journal. And if you’re struggling… if you feel stuck, or occasionally feel like giving up… I want to do everything I can to encourage you to do this too.
You see, I really appreciate YOU because you have the courage to creatively improve yourself. You are open and strong… exploring and finding ways to personally develop your skills, outlook, and abilities.
This courage is rare.
So I want you to know: I believe in you and I’m impressed with you. You truly are AMAZING!
I see your greatness and appreciate you deeply.
I have always loved this holiday of Thanksgiving.
It’s is my favorite holiday of the year. On Halloween, I enjoy seeing the creative costumes and joy the kids experience trick-or-treating. But all that candy! Yuck. Christmas and Easter are very cool. The Fourth of July is fun to photograph… but Thanksgiving is, in my opinion, really WHERE IT’S AT!
Thanksgiving is all about celebrating blessings and being with family. (And playing video games with the kids). What can be better than that?
There is no virtue greater than gratitude. Focusing on what I appreciate in a daily Gratitude Journal has completely changed my life.
Truly… I was in a bad place and going from bad to worse… and I didn’t even realize it.
A couple of years ago, I focused full-time on
Now, on a daily basis, I spend my time focusing on what I love, what I’m grateful for, the amazing Abundance of love and good all around us, and what I celebrate. I still slip from time to time into the “have not” mindset, but I no longer live in this place. I gravitate to gratitude.
And this has transformed my life. I used to be an out-of-shape photographer, in a often-dark and sad significant relationship, with a terrible anger problem.
Now I’m 60 lbs lighter, much more energetic, much more fun to be around, and simply happier. Keeping a Gratitude Journal has helped me shift my focus and see life through the lens of what I have, what is good. It’s played a huge part in my transformed health, marriage, family life, and overall experience of life.
And this habit of centering on gratitude and celebration, combined with my “Morning My Time”, really took me to a whole new level of freedom and enjoyment.
In addition to a journal, I also note the things I am MOST grateful for on a poster in my office. As I glance at it now, I see some of my favorite memories and past experiences, as well as my cherished relationships, and many of the great blessings God has bestowed on me.
And here is one more popular subject in my Gratitude Journal… the following is 3 minutes of simple joy:
Check this out… gratitude and simple joy in action
I offer these examples in the hopes that they will inspire you.
You see, many people know about gratitude journals. Some have even started one. But few wire this in as a daily habit. And THAT is where the magic really happens.
When I daily shift my focus:
…the rest of my day is ONE MILLION TIMES better than it would have been without this shift in focus.
I want to encourage you to quickly and enthusiastically write down at least 10 things you’re grateful for, proud of, or happy about.
Daily. Each morning, right after you shave, shower, or brush your teeth. Put a sticky note near whatever item you end your morning routine with… go ahead… do this right now.
And then at least once a week, comment below or email me to let me know how much better your days are going, with this focus on gratitude.
Again, I’m grateful for you and look forward to hearing about your future successes and joys.
The good life is just one simple step ahead…
Will you commit to doing this one step each day? Can you keep a Gratitude Journal through the holidays… for the next 39 days?
I believe you can do this every morning, and I KNOW it will change your life for the better.
Comment below to let me know you’re in. And I want to hear about your journey as you go. Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Travels!
Very Nice Thank for the help I really look forward to reading more
That is right! Nothing is going to stop me. New moves on my part. Learning new skills, and finally seeing some real results. It is a great feeling! Still working on my 7-Keys., Do great with one for a while and then another does great. I am getting there though. Doubts more than fear were getting in my way.
Thanks, Jim
Barbara
That is right! Nothing is going to stop me. New moves on my part. Learning new skills, and finally seeing some real results. It is a great feeling! Still working on my 7-Keys.,/b> Do great with one for a while and then another does great. I am getting there though.
Thanks, Jim
Barbara
I’ve been wanting to do this and now is a great time. I have a lot of things to be grateful for! Thanks for the motivation
Motivation… removal of procrastination… believing in myself. It was a few successes that got me to start working harder. I had to develop a system. Motivation helped here. I knew what I needed to accomplish and just had to figure out the best way to do it.
Thanks
God is my motivation, he gives me purpose, the purpose to do his will and help others. By helping others you help yourself.
Excellent advice. Reminds me of the advice someone once gave me, which is to slow down, don’t rush, you’ll enjoy the process more.
Great website, keep up the great work.
Matthew
One Kind Act.Com
Are you feeling stressed out? The first thing you can do – for an immediate change – is to move your body. Bounce on your heels, talk a walk, or best of all crank up the tunes and dance!
But moving your body is just one way, and you may need to do something else to keep the positive change, long-term.
A fantastic way to keep that positive state is through the use of language. Words can be a super-powerful tool for getting stress-free, feeling happy, and becoming more focused. The following are some stress quotes that I sometimes turn to when I need to keep my peace of mind:
Named your fear must be before vanquish it you can. - Yoda
One of the marks of a gift is to have the courage to fulfill it. - Katherine Anne Porter
Do not fear mistakes. There are none. - Miles Davis
…missed 9000 shots, lost 300 games, missed 26 potentially game-winning shots. “I have failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” - Michael Jordan
Our fears must never hold us back from pursuing our hopes. - John F. Kennedy
Courage: the power to let go of the familiar. - Raymond Lindquist
A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. - William Shedd
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands during challenge and controversy. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Advertisement in London Newspaper, 1906: Men wanted for hazardous journey, Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success. - Sir Ernest H. Shackleton
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. – Gen. 1:31
Talk back to your internal critic. - Robert McKain
Believe that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Believe that you may be that light for someone else. – Kobi Yamada
We made the world we’re living in and we can make it over. - James Baldwin
They’ll tell you, ‘Quit now, you’ll never make it.’ If you disregard that advice, you’ll be halfway there. - David Zucker
If people don’t agree with you, so what? If people agree with you, so what? - Robert Anthony
The real moment of success is not the moment apparent to the crowd. - George Bernard Shaw
If someone listens, or stretches out a hand, or whispers a kind word of encouragement, or attempts to understand, extraordinary things begin to happen. - Loretta Girzartis
Assume that people are good until you actually and specifically learn differently. And even then, know that they have potential for change and that you can help them out. - Leo Buscaglia
To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible… It is to feel, when setting one’s stone, that one is contributing to the building of the world. - Antoine de Saint Exupery
Hang in there. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. – Thomas Edison
You must do the thing you think you cannot do. - Eleanor Roosevelt
If you’re going through hell, keep going. - Rob Estes
Every mountain has a top. Every problem has a life span. - Robert Schuller
Never give up. This may be your moment for a miracle. - Greg Anderson
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. - Antoine de Saint Exupery
Life is too short and too wonderful to waste time doing things you really don’t want to be doing. - Bruce Isaacs
One does not accumulate but eliminate. - Bruce Lee
*****
One last thing that has helped me: whenever I feel stress, I think about how stress is caused in physics by two forces pushing against each other. I seek to remove one of the forces. Eliminate the less important pressure; choose the best and go with that flow.
Tell me…
What are your favorite quotes about stress, happiness, courage, and overcoming fear?
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Hi. Many thanks to dear Jim and other friends because of their great sentences. I hope to enjoy my sentences, too.
1- A baby is Gods opinion that life should go on. Carl Sandburg
2- No symphony orchestra has ever played music like a baby laughs happily. Bern William
3- The most happiness of life is to know that we are loved by God.
4- Life is like a piano… Black keys represent sorrow and white keys, happiness. So you can hear the music of life, when you go through black and white.
5- Life is short. Forgive quickly, love truly, laugh , and never regret anything that made you smile.
6- Be carless in your dress if you must, but keep a tidy soul.
7- The most beautiful pictures have been created in a dark room. If you see a darkness in your life, be sure that God wants to make a nice picture for you.
8- If at first you dont succeed, try, try, try again and Practise makes perfect. Proverbs
S. M Rey, Tehran
I have 3:
It is never too late to be who you might have been. George Eliot.
Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. MLK Jr.
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Wayne Gretzky. (also very applicable to photography!)
Thank you, Jim! You gave me gold! I have neither gold nor silver in return, what I have I give to you and that is my personal quote not read or copied from anywhere:: “Victory over the weak is failure”
If God took you to it. God will take you through it.
The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.
Moliere
One last thing that has helped me: whenever I feel stress, I think about how stress is caused in physics by two forces pushing against each other. This is so interesting Jim! I am going to have to give it a bit of thought and consider what is really making me feel stress. Can you give more examples? It’s taking a feeling and looking at it more logically I guess. A lot of my stress has to do with what I am not doing when I am doing something else. I suppose that’s more about prioritizing.
Here’s one I like:
Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are. ~Chinese Proverb
Writing in my Gratitude Journal every day has made a big positive impact in my life!
Thanks for the reminder. I started one a while back while in one of your classes…one of my challenges is I feel like I keep saying the same thing over and over again and that it loses something. I will have to make a rule, something like, “not being able to write the same thing for a week” or “can’t write the same thing twice”??? hmmm…something like that!
Thanks again for your 2-minute tips! I am so encouraged by you and grateful for YOU!
Have a Happy Fourth of July!
Barbara
Thanks for this one Jim. Must confess to procrastinating at first, but started two days ago and do it each evening. Wow, it’s a real attitude adjuster!!! I’m grateful for your push to DO IT. Thanks for all the good tips – you are a shining star Jim!!
Thanks so much for your encouraging videos. They are great helps. Really appreciate your sincerity and the experiences you share. Looking forward to more videos!
I am grateful for BP and your photography books. Both have kept me learning new techniques in my photo shoots. Keep up your wonderful work. At 75 years of age, it is photography that is helping keep me feeling young and healthy! God Bless.
Jack
I completely agree with this tip. I think that it is very important for us to remember everyday what we are grateful for. I don’t have a gratitude journal, but I do have a way that I express my gratitude daily. I simple thank God for the many things that I feel grateful for throughout my day. I can do it anytime and it reminds me of how blessed that I am. It truly effects my out look on life and attitude when I deal with each event through out my day. I will start to take time to write down what I am grateful for. I think this will be a very positive experience. Thanks again!
Thank you Jim. Your speeches are reately appreciated
Thanks for today’s tip…I’m going out to get a journal right now!!….I hope to be as disciplined as you are – thank you
Very powerful truths here for sure. With refocusing on what you are grateful for in your life each day, with only a little practice, it helps a person to become others focused rather than self focused. I love the fact that you teaching it to others and even starting with your own Son. All I can say Jim, is that I am very grateful for you and for all your tips here at productive and happy.
Jim,
What a great reminder and a great way to start off the day! Thanks so much!
Matthew
Thanks Jim. I’ve been using a similar process using Gratitude Log, and it does have a positive benefit.
Thanks again Jim. I guess we forget that it’s the simple small steps that transform our lives. It’s good to be reminded.
Thank you for the tips. I like the fact that you give tips that are specific, but not too limiting. Sometimes the tips that people offer are either too generalized or too specific.
Ha ha – I thought I only had one butt – this tip has made me realise that I have a ton of them!! Thank you so much for this one Jim – getting off my many buts is the big scary thing, and your tip has made me aware that I am not the only one with doubts and insecurities about my ideas. You are such a good inspiration!!! Thanks again Jim.
Just started working on my next drawing. Thanks for the 2 minute tips – they are just right.
I wrote a blog post
thanks for the tip Jim!
Thanks Jim. This is a great reminder. I’ve heard it before, but I haven’t used it often – at least, not often enough. I really enjoy your 2 minute tips. Great job!
Great tips, more Jim.
I really appreciate it you taking the time to prepare for and share this important and possibly life saving your info.
I did this in the form of goals 10 years ago. I am I can’t wait wait to to do it again, because I know they will be diff. I need clarity and this is just the thing for that.
Thanks
Raj
I know I’m successful when I teach a class at BetterPhoto.com and get a lot of communication from my students. When there’s a lot of interest, interaction, and growth, I know I’ve done my job as a teacher.
Wow. That was pretty revealing. I am going to do this again in a month or two and see if it changes.
Love these tips, short enough, but timely
Thanks Jim. I needed to hear this message…it’s time for me to refocus and truly define what matters to me. I know I am in a season of change. I am going to journal it tonight when I get home. And it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks…it’s none of my business what they think.
The list/changes are between God and I.
Thank you for the tip! again! I immediately wrote down my 10 things that I feel make me successful. I feel like I just wrote all I needed to know to accomplish my success everyday! I am very excited to put this into use. My top 2 are: I know that I’m successful when…I am at peace with my relationship with God and I have taken steps to feel like a good mother.
Language is a powerful tool for focusing, feeling happy, and being productive. The following are some happy quotes that I often turn to when I need to elevate my state:
Nature never made a nobody. Melvin Chapman
I thank you God for most this amazing day:
for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;
and for everything
which is natural
which is infinite
which is yes. e.e. cummings
When you were born, God said ‘Yes!’ Sarah Pound
Everyone had inside him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t yet realize how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is! Anne Frank
No one else in the world is like you. Muhammad Ali
There are many wonderful things that will never be done if you do not do them. Charles D. Gill
Talents, small or large, are God-given. They are a sacred trust. Paul Robeson
People will try to tell you that all the great opportunities have been snapped up. In reality, the world changes every second, blowing new opportunities in all directions, including yours. Ken Hakuta
Once you accept an idea, it’s an idea whose time has come. William James
Never tell a young person that something can’t be done. God may have waited centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing. Michael LeBoeuf
There are no ordinary moments. Dan Milman
We are not creatures of circumstance; we are creators of circumstance. Benjamin Disraeli
It’s what you do, not when you do it, that counts. Dan Zadra
The thing to remember when traveling is that the trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast and you miss all you are traveling for. Louis L’Amour
Friends are kind to each other’s hopes. They cherish each other’s dreams. Henry David Thoreau
We are here to add what we can to, not to get what we can from, life. Sir William Osler
Let no one come to you without leaving better. Mother Teresa
Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look at what they can do when they stick together. Vesta M. Kelly
John Alexander passed your website on to me and I am so glad he did. I was inspired by your quotes and will pass your happiness, quotes and website on to the neglected and abused children I work with at a childrens’ home who struggle everyday to be happy and to forget the past. Inspirations like these will be perfect for starting their day off right or for our devotionals. I also work with patients in a hospital and find myself many times trying to cheer them up. I will pass this resource on to them as well. God bless you for your ministry of happiness.
Jim – Thought you might like this quote I just got from a friend -
LIFE ISN’T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS. IT’S ABOUT LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN.
Regards and thanks, Donna
Your quotes for happiness lift my spirit.
Can’t be unhappy of afraid after reading them.
LIke your spirit Jim. You are getting me moving in
a good direction
Nancylee
I’m Happy Too!!! Thanks for the tips!
Jim, I really appreciate your Productive and Happy website, your 2 minute tips and your friendly, approachable, down-to-earth style. The happiness quotes were just great. Thank you for what you do to make the world a better place.
Thank you for this quote that is the perfect send off for my GRADUATING daughter!! Yikes – how did that happen so fast!?!? So many of these gems apply to my life today.
“Everyone had inside him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t yet realize how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is! ” Anne Frank
Thank you for those quotes. There are times when we want to say something, or feeling something that we just cannot put into words ourselves. These quotes sure help. I cannot chose just one as my favorite. These will be added to my collection for further reflection. Look forward to the video on the e.e. cummings quote.
Thanks for sharing these wonderful quotes, Jim. Its evening here and I have been having a very bad day (a stomach bug has kept me on the bed all day) till I read the quotes above. Thanks to you I am feeling much much better and Thanking God for every blessing He has bestowed on me and these are more than I can count. And i am grateful for that and as e. e. cumming rightly said above “You can’t be grateful and unhappy at the same time”. Thanks again.
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Inspirational stuff! Thanks for brightening my day.
Jim I used to keep a gratitude journal and then I drifted away from the habit. Thank you for encouraging me to start again and thank you for your positive energetic spirit.
Yes I’m in. Missed a couple of days as too busy to read email. But I’m grateful that my life is full !!
My gratitude became “in focused” 10 years ago diagnosed with prostate cancer…Cancer free today….I am married to my child hood sweetheart beginning our 49th year together…3 beautiful grown children and 8 fantastic grandchildren! Each day is a “gift” and a “wonder” of how I am surronded by God’s grace..My question I ask myself…..” if this would be your last day how would you “spend” it? Peace to you all and may you experience God’s love for you…gary
I’m in! This is something I’ve tried to do for some time and stick with it. Taking a challenge to do it consistently for 39 days is a great start. We have so much to be thankful for, and yet it is easy to focus on obstacles or challenges each day or week, rather than be grateful for all we have and the baby steps we make toward our goals.
Count me in. I’ve been trying to do this since last August after reading several books about how to be happy. They all focused on this type of thing: being grateful, focusing on the positive, etc. While I’d do it, I’d forget. I’m grateful to you, Jim, for sending out these emails that kept reminding me what life is all about and I’m grateful to you for this challenge. I intend to follow through.
Jim, I’ve been keeping this journal for some time but I need to make it a more significant part of my life. Thank you for this invitation. I need to print out your entire post as a reminder.
Great post, Jim. Lately, I have been focused on wanting more, more, and more, neglecting all the things I have in my life that I should be thankful for. Your post is a great reminder, and I could not agree more about how effective a Gratitude Journal can be. Even in a work environment, it works wonders! We have an employee gratitude log and encourage everyone to use it daily. It has helped increase morale, productivity, and camaraderie.
I hope you are well, Jim, and I hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!
What a beautiful thought to begin a gratitude journal! I have done this before and the results were absolutely amazing. I will begin this moment!
I also started a gratitude journal a while ago and also let it slide when the going got good – thank you Jim for your reminder and support. Count me in for the 39 day challenge!
I’m in. What a nice thing to start on Thanksgiving!
Hi Everyone:
Last year Jim was talking about his Gratitude Journal and for years I had a journal book I was writing in everyday, which like some of you helped me through some rough times. But then when things got good I stopped journaling. So its always good to remember why you started the journaling and how much it can help you to express your feelings and creativity.
I have created a website for journaling because I decided it would be nice to do it on my computer and save paper. Also I thought it would be nice to be inspired but a photograph and I love inspirational quotes. So thats when my inspirational journaling website was born. Please check it out. I am very proud of it. And hope to help people get their feelings, creativty and anything else they might want to express on a page.
Happy Journaling.
I am Grateful for people like Jim that has brought my photography to life. Its let me be who I am. I have never been happier.
God Bless You Jim
A few of us that went to school starting doing this daily and posted on Facebook one thing, sometimes more than one, what we are thankful for each day thru the month of November. it really does help you to focus on the positive things more so than the negatives in your life.
Thanks for this important reminder. I have also started a gratefulness journal and let it slide. Committing to do it for 39 days is a great idea. I hope to make it a habit!
I’m grateful for this important reminder – I’ve done this gratitude practice before and it is so uplifting – but like many practices, got busy, let it slide. So, I am grateful to be reminded to start this again.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
I AM IN! And Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
I am in, I am going through a divorce at the moment and I think this will do so much good. I have so much to be grateful for…… kind regards Linda