The other week I was out with a small group of ladies from the MOTUS Women’s Entrepreneurs Network, of which I’m a member. We were on one of our fab monthly Netwalks along the Chesterfield Canal from Hollingwood Hub towards Tapton Lock.
MOTUS Netwalk
I noticed something very small jump on the path in front of me and when I bent down to take a look I was very surprised (and delighted!) to see it was a baby frog, literally the size of my little fingernail. It was surprising as it was July – not the time you usually see baby frogs. As I pointed it out to the other ladies we suddenly noticed lots more baby frogs hopping towards the canal. Maybe all this good weather has led to another spawning season? From then on we saw many more baby frogs and had to be mindful of where we stepped.
Ahh, don’t squash it!
A load of rubbish
This month’s Netwalk was a little different to our normal walks as this time we were armed with litter pickers and black bin bags to do our bit for the environment and collect litter along the tow path. In between chatting, sharing ideas and not treading on baby frogs we all passed comment that there actually wasn’t much litter. However, the funny thing was when we turned round to come back and start collecting rubbish we all started to notice it – cans and bottles in the hedgerows, cigarette butts and bits of plastic round the base of the benches. By the time we got back to Hollingwood Hub we had 3 bags full of rubbish, a rusty, seized up child’s bike and a broken fishing umbrella!
You get what you focus on
You get what you focus on
On the outward journey we were all focusing on chatting to each other but when we turned round and started focusing on the rubbish, that’s when we noticed it. This was a clear demonstration of you get what you focus on. It’s so important to pay attention to what you think about and how you frame things. If you constantly see the negative things in life you will notice more of it. As the saying points out “energy flows where attention goes”. If you start to focus on the good stuff you will notice more good things. This in turn has an impact on how we feel and how we behave. When we feel positive we often feel more energised and take more action. There is a ripple effect and the impact is far greater than the original act.
Gratitude is the only attitude
A way to cultivate this mindset is to keep a gratitude journal. At the end of each day write down 5 things you are grateful for and why. Be specific if you can – for example, rather than simply saying ‘I’m grateful for my health’ consider ‘I’m grateful for my physical health as it means I can play with my nephews without getting tired’. This helps to really focus on what we already have and in turn increases our sense of abundance.
So, in summary here are 5 tips for increasing your sense of abundance:
- Focus on the positives
- Reframe negative thoughts and situations (what’s the ‘silver lining’?)
- Keep a gratitude journal
- Avoid getting sucked into negative gossip
- Spend time with uplifting people
It takes time, effort and conscious awareness to change our mindset but the payoff is definitely worth it.
Fancy joining our next MOTUS Netwalk? Take a look here
Or come along on one of my monthly Well-being Walks
If you’d like some help to make positive changes in your life get in touch Rebecca.norton80@gmail.com