Writing these weekly blog posts gives me great satisfaction. Often, they allow me to express my thinking such as it is.
Sometimes I get my juices flowing by things I read, watch, or hear; other times it’s things that I experience in my life – as is the case today.
Yesterday, while I was doing some hiking, I began experiencing an intense feeling of gratitude.
But what could I be grateful for?
Well… first, I felt truly grateful to be alive.
This life is such a gift.
I can’t even begin to express it…
As I walked, I looked around and saw the snow, trees, and mountains surrounding me.
The sun, shy at first, finally managed to pierce through the thick wintry fog in a way that gave it a myriad of sepia tones.
Right there I stopped and my eyes opened wider. Like a child, my hands reached up as if they could bathe in the light.
The default state of this earth is tranquility and beauty. It’s all around us. You’d see it if you could just find the space to step back from the traps of modern life that cause us to over-think, be self-absorbed, and be lost in superficialities.
So right there, I felt grateful to just be… you know?!
Second, that feeling of gratitude for just being rippled over into many different venues.
1. I felt grateful that I don’t already have everything I desire in life.
If I did, there wouldn’t be anything to look forward to.
2. I felt grateful because I didn’t know everything there is to know.
Not knowing gives me the opportunity to learn.
3. I felt grateful for the difficult times I went through.
During those times, I have grown.
4. I felt grateful for my limitations.
They give me the opportunity to improve myself.
5. I felt thankful for each new challenge I will go through.
They will build my strength and character.
6. I felt grateful for my past mistakes.
They taught me some valuable lessons.
7. I felt grateful for all the positive things that happened to me.
They give me hope and keep my life interesting.
8. I felt grateful for all the people that I’ve ever met in my life.
They’ve helped make my life the rich experience that it is.
Gratitude should be a default state.
Life is beautiful.
But it’s not always easy to see it when we’re so absorbed in our calcified patterns.
And trading — a byproduct of modern life — is a highly stressful endeavor. Very lucrative but stressful.
As a countermeasure, it is super important that you get into the habit of doing things that help you manage your levels of stress and re-center yourself.
I’ve said it countless times: If you want trading to be a truly fulfilling experience, instead of being something that plays with your moods and emotions and consistently wears you down, you have to begin implementing mindset management techniques into your everyday routine.
These mindset management techniques serve the purpose of making you:
A) Purge all stress you’ve accumulated throughout the week.
B) Feel grateful.
C) Connect to something bigger than you.
D) Reduce stress.
E) Re-focus.
This is key!
Personally, as I’ve shared many times before, I meditate daily for at least an hour – 20 to 30 minutes in the morning; 30 minutes to an hour in the evening.
But then, during the weekend, I do my best to do things that help give me a breath of fresh air, of novelty, of wonder, of gratitude…
When I was living on the Island of Mauritius, I would go scuba diving.
Now that I’m back in Canada, every weekend, I like to do some solo-hiking.
Once in a while, I also like to go on some camping trips in the wilderness for 2-3 days – although, I only do that in the spring and summer.
(One day I had a close encounter with a humongous grizzly bear, but that story is for another time.)
These different activities consistently help me not get lost in the noise of modern life. Doing those things remind me of the larger picture.
You could do that too. But there are many other things you could do — working out, yoga, journaling, arts, etc… It’s important that you find something that speaks to you personally, that helps you wipe the slate clean.
Last few words…
I must admit, I haven’t been looking forward to writing a blog post on gratitude today. I was just pouring my heart out, and it turned out that way.
I appreciate the opportunities to share my thoughts and views with you, as well as your receptivity to them.
Life is truly a gift, my friends. Share love. Share warmth. Do things that give you a sense of peace. Use your time wisely. Practice gratitude…
Learn to disconnect from the external noise from time to time.
It is so important.
But perhaps, more importantly, learn to disconnect from your own mental noise.
This will help clear your vision and prepare you mentally for the trading week ahead.
I wish you an amazing week full of pleasant surprises as well as fruitful challenges.
Learn. Grow. Appreciate the good times. Find wisdom in the bad times. Trust the process, and play your part well.