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Posts Tagged: gratitude

Mountains of Blessings

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

Thanksgiving and Christmas are times when we stop and appreciate the good things that have happened during the year. If we make an ongoing habit of looking for blessings throughout the year, we will be doubly blessed.

It is in the simple things of someone reaching out to us to see how we are doing, or saying thank you when we least expect it, or just simply listening, that harshness and tragedies can be reduced.

Sometimes in our haste to move past these times, we miss the blessings God is giving us – new growth and a new appreciation for what I have, no matter how small.

Adversity a Blessing? You’ve Got to be Kidding!  

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

Adversity a Blessing? You’ve Got to be Kidding! | Focuswithmarlene.com

Life is full of challenges and sometimes it seems like we are going from one hardship to another with little time to recover between.

But what if we looked at adversity in a different way?

Would we see something of value for us going through hardships and difficult times? Here is a piece I wrote in 2014 about what I learned from adversity.

Adversity a blessing? You’ve got to be kidding!

Who would even consider such a thing? Who wants difficulties? And how can misfortunes or hard times ever be considered a blessing?

Gratitude: A Brain Changer

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

Gratitude: A Brain Changer

“Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.”

—Amy Collette

You may be wondering why I am spending so much time on humor, laughter, blessings and gratitude in this series. I am because they are such powerful mindsets that can overcome depression, sorrow, and hopelessness.

They are some of life’s most powerful tools that can be used every day in many circumstances to lift our spirits and motivate us to look for ways to accomplish goals and be happy. This is especially beneficial when healing from a loss.

Did you know that just by searching for positive things to be grateful for, you are activating your brain to produce more feel-good hormones? Just by the process, you are changing how your brain is working. Wow – I think that’s pretty significant!

A New Structure for My Life

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

Learning to Live Again in a New World, by Marlene Anderson | focuswithmarlene.com

We think of losses as something we quickly address and then dismiss. But the more significant the loss, the more the impact it has on every area of our life: social, financial, personal, family, friendships, and our past as well as our future.

Loss asks the question, where do I go from here?

There are many books on the market that speak to that early universal pain. We can experience a multitude of emotions: shock, anger, fear, anxiety, relief, shame, guilt, etc. Our pain will gradually recede as life demands we engage again to pay the bills and feed our families. But little information is offered to help us create a new roadmap moving forward.

My newly released book, Learning to Live Again in a New World, addresses that need.

Use It or Lose It: 10 Tools to Help You Communicate Effectively

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

Use It or Lose It: 10 Tools to Help You Communicate Effectively | FocusWithMarlene.com

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

-Nelson Mandela

We live in an age when information is available 24/7. Just install the right app and push the right button and you have anything and everything you want.

But do we?

We sign up for interesting and exciting courses online thinking when we have completed them, we will be able to bake a cake, take apart a car engine or know the best ways to travel. While all of this is wonderful and exciting, there is one step missing. Application.

Throughout this year, my blog posts have offered information, tools and strategies to meet the everyday challenges of life. But that information is just that – information – until it is used. Until we personally apply the information that can help us, it will simply remain good ideas.