10 Things to Be Grateful for in 2019
Updated: Dec 18, 2019
Many people reflect on gratitude around the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. After all, it's that time of year. What about practicing gratitude every single day? Once, I did that everything started to change. It's possible to practice vision and gratitude daily.
When I first started practicing gratitude daily, I started changing my spiritual, mental and emotional habits. In 2016, I started creating my 90 Day Plan: 7 Steps to Success including every area of life from the spiritual to financial.
2019 hasn't been the easiest year by far. I've been stretched, pulled and transformed in more ways than I can count. This year my word is Freedom so you may imagine the trials and tests that have come my way to challenge and release freedom in all areas of my life. This is the year I started waking up at 4:30 am in July. I often feel like a #wholenewme.
Despite the challenges in faith, love, dreams, and love, this is the year I've felt flow and joy limitlessly. It's not freedom if it isn't tested amidst crazy and chaotic circumstances, right? This year feels like it has flown by. It seems like just yesterday it was Christmas 2018. Anyone else feels like that?
At the same time, I've learned the more I am tuned in to gratitude for the smaller and simpler things, the more joy I feel in every way. The more joy I feel, the easier things somehow come to me that increase my joy. I remind myself often to count my blessings now as if my tomorrow depends on the gratitude I express today.
Recently, I traveled to Mexico on a hosted trip with Airbnb Adventures, as well as creating content for media, online courses, and events. My intention for the trip included practicing gratitude limitlessly and being joyful at the moment. On Day 1, I felt inspired to reflect on 10 things to be grateful for in 2019.
What are you grateful for this year? Grab a journal and write down 10 things you are grateful for now.
What do you want more of in your life? How do you want to feel in 2020? When you express gratitude how do you feel? What could you believe, feel and do to experience more of what you want?
Who could be impacted by an increase in your gratitude and joy? Do you have a community to share reflections, gratitude, and joy with? Are you expressing gratitude regularly?
What I've learned is the more I express gratitude, the more there is to be grateful for.
You will love these reflections of 10 Things to Be Grateful for in 2019.
Gratitude for 2019
Whether you are in Corporate, working a 9-5, or an entrepreneur, gratitude is a practice that will transform you. The more you express what you are grateful for, the more you show joy. The more you are full of joy, the more you have to be grateful for.
I won't sit here and pretend it is easy to return to gratitude in each moment something happens. I get it. It isn't easy to experience growth and deal with yourself and others. We aren't promised an easy life without tests and trials.
Yet, I do and we do have a choice to choose our perspective in the pain and process. I remind myself to reflect on the love, joy, and abundance I do have all around and not the temporary trial.
These 10 Things to Be Grateful for will help you put things into perspective for your gratitude list. It is in your free will to choose in the midst of it all to focus on what is pure, lovely and praiseworthy. One of my favorite verses is Phil 4:8 in the Bible.
This gratitude list includes themes I practice including spiritual, mental, relational and financial. I challenge myself amid chaos and circumstances to grow in every way. I've often asked myself this year - how is this situation helping me, who will this help me relate to, and how could I be or act differently next time? How may I be a vessel to help others overcome this situation?
When you choose to turn pain into purpose powerfully, our potential to help people is increased.
What will you choose to focus on?
1. Closer to Our Creator
I thought I had faith before 2019. At the same time, when I look at how my faith has grown, I am amazed at how much stronger I am when I look back a year, two years, or five years. It is almost as if I didn't have faith at all.
I vividly recall how the smallest things would alter my peace, gratitude, and joy. Don't get me wrong. I am human and have my moments. However, the growth is supernatural. I attribute this to a closer relationship with our Creator.
I have grown closer to God in exponential ways in 2019. This is the first year I read the Bible straight through. The levels of transformation in my spirit, soul, mind, and body are incredible. I am now reading through the Bible the second time. The ongoing divine downloads and revelations are incredible. I literally feel the Word transforming me from the inside out.
In addition to reading the Word, I pray daily with gratitude, requests, and thanksgiving. I talk to God regularly over my life, vision and daily experiences. I've recorded my vision and prayers and listen daily to them.
I reflect often on
Proverbs 29:18 "Without vision, people perish".
These last few years, I've faced things I never thought I would. The situations have increased my faith and taught me humility, grace, and love like nothing else. Without a shadow of a doubt, I know that I would not have the faith, hope, and love I do with the peace I feel without God.
Perhaps, you believe in God. Perhaps, you don't. Ask yourself how could you increase your love, compassion and self-care practices on a daily basis to grow?
2. My Incredible Health
I am grateful for my health. This has been an incredible year of being stable and consistent with my health in every way. I took care of my body in every way. 2019 brought an increase in consistency without fitness shows or anything external. I felt pulled to simply do it for myself and my body. To ultimately be the best vessel and body I can be.
I stayed consistent with eating healthy, Herbalife Nutrition and working out regularly. My workouts included lifting weights at the gym 4-6 times a week. yoga, and dancing. I made sure my health stayed a priority in the midst of creating media, online courses, live events, and brand partnerships and engagements.
3. My Mom and Dad
I am very grateful for my family. This is something I reflect on often. The last several years have challenged us all to new levels of growth. My mom and dad moved to Bulgaria after retiring in 2015. We've faced unexpected tests and trials in health and wealth.
If you are connecting with our community for the first time - I truly have a transformation story of a lifetime. My story includes being in four countries by the time I was two among many other incredible life experiences. Our family has taken exponential leaps of faith in every direction.
I would literally not be here without them. They have helped me in ways I never would have imagined the last several years. My humility, grace, and compassion have grown towards myself and others because of the pain I have faced. The choice to turn pain into a purpose for people is powerful.
4. Experiencing Mexico in 2019
I am grateful to be here in Mexico in 2019 unexpectedly. I received a surprise blessing from Airbnb and Airbnb Adventures: Holbox Island and Yucatan Adventure. This incredible adventure and retreat include Holbox Island, Las Coloradas, and Lagartos River.
Holbox Island and Pink Lakes are now crossed off my bucket list because of this blessing. In addition, I spent additional time in Mexico before and after the adventure for the first time in 20 years!
We ended up experiencing Holbox Island, Las Coloradas, and Valladolid. The trip in every way is a once in a lifetime adventure. You may see my full review and photography via the Airbnb Adventure and many of my fellow global Airbnb Community Managers.
With this trip to Mexico, I met incredible Airbnb experience hosts from around the world. Meeting the Airbnb experience hosts felt like family fast. It takes a different breed to host experiences and be an entrepreneur.
Meeting and spending time with the Airbnb Adventure hosts - Gustavo and Cedric along with experience hosts - Pandora, Jan, Alan, Domonique, Robin, Christy, Cherry, and Katherine - was absolutely incredible. I'll be sharing more on our Adventures with our Airbnb Adventure on the blog and podcast so stay tuned.
I became a Community Manager volunteering with Airbnb this year in 2019 to help create the community with Airbnb experience hosts in Atlanta. I love to create a community and help people create a life and business they love. So, when this opportunity came up to apply earlier in 2019, I jumped at it.
I entered with the intention to create value and community. I contributed in numerous ways via our Facebook community, content creation, and meet-ups. I am blown away that within less than a year, I received an Airbnb Adventure as a gift for serving.
Airbnb presented me with the opportunity to be a Community Manager because of my experiences on Airbnb. I started hosting Airbnb experiences last year in Atlanta, GA with wellness, media, and entrepreneurship hands-on workshops. I've gotten to host Mind Body, Marketing Firm owners, and college students with our experiences and workshops.
Prior to Airbnb's experiences and the Airbnb Adventure, I've stayed at Airbnb homes globally myself with stays and staycations from Austria to Los Angeles to Atlanta. I love to travel and have incredible experiences globally. Since 2016, I started creating retreats with private stays at villas via Airbnb.
I've hosted mastermind events and retreats in Costa Rica, Cuba and Barcelona. Our Transform and Travel retreats for entrepreneurs, influencers and creators include hands-on wellness, media and entrepreneurship experiences.
In addition to this mind-blowing experience with the Airbnb Adventure, I chose to stay in Mexico for a few days before and after the adventure to create content, enhance our online mastermind, and explore the possibility of hosting a retreat with Chiibal Hostal for wellness and entrepreneurship in 2020-2022.
I loved staying at Chiibal and met so many incredible people like Jen from Australia, Nina from Sweden, and Maria from London.
I experienced snorkeling adventures, beaches, and biking in Cancun, as well as visiting Isla Mujeres (Island of the Women) with an incredible walking tour, volunteering at Little Yellow School House with media, and beach time at Playa Norte,
5. Being More Playful
What's come up for me more and more this year is to simply be. To be in the moment. It often feels like God is tapping me on the shoulder to remind me that I am priceless no matter what. Years ago, I misaligned from passion and purpose in countless ways.
As a result, even when I reached external results then I often felt empty inside. I missed so many points of passion and purpose. I neglected joy and celebrating along the way. Despite external evidence, I often failed to receive the blessings focusing instead on "what's next" or what I lacked vs. what I had.
Based on those experiences, I am mindful to focus on peace, joy, and gratitude each and every step. It isn't easy with prior mindsets or habits to break or opinions of others to deflect, interrupt or ignore.
I believe its important to play and be in the moment. In many ways, my Mexico trip is the full alignment of passion, purpose, potential, people, and profits. I am so grateful for learning to be in the moment.
6. Creating Community
I have and we have experienced creating a community like no other time. I am creating a life and business I love with a community like I once dreamed. Creators, entrepreneurs, coaches and more that feel like friends.
This year has reached a sort of pinnacle point of communities I am creating and a part of. The FIT Life Creation community and its growth in numerous ways with media, courses, retreats, and brands including hands-on experiences and influencer marketing reaching over 300 million in reach alone!
I am so blessed to be part of so many incredible communities as well including Herbalife Nutrition, Airbnb, BossBabe and several others. These all include countless transformation teachers that have influenced our community and me in numerous ways.
7. Journey of Entrepreneurship
I am grateful for the journey of entrepreneurship. The blessing of being able to create a life in business I love with lifestyle entrepreneurship with experiences online and live with brands, influencers, and fundraisers.
In no way, shape or form has the journey been easy. At the same time, it has helped shape and molds me in priceless ways.
8. Character Development
I became a full-time entrepreneur in 2011. However, everything started transforming dramatically in 2015. This included extensive character development including spiritual, mental and emotional in every way. Entrepreneurship reveals every weakness to help you pursue your purpose.
In more ways than one, it has caused me to reevaluate my beliefs, feelings, and habits. It has caused me along with God-Given dreams and desires to lean on God in every moment more than ever.
Some practical ways I have transformed include losing >55 lbs. 5 years ago and keeping the weight off with the help of healthy habits, Herbalife Nutrition, and competing in fitness shows. Disclaimer: avg person loses .5 to 1 a week with a healthy active lifestyle.
Character development includes waking up now consistently at 4:30 am since July 95%+ of the time. I am amazed at the transformation in many ways. I've become grateful for the pain. At every step, I've chosen to turn the pain into purpose.
9. Becoming Who I Am Created to Be
I am grateful for this moment and the alignment with passion and for who our Creator created me to be and to help serve others to see what's possible for them.
As I reflect backward 10 years, I remember being:
Unhappy with life in general
Not feeling worthy of a calling
Misaligned to passion and purpose
Serving in multiple industries unfulfilled
Working with an unequally yoked community
I am now amazed at the growth over the last 10 years of walking from:
Fear to Faith
Devaluing to Purity
Self Hate to Love
Corporate to Calling
Bondage to Freedom
and continuing to. The last 10 years have tested and refined me like nothing else. At the same time, I marvel at the transformation. I am eternally grateful.
10. Freedom in All Forms
In 2011, I began to dream again. With a spiritual awakening and the passing of one of my best friends, Janelle to cancer, I felt called and compelled to create. In 2015, the vision of FIT Life Creation was born including v 1.0 as a lifestyle platform with health, wealth & business all in one.
I envisioned the legacy to leave. I received divine downloads from God. Part of the vision included freedom in all forms. I've come to expand this including freedom of expression, time, location, community, and financial freedom.
I often reflect on Galatians 5:1 it is for Freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourself be bonded by a yoke of slavery.
From 2011-2019, and increasingly 2015-2019, I have reached many parts of the vision I once dreamed of in my mind. I experience expression, time, location and community regularly now. I believe and feel abundance and joy often. I am focusing on making and managing money like a boss and financial freedom step by step.
I am, and always will be a work in progress.
Grateful in 2019
10 Things to Be Grateful for in 2019. From your foundation to taking leaps of faith to be in the moment, there are limitless ways all of us may focus more on gratitude and joy. Even if you start with 1-2 things from the gratitude list, you will see the transformation in your life.
Imagine your daily life being and feeling more grateful. What could you do next to start expressing and showing more gratitude? I would love to see and hear your gratitude list for 2019.
If you loved this post, you'll love 12 steps to lifestyle transformation.
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