by Mike | May 3, 2021 | Podcast
On today’s episode, we are chatting with Matt Udermann. Matt is the County Commissioner for Carver County – a community that lies just outside Minneapolis, MN.
Matt lives his life based on gratitude, compassion and connection. His campaign slogan of “YOU MATTer” didn’t just apply to his public service aspirations. In fact, it’s not just a slogan – it’s the way in which Matt lives his life. His focus is on the person – he believes that every person matters – their ideas matter, their concerns matter, their involvement matters and he believes that their connection to the bigger picture matters.
Listen in as Matt shares his story from his early childhood growing up in Iowa, to his first gig in the Big Apple to his return back to the Midwest. At each step along the way there has been a common theme for Matt – a desire to lead his life with a grateful perspective and to always know that YOU MATTer.
So with that…let’s meet Matt.
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To learn more about what Matt is doing and how he is creating a positive ripple in his community, feel free to check him out on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/youmattertomatt/posts/1944493415688104
by Mike | Apr 26, 2021 | Podcast
On today’s episode, we are chatting with Tara Gettles, and we couldn’t be more excited to share the project she’s been working on.
Tara and her French Bulldog “Awesome Butch” have teamed up to end bullying and bring a practice of gratitude to children in their developmental years.
She decided to use the mindfulness practices that work for her colleagues in their professional life and simplify the process to give children an early start on this journey. To that end, Tara created the beAwesome Journal which is a seasonal, quarterly gratitude journal designed to help children develop daily positive mindset rituals. This simple and fun journal provides instruction and encourages children to begin each day with a grateful heart, growth mindset, and awesome intentions.
Listen as Tara and Awesome Butch tell us how the beAwesome Journal was created and what they are doing to create am attitude of gratitude in the very early years.
You can find Tara’s beAwesome Journals on Amazon and learn more about what she is doing by visiting her Facebook page called “Be Awesome Journal” (https://www.facebook.com/beawesomejournal).
Enjoy!
by Mike | Apr 20, 2021 | Gratitude, Inspiration, Routines
It’s 5:20 am and my alarm goes off. I hit “snooze” button – just once, not twice, just once. I stretch. I grumble. I get out of bed and head downstairs. I feed the dogs. Same order, same amount of food, same everything. I make a hot chai tea – that’s a must. I take a pitstop on the deck to get my first breath of fresh air. I head upstairs to get ready for work. I come down and make my way to the den, flip open my laptop and dig into tasks for work that day. It will be a rinse and repeat for the next day…and the next…and the next.
Routines. We all have them. I am guessing that, as you read this, you could rattle off your morning routine. It might look similar to mine. It might look completely different. But, I am guessing you have a routine that you hold pretty true to each day.
If you’re not familiar with this concept, routines are widely known as part of a bigger picture in success planning. A “routine” takes a collection of small, sometimes mundane practices and groups them together, and when practiced daily, this grouping of behaviors becomes habitual and not easily lost in minutia.
Which means, the things you fill your routine with are important. If you choose to include things in your routine that are unhealthy, you might find it hard to achieve the success that you’re striving for each day. However, if you take time to include positive practices that become habitual in your routine, well, this can lead you to a whole bunch of goodness in your life.
So, what’s your routine? Think about those small practices that you engage in each day that have become your routine? Confession – I didn’t fully disclose my routine at the start of this article. One of the other practices I engage in each day is incorporating a practice of gratitude into my morning routine. Right between the grumble and getting out of bed to head downstairs I take a minute to think of three things for which I’m grateful – right there, right in that moment.
Having a morning routine protects certain rituals from being overtaken by the need to “get on with your day”. In fact, many spiritual teachings and philosophies highlight the importance of “first thoughts”. It’s no secret that the way in which you start your day often drives the course your day takes.
There are several benefits to inserting gratitude into our morning or evening routine. The beauty of it is that working practices of gratitude into your routine doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. It can be a simple as thinking about one thing for which you’re grateful even before your feet hit the ground in the morning. It can be as simple as writing in a gratitude journal as you enjoy your morning coffee. It can be as simple as a reflection on the goodness of your day as you drift off to sleep.
The best part about all of this is the opportunity for these practices of gratitude to turn into a habit by incorporating them into your routine. Even better, a habit of gratitude can lead to some amazing results.
- You’ll feel happier.
- You’ll boost your energy levels.
- You get healthier.
- You’ll be more resilient.
- You’ll improve your relationships.
- You’ll be a better person to be around.
- It can help reduce depression.
Being grateful shifts the lens from what is lacking or not ideal to what is already present and good. By incorporating the practice of gratitude into our lives, we can begin to reap the emotional rewards of this state of appreciation and gratitude. Recent studies have found that ‘counting your blessings’ on a regular basis not only leads to feeling more optimistic and enjoying a greater overall satisfaction with life, but it can also have some pretty amazing physical and emotional benefits.
So, routines – start a routine….and in it, throw in some practices of gratitude. You’ll be happy you did!
by Mike | Apr 19, 2021 | Podcast
On today’s show, we’re taking a break from the norm to introduce ourselves!
If you’ve grown with “The Gratitude Spark”, you might know a little about me (Mike Good), and if you came from “Gratitude Gains”, you probably know a bit about Gina Low, but we thought it was time to share our individual stories and fill you in on our own personal gratitude journey.
Ironically (or maybe not), it sounds like the “aha” moment for both of us came after a big loss.
Just further confirmation that life doesn’t have to be anywhere close to perfect to feel grateful.
Listen, as we get personal about the events that led us here today, the inspiration that we continue to receive from all of you and the sparks of gratitude that we are collectively pushing out into the world
So with that….enjoy.
by Mike | Apr 12, 2021 | Podcast
On today’s show, we bring in a long-time member of The Gratitude Spark community, and talk with Amanda Lindsey.
Gratitude has always been part of Amanda’s journey, but, over the last 10 years it has been taken to a whole new level. She is highly engaged in The Gratitude Spark and you can find her both posting inspirational messages of her own and hyping other members. Her bright smile matches her beautiful spirit and happy-go-lucky disposition.
But…behind the happy-go-lucky…she’s endured 23 years worth of chronic illness. She’s been diagnosed with multiple syndromes and each day brings a different pain and different ability for every muscle in her body. That, combined with some pretty severe sensory issues limit her ability to participate in what she used to know as “regular life”.
And so, she’s defined her “new regular”… one that is accepting, willing, and grateful. But before that, her story has taken many twists and turns which started back in the mid-1990’s. So join Gina and I as Amanda shares her powerful story as she moves from Chronically Ill to Chronically Fabulous. Oh, and just as an aside, there are a couple swear words at the very end of the episode which we wanted to give you a heads-up about.
So with that…enjoy.
