I thought it would be fun to consider five specific things each of us can be thankful for today.

1. The opportunities you have today. There are more opportunities for writers than ever before. You have access to virtually everyone on the planet with an internet connection. You can self-publish or go with traditional or hybrid publishing. You can blog, podcast, create videos, and more. The opportunities are endless.
2. The people in your life who support your writing. Sometimes, we are so focused on our goals that we forget about the people who make our writing possible. Think about the family, friends, and colleagues who have supported you and helped you along the way.
3. The incredible tools at your disposal. Think about how much harder it was fifty or a hundred years ago to connect with people and simply get your writing done. Today you don’t even have to type… you can use voice-to-text! We don’t realize how good we have it.
4. The amazing stories all around us. This is the golden age of storytelling, when there are so many great books, movies, streaming shows, and other formats of stories being told. There is unlimited inspiration all around you.
5. The access you have to so much learning. Never before in the history of the world have you been able to learn in so many ways, in so many places, from so many people. It’s an embarrassment of riches. Whatever you want to learn, someone is teaching it somewhere.

These are just a few of the things we can be grateful for as writers. I hope you will take a few moments today as you gather around the dinner table to acknowledge that we indeed live in an incredible time.

Question: Which of the five items above are you most thankful for?

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This is the seventh and final entry in our mini-series on dealing with rejection.

Rejection is not fun, but it still has an important place in our business and creative lives. When you’re rejected or criticized, it forces you to ask tough questions like these:

Is this something I should have been doing in the first place?

Do I really, truly want to be doing this?

Even though I’m in love with this idea, does this person have a point?

How can I make this idea better?

The people who have rained on your parade have done you a great service. They have forced you to decide whether you should be doing this thing in the first place… and if the answer is YES, they have forced you to consider how it can be improved.

Rejection and criticism are like the refining process for precious metals. They make you more pure and more valuable. They bring out the best.

So even though you might be irritated right now, you can still be grateful because those unkind words are helping you become a better version of yourself.

Daily Question: Think of the most reject time you’ve been rejected. How did it make you better or help you have a clearer vision of what you want to accomplish as a writer?

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On this podcast, we focus heavily on writing habits because they help immensely in getting our writing done. Good writing habits don’t just involve things like productivity or trying to hit your count. One of the most important writing habits you can ever develop is to make a gratitude list every day.

Over the last couple of years, I have been making more of an effort to integrate this habit of “giving thanks” into my daily life, and it’s had a profound impact on my perspective.

A while back, I heard about the practice of keeping a “gratitude journal.” This sounded like a great idea, so I purchased a small journal and have been making an effort to write in it each day. There are only three things I write on the page: the date, “Today I am thankful for…,” and then three things I’m thankful for that day.

For example, here are some of the items I’ve written in my gratitude journal over the last year:

Today I am thankful for…

• The opportunity to choose my attitude and actions each day.
• A new ghostwriting client.
• A wife who is supportive.
• My son—a great kid who is funny, kind-hearted, and caring.
• My back feeling better after hurting it on a hike 3 weeks ago.
• Getting a good start on a new book.

I limit myself to three items every day to keep it short and sweet. Sometimes I write in the morning, sometimes in the evening. Sometimes I forget about doing it. But I try to do it daily, and the whole process literally takes less than two minutes.

As I’ve tried to integrate this habit into my life the last few months, here are four ways it has changed my overall perspective.

1. Gratitude helps me take the focus off my problems. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the problems and frustrations in life. But when I remember that I am a truly blessed man, it lifts my spirit and gives me a new energy that makes it easier to deal with problems.
2. Gratitude helps me be more generous. The practice of gratitude reminds me that I have been given many blessings in life. I didn’t earn them, and I definitely don’t deserve them. In turn, this helps me open my heart to others and be more generous.
3. Gratitude helps me realize that I need other people. Most of the time, when I’m writing in my gratitude journal, my thoughts turn to people who have helped me. I think of my family, friends, clients, authors, and many others who have made my life sweeter. True gratitude reminds us that there’s very little we can accomplish on our own.
4. Gratitude helps me be thankful for the little things. In one of my journal entries, I wrote that I was thankful for being able to take our Australian Shepherd, Madison, to the vet because I knew she was in pain due to an ear infection. I know that’s a small thing, but I was genuinely grateful for it. If we can’t appreciate the little blessings in life, how can we truly appreciate the big ones?

I would definitely recommend getting a small journal and writing down a few things you’re thankful for every day. This habit has truly impacted my life in a subtle, but important way over the last couple of years. I encourage you to give this a try and keep a gratitude journal every day for the next week.

Daily Question: How would gratitude help improve your attitude and help you become a better human being and writer?

The post Gratitude Changes Everything appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

In the classic 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, we meet Dorothy, a teenage girl who dreams of a life “somewhere over the rainbow.” She’s stuck in a drab, sepia-toned farm in Kansas and wants nothing more than to run away and experience a more exciting life.

But when she is swept away to Oz on a grand adventure, Dorothy finds that all she really wanted was to go back home.

As writers, we are constantly dreaming about what’s next. The next book. The next conference. The next interview. The next connection. The next source of income. The next five years.

Dreaming about the future is important. Living in the here and now is also important. Appreciate who you are and where you’ve come from. Say “thank you” to the people who are supporting you. Remember where you came from.

All you have is today, this moment, right here and now. Don’t keep your head so far in the clouds that you forget to keep your feet planted on the ground.

The post Appreciate This Moment appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.