You know your day is starting out in the dumps when you open your eyes first thing early in the morning after a really rocky sleep (think three kid interruptions) and hear a loud clap of thunder.
“Oh, great!” you grumble.
Meanwhile your spouse sighs contentedly, stretches, and says, “I love the rain!”
This EXACT thing happened to me recently!
And in a case like this, when you’re waking up in a bad mood…
In a slightly self-indulgent moment you may say, “I hate the rain. I want to go back to bed,” and groan.
A wise spouse is quiet.
A still wiser spouse may allow his or her spouse’s cheerful mood to encourage them.
I did none of the above.
Instead I went into a soliloquy about how my day wasn’t starting off very well and how the kids had woken me….
Not the best move (even marital therapists and coaches often make mistakes as you know!)
But I do know better so….
Then I did something WAY better!
I began this before even stepping foot onto my floor. (My husband had wisely scurried off by then to start a pot of coffee!)
I worked on my Love List.
A woman named Cheryl started a Love List which I admired on social media many years ago now. The list is probably considered antiquated since it was before 2010.
What is a Love List?
It’s just a simple but ongoing list of the things you love or for which you are grateful. Cheryl’s list had sagacious sayings like “Old hymns that still speak truth,” and wise adages like “The hard truths of transitioning roles,” on her love list.
It was in the thousands when I last checked.
Here are a few of the things on my Love List I cut and pasted though yours will surely differ:
- Playing tennis and hearing and feeling the ball zing back and forth when we’re getting into our game.
- Reading my Bible peacefully at night after a big day.
- The day after being sick when I realize I am so grateful to be well and so I just go for it!
- Reading old favorite books for the secondary themes among the main arc.
- Walking and talking with my husband on a date night.
- Teaching/coaching/encouraging people who want growth.
- That my son knows how to get me laughing almost anytime (even on a crummy day) with his antics.
- Braiding my daughters’ hair or any little girls’ hair for that matter.
- Browsing at a library on a Saturday morning with no agenda.
I get on such a role with these that now the list I’ve created gets added to even when I’m in a good mood!
And after a few minutes on it, I likely have courage to get to my working to-do list (in case you missed this productivity list I shared last Fall) also!
So as promised, in addition to the productivity freebie above, here’s your own Love List so you can get started!
Feel free to share some of your favorites from your list with us! Either way, keep it on your own right >> here <<!
Love Living Life Intentionally With You,
Christa and the Reflections Staff |
