Tag: gratitude

From Fear to “Thanks Giving”

From Fear to “Thanks Giving”

Moving Into the Right Mindset This Holiday

 

As an amputee I have so much to be grateful for in my life.

I am blessed to be alive.

 

My horses make me be present

 

I am thankful for my husband, two healthy sons, and a family who loves me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am grateful to be able to walk again, just to name a few.

 

 

Do I ever look back on the day that I injured myself, which led me to amputation, and wish it never happened?

NO! Never, not even once!

I am so fortunate to have been chosen for this journey. Looking back, wishing for something different sets  me up to fall into the trap, and vicious cycle, of never being satisfied or happy of where I am now.

I wouldn’t have met the people I’ve met.

I wouldn’t have overcome fears that I have had to face.

I wouldn’t have learned to trust in myself, the process, and my support system.

I wouldn’t have experienced the life I’m leading now with such gratitude because of what I have had to overcome and endure.

I am a stronger person, more passionate about my Faith, and better able to withstand immense pain and challenges than ever before.

 

This holiday season I challenge you to look past your fears, your disappointments,  your pain, your obstacles, your past, and your anger at your situation and see the small but relevant miracles happening in your life EVERY SINGLE DAY!

 

CHANGE YOUR MINDSET! Live for your happiness and to a brighter future.

When you change how you see your life and your circumstances you change the outcome. You see the good more easily in everyday encounters and silent moments. You will find yourself smiling more and grumbling less, and you will start to attract the type of people who want to be around you because you empower them with your outlook. It’s contagious!

What are you grateful for today?

 

 

Today, choose to be grateful!

Don’t wait any longer to see the joy in your life.

Start jotting down your blessings or what you are grateful for tonight.

Keep a list where you write 1-5 things that you are grateful for each night before bed. Fall asleep to gratitude in your heart and watch how refreshed and joyful you will start to be in the morning, just looking for the next moment.

I wish you and your families a very special, magical, and blessed Thanksgiving.

Until next week, and as always,

Be Healthy,

Be Happy,

Be YOU!!!

 

Much love,

 

 

Who Had Your Back…….

Who Had Your Back…….

During Your Bounce Back?

Me in my very bouncy running blade

 

April is Limb Loss/Limb Difference Month and I am excited to share with you several guest speakers throughout the month and into May, however, we had a major setback yesterday and will have to reschedule them for another week.

Turning my setback into a setup, I spent most of last night frustrated and upset that my plans, well-thought out but still botched, coming up with what I feel is a super start to this special month.

 

Our support groups, people, family, friends, and companion animals!

Yep, let’s turn the tables and give thanks to those who were by our side, through thick and thin, through the good times, and the bad. Those that helped us laugh when we wanted to cry and held our hands when we were afraid.

Who was there to support you?

Who stood on the sidelines and cheered you on?

Who protected you?

Who visited when you felt alone?

These are the people (and maybe animals) who deserve our utmost gratitude and love. They saw us at our worst and lifted us up so we could shine.

Today I am grateful for the medical staff who helped me through, for my family back home, for the friends who checked in on me and brought my family dinners, and to my husband and 2 boys who were my biggest fans, strongest supporters, carrying me through hard times and bad news, to making me laugh until I cried. I wouldn’t be where I am today without all of you! I am forever grateful for every note, call, meal, smile, appointment, taxi service, adjustment, joke, and hug you all supplied me with to get me through.

YOU are my heroes!

My hubby, high school sweetheart, and biggest supporter. I love you!

 

Best kids in the world and always there for a hug!

 

My family! 5 siblings (I’m the youngest😏), with our dad

 

 

My PTs who helped prep me for amputation(plus 4 years of PT prior to it, trying to save my leg!) They are family.

 

My best bud and Phoenix Rock n Roll Marathon challenger, Mary Wylie

 

Post amputation PTs and those who didn’t laugh when I’d come in and say, “So, I’d like to try…”
And thanks for helping me get ready to surf!

 

PT Dan and owner of Touchstone Rehabilitation. He helped me get my gait down so I’d stop bruising my femur!

 

The guys who make the magic happen! Making sure I’m set up for success with ideal fitting sockets to awesome paint jobs!

 

PA Mary representing the surgeon’s office on my 10K a year after my amputation

 

Special nurses who got me through the amputation- Day 1 of my new life

 

 

And there are so many more family and friends who were there for me. Thank you, thank you all, from the bottom of my heart!

 

 

This week, use the next 7 days until pour next episode to reach out and give a heartfelt thank you to those who have been there for YOU! Trust me, you will make their day and your bucket will be overflowing knowing that you made a difference in their lives as well.

Everyone wants to be appreciated for the moments they helped out someone they care about.

When we show that sort of appreciate, after the fact, shows them that we saw them and their kindness.

Now who couldn’t use a little more of that in their life?

 

As always,

Be Healthy,

Be Happy,

Be YOU!!!

 

Much love,

Angie

 

Me and my support girl😍
What’s Your Vibe?

What’s Your Vibe?

Serve and Be Served

 

What we put out into the world is what we get back.
Have you ever noticed people who seem to have it all together, are happy, productive, and have good things happen to them?
…have you ever REALLY looked at them? Ever notice their attitude?
Even though no one goes without troubles and hard knocks, in life, these people keep their chin up, hunker down and weather the storms because of how they perceive their life and circumstances.
They are warriors!
YOU are that warrior, too, whether you believe it or not. We all have the capability to conquer and rise when times get hard.
How do you change that perspective and give yourself one of positivity and gratitude?
SERVE OTHERS!
There’s nothing more powerful than to give of yourself, even when you are struggling.
And when you serve others, you, too, will get the benefits. You’ll feel productive, happy, thankful, and you may even forget your own woes in all of this.
Give it a try! Serve someone this week. Call a lonely neighbor or friend, send a gift card to someone in need, smile at the cashier at the grocery store, serve at a food bank/soup kitchen.
When you serve others, it’ll also serve you.
Your circumstances won’t necessarily change but your attitude definitely will.
As always,
Be Healthy,
Be Happy,
Be YOU!!!
Much love,
Angie
Reframing Your Circumstance

Reframing Your Circumstance

Living Life With Gratitude

 

 

Life is hard.
You can choose to lay down and have it destroy you or you can reframe your thinking and how you view your circumstance by finding things and people in your life for which you can be grateful.
It’s that time of year when we hear people say they are thankful for their life, we see trinkets in our homes that say, “Grateful, thankful, blessed”, and Thanksgiving is right around the corner in which tell the people around d us that we are thankful for them in our lives.
Thankfulness is a hot topic in November, but what if you are struggling right now?
What if you are going through a rough patch?
Well, this is the time, more than ever that you need to find those moments, things, and people in your life that make your life special, happy, or filled with joy.
By reframing how we see our circumstance we enable ourselves to be at peace through these hard times. By seeking out the silver linings in our lives we are choosing a path of gratitude and happiness amidst the struggles.
This can be life altering! And the more we practice this way of thrilling and speaking the more often we will see what we are going through as just a moment, or blip, in time. A moment that will pass and nothing more.
Remember, we all have these moments. They are chances to define our character, grow, and reinvent ourselves. Without these hard times we cannot truly appreciate the good that has been in our lives or the good that is to come.
Reframe your thinking. Reframe your circumstance. Practice mindfulness, living in the moment and appreciating the little things in your life that are truly good.
Living a life of gratefulness is a choice, and one that will not only affect your situation, but it’ll also effect the people around you.
Choose an attitude of gratitude and spread that to all those around you. You might be surprised on how your outlook on life will be uplifted, and how you bless someone else with your positivity will come back to you ten-fold.
Practicing gratitude and reframing your circumstance:
* Don’t be picky, appreciate everything!
*Be mindful, and present
*Keep a gratitude journal
*Remember the hard/bad times, they will help you cherish where you are now.
*Pay it forward
*Reflect. Spend 5, 10, 30 minutes in quiet time, thinking about all you have
*Reframe your bad situation by finding the silver linings, what it could be teaching you, and how you are growing stronger for the future by going through it.
*Celebrate the little things
The sunshine
My family
My prosthetic that allows me my freedom

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours,
And as always,
Be Healthy,
Be Happy,
Be YOU!!!
Much love,
Angie
#thankful #grateful #gratitude #thanksgiving #podcast #bawarrior360 #abovekneeamputee #calltoaction #attitude #reframeyourcircumstance #payitforward
Party For 1

Party For 1

Pity Party For 1, That Is.

 

 

Yep, it happens to us all and this past Monday I got myself into that mindset.
However, looking back now, and even that evening, I realized how lucky I am for all the good in my life. Then I had a good laugh at myself and moved on.
You could say that character building happened that day for me and I wanted to share with you what can happen in my life to show you that we all struggle. No one is exempt from struggles. No one is exempt from feeling sorry for themselves. It’s what we do with those moments that make or break us.
As an amputee we can easily fall into a “poor me” attitude and milk it for all it’s worth, mainly because our wounds are very visible to the world. But that is not a good way to live and quite frankly will only disable us further.
If we feed our brains negative images and comments then it’ll believe what we are saying and thinking. And if we fuel our brain with positivity and happy images it’ll believe that too.
What are you speaking to yourself?
Are you in the middle of your own pity party of 1?
If you are, only you can get yourself out of it. Start by finding things in your life you are grateful for and go from there. Once you realize all that is good in your life you will be able to step away from the moment and put your life back into perspective.
Learn from these moments.
Be a warrior and conquer negativity, don’t let it consume you.
Pity parties are bound to happen, and that’s ok. It’s NOT ok to dwell there for days at a time. It won’t be good for you, your health, or the people around you.
Find what’s good, right, and what makes you happy in your life. Thinking of the people and things you are grateful for and move your negative mindset into positive.
Begin today or tonight.
Each night before going to bed (or first thing when you wake) write down, in a journal, at least 5 things you are grateful for.
It’s as simple as that.
Sometimes we lose sight of the big picture and all that we have. When that happens we need to step back, stop looking at our life under the microscope, and realize all that is good in our life. When we can appreciate our life for what it’s worth, we can handle the moments that test us, and push our buttons, a little bit better.
Will that stop the pity parties? No, but you may find you are not dwelling in that headspace as much and you will also see the health benefits if you continually practice a positive way of thinking.
Give it a try for the next 7 days, until we meet again.
Tell me how you feel after practicing positivity for a week, I’d love to hear how it made you feel, any benefits you saw from it, or what happened in your life that pushed you to that pity party breaking point.
Don’t be ashamed that you went there. Own it and then move on. You’ll be grateful you did!
And as always,
Be healthy,
Be happy,
Be YOU!
Much love,
Angie