Tim's Grateful 8
What Are You Grateful For Today? My number 1 is Coffee
There is so much to love about our lives.
Let’s take a moment and reflect on the positives. This is your opportunity to turn away from things that aren’t ideal, your troubles, and especially, anything in the news.
Back away from the social media feed and give your soul a break. You deserve to feel good.
Take a look through my list. Then, if you feel up to it, make your own. Write ’em down! It will brighten your day and change your interactions with the world.
If you can’t think of anything immediately, here’s one place to start. Think of something you currently have in your life that you would really miss if it disappeared. For example, it might make you sad if that gym you love is gone. Or if the grocery store no longer carried your favorite brand of cheesy poofs. Or if your buddy Larry was no longer around.
That leads me to my number one item this week. Where would I be if this beloved beverage disappeared forever? I would be sad. Very, very, very sad.
1. Coffee
It’s a big part of my life.
I drink mine black. That makes it a low-calorie way to treat myself. A warm drink always brightens the morning, and the caffeine helps, too. It’s one of the small, simple things that adds so much to my day.
Without coffee, we wouldn’t have coffee mugs. Or coffee shops and baristas. We would be stuck drinking boring old tea. (No offense meant if you’re a tea person!)
“Let’s meet for coffee.”
Imagine how many good conversations the people of this planet would have missed out on. Casual dates would be silly if you were getting together to sip on plain water at the local water shop. Baristas wouldn’t get much of a tip to brew up your plain mug of water, either. I mean, I guess they could make you tea…
I love the morning ritual of making and sharing a fresh pot of coffee with my wife.
I love taking a thermos full of Joe to a beautiful natural spot and sharing it with a friend.
Thanks, universe, for giving us coffee.
2. My Writing Partner Ryan Hanson
Creative. Hilarious, irreverent, and wacky sense of humor. Dependable. Honest. Film connoisseur. The original laser-beam repair man. A high-quality individual both at work and at home.
Ryan has been a fantastic partner for podcasting and writing. He has the creative part nailed. Our shared projects turned out fantastic, which has much to do with his contributions and hard work. I can’t wait to get a copy of his recent solo writing.
Ryan spends some time dressed up as either a space wizard with a laser sword or a white-armored clone that can’t properly aim a blaster rifle. Maybe that’s why he became a laser-beam repairman. His cosplay skills are fantastic.
Thank you, Ryan, for everything. You’ve been a good friend. You make life so much more interesting.
Here is Ryan’s Instagram
3. Showers, Baths, and Deodorant
I visited the thrift store recently. I donated a few items I didn’t need and then walked through the place. I was more interested in the people than the gently used items for sale.
It was quite a sensory adventure. New sights, sounds, and odors.
The motley crew of shoppers that wandered the aisles were from all walks of life, from the bottom rung to the top. The washed and the unwashed mingled in a boutique of aromas.
One gentleman made me grateful that almost everyone has access to showers and deodorant and uses them regularly. This guy was radiating smell particles like the sun gives off solar flares.
Strength of character is good. Strength of smell is not as good.
Back in the day, before running water, it must have been rough. I’m not interested in time-traveling to the 1800s because I’m not into B.O.
I am so grateful that we have deodorant and showers.
4. Podcast: Keto Kamp, by Ben Azadi
There are so many reasons that I’m grateful for Ben and his work.
His podcast was one of the main things that pulled me out of poor eating habits and back to health. I got so much inspiration and knowledge from listening to Ben’s episodes daily.
When I was struggling to stay on a better eating plan, I would queue up another Keto Kamp interview. Ben’s enthusiasm and excellent interviewing skills, combined with all of the helpful info I learned from him and his guests, changed my life.
Ben has recorded over 680 episodes. His wide range of guests and topics cover many health conditions and potential remedies. If you need help getting healthier, do yourself a favor and scan through his episode list. You might find something that could change your life.
I’m in a better place now than I was a few months ago, and Ben Azadi’s Keto Kamp has so much to do with it. I’ve lost 40 pounds and feel like about 36 million bucks, thanks to Ben’s work — and he gave me all that info for free!
From Ben’s website:
“Ben is the author of four best-selling books, Keto Flex, The Perfect Health Booklet, The Intermittent Fasting Cheat Sheet, and The Power of Sleep. Ben has been the go-to source for intermittent fasting and the ketogenic diet.
He is known as ‘The Health Detective’ because he investigates dysfunction, and he educates, not medicates, to bring the body back to normal function. Ben is the founder of Keto Kamp; a global brand bringing awareness to ancient healing strategies such as the keto diet and fasting.” — Benazadi.com/about
At the end of every episode, Ben adds one final piece to the health puzzle: Gratitude. Or, as he calls it, Vitamin G. He asks each guest to tell him what they are grateful for, and I love that so much.
Thank you, Ben, for all the helpful information and especially the hope and inspiration you’ve given me. It has been life-altering.
Podcast link: Keto Kamp
5. In-person Jobs
I bet that working from home is great. I’ve never done that.
For me, all of those in-person, on-the-site jobs have been fantastic. All my day jobs occur face-to-face with co-workers and clients. I get up and go to work every day. And I love what that has given me.
The first benefit to them was that they gave me money. I used all that cash to raise a family, travel a bit, buy a few toys, and eat good food in restaurants.
I also learned to get up every day and make myself presentable. If it weren’t for work, I might sit around at home like an unwashed bag of smelly human.
Every work situation wasn’t wonderful. I’ve worked plenty of jobs that sucked. This let me figure out what I didn’t want in my life and make some boundaries. Because of these lousy jobs, I now know what kind of treatment I expect and demand from the world. For example, if my boss is the kind of abusive jerk who yells at people who did nothing wrong, I leave. The same goes for my personal life.
In-person work was where I met all of the best people I know. I met my wife, Nicole, while I was working. Same with Ryan, my creative partner.
I recently shared space with a fantastic person who changed my entire outlook on life with her enthusiasm, energy, and point of view. We would have never met if we hadn’t chosen to go to work.
In-person jobs made me grow as a person. I faced challenges and obstacles I never could have imagined making my way through, like shiftwork and Microsoft Excel. But I learned how to grind and how to persist. These skills have been a game changer for the rest of my life.
I love that I’ve done so much in-person work. It made me a better man.
6. This Article on What To Do When You’ve Been Ghosted
You’ve probably been ghosted before. We can all agree it hurts.
This thoughtful article by Vex King at Wisdom Waves helped me understand my feelings about it and make peace with what happened. His viewpoint might help you, too.
“Firstly, it’s important to note that the person who ghosts you is doing you a favour. They aren’t capable or willing to communicate big emotions, manage confrontation, or exercise authenticity. Had they stayed, an intimate connection or genuine friendship would’ve been impossible to foster.” — Vex King — Getting Ghosted: The Dos and Don’ts
There are some great insights here on why people ghost, how to react, and self-care steps to take.
Vex King has plenty of good content at Wisdom Waves. His topics are mental health, relationships, spirituality, habits, goals, life, and more.
Thank you, Vex King, for your help on ghosting.
7. Rubber Boots
These are fabulous footwear for those of us who have to walk where it’s wet and muddy. Rubber boots save the day, letting us walk through the wet and arrive with dry feet.
Nothing is quite the downer as filling your shoes with muddy water. It sets the tone for the rest of the day as you slosh down the path with cold slime in between your toes.
I’m at a construction site today where almost everyone has rubber boots on. The muddy ruts are well over our ankles. Thank you for rubber boots and dry feet.
8. Wireless Earbuds and Streaming Music
Isn’t it great to have access to so much music wherever we go?
I have noise-cancelling earbuds. With these babies, you can block the annoying sounds co-workers make when they are eating and so much more.
When Apple did away with the headphone jack, people were outraged.
“Why did they do that? I want the discomfort of accidentally yanking on my headphone wires and pulling them out of my ears!”
“Yeah, I’m really gonna miss pulling my earbuds out of my pocket and spending ten minutes untangling the wires like a loser. I want my cords back!”
Me, I’m glad I was forced to go wireless. The less friction there is in my life, the better. That’s where the ability to stream new music on the go comes in.
If I want to find something new to listen to, it’s just a matter of a few seconds to search it out. Without streaming music, I would have never known some of these amazing musical artists existed.
That’s my Eight-ful for the week. What about you? Is there something you’re grateful for? Let me Know!
I hope nobody confuses this with "The Hateful Eight".