I am going to give it to you straight today: last week was rough. We were in the thick of it around here. I don't do well when I'm displaced and the demolition at our house was significantly worse than expected. We also saw a few setbacks for The Letter Project and the freelance project I'm working on grew beyond what I could handle. I struggled with feeling very overwhelmed and out of control. 

But then, as the week progressed, I kept feeling nudged to stop focusing on all of the reasons I felt stressed and instead focus on why I was grateful. 

As much as I didn't want to do this, because complaining about things is often an easier default, I knew the feeling was right. Each morning, I wrote down three things I was grateful for. Maybe it was the singing birds, a good night's or sleep or feeling connected to Chris. From the sunrise to a good cup of coffee, it didn't matter how small it was - it instantly shifted my mood from stressed to at ease. It was such a simple, quick way to change my mindset. 

I got to thinking about how it can often be easier to settle into a stressed mentality than a grateful one. On the flip side, though, it's easier to live life in a grateful state. While it might take more discipline to get to that state of gratitude, once you get there, life is so much more manageable. 

All that to be said, I wanted to tell you how much you guys mean to me. Between super encouraging comments on my blog, to emails, to people offering to help with and voting for The Letter Project and everything in between, you have been so supportive. You will never know how much your kind words and love mean. So thank you!

I hope you all have a great Monday and know you put a little pep in my step last week. Treat yo self to an extra coffee today (: