Adding Good Things

In our last episode, we talked about why it can be hard to receive good things. Today, we are discussing the importance of actively adding good things to our lives.  It can be easy to focus on all of the problems, challenges, and hardships we are facing, and to assume that if we could just remove those, then we could experience a greater sense of wellbeing. And while there are certainly times to focus on removal of things that are hurting us, there is also great power in pouring our attention into adding goodness: adding more fruits and vegetables onto our plate, adding more visits with friends, adding encouraging thoughts into our inner dialogue. And sometimes, we find that the more good things we add, the easier it is for old painful habits to fall away.  This can, of course, bring up feelings of “easier said than done.” In today’s episode, we discuss how to work with some of the obstacles to adding good things, from self-judgment to low motivation.  References: Recent Gathering Gold episodes: "Summer Solstice" and "Why it’s Hard to Receive Good Things" Pema Chödrön, “No big deal” Rob Bell’s podcast  Acceptance and Commitment Therapy The Many Lives of Mama Love, by Lara Love Hardin Sheryl’s book, The Wisdom of Anxiety Carl Rogers’ teaching on unconditional positive regard