The best FLIPping month ever!

I finished reading FLIP the Gratitude Switch by Kevin Clayson.  I first heard of Kevin and his book on the Becoming Your Best podcast. It’s a great podcast about success principles behind the transformation we undergo in order to become the best versions of ourselves.  They interview lots of super successful people in a variety of industries that exemplify these principles.  The episode with Kevin Clayson can be listened to here.

In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting much from the book.  Mr. Clayson sent me a free copy, and my assumption was that another self-promoting, struggling author/coach was just hoping for some traction in his struggle to get his empire off the ground.

Boy was I wrong.  I’ve been able to connect and interact with Kevin through social media.  He’s the real deal.  He’s already had tons of success and is not likely to stop soon.  I love that he remains accessible to his readers and clients, he is authentic, and he’s one of the “good guys” that sincerely cares about you!

I’ve had the book for some time now, but just recently got around to reading it. It was an opportune time.  I’ve had a few struggles of late that unfortunately I had allowed to affect my attitude. I was focusing on my shortcomings, failures, and struggles.

In FLIP the Gratitude Switch, Kevin explains:

I believe that most of our insecurity stems from the perception of lack, but if we become thankful for what we have, then there can be no perceived lack. If there is no [lack], then there is no reason to be insecure.

I sensed the truth of his words, and decided to take action to stop feeding my insecurities with my bad attitude and poor choice of focus.  Kevin does a great job of explaining how to do this.  The steps are simple, and the execution of them can be if we allow it.  It’s as simple as flipping a light switch.

Think of the flipping of the switch as the simple act of choosing to consciously express, feel, and experience gratitude no matter what life may throw at you.

 

Clayson gives the 4 step process of how to do this:

Find the frustration – acknowledge that something is bothering you. (Most of us are great at this step.)

Look for what’s awesome – Find the blessing embedded in the hardship. Kevin says, “I’m making the case that there is no silver lining in a challenge… because the whole cloud is made of pure gold.”

Initiate gratitude – Choose to experience gratitude for the blessing embedded in your frustration.

Power up with #Gratifuel – use the good vibes created by the first three steps to do it again and make a positive difference in your mentality and in the world around you.

I know the summary of these steps is way too limited, but I did that intentionally in hopes that you would like to let the master of FLIPping the gratitude switch teach you himself.  You can buy his book here.

In the book, Kevin gives a great example of what it looks like when we choose to FLIP the gratitude switch or not.  Each choice has a ripple effect, and Kevin demonstrates that through the day of a manager who is about to head out the door to work.  His daughter enthusiastically jumps into him to give him a loving hug goodbye, and the man’s smoothie spills all over his shirt.

In the first example, the man gets angry, which hurts his daughter, damaging his relationship with her? His anger at running late makes it easy for him to choose to act out toward others in traffic and at work. A supervisor sees him being a jerk to his employee, and the man is passed up for a promotion.

The second example starts the same way, but instead of giving in to frustration and anger, the man decides to FLIP the gratitude switch and express his gratitude for having a daughter who loves him so much. He then avoids being a jerk in traffic and has great interactions at work that impress his boss and earns him a position as a manager of his own store – which was the man’s goal for some time!

It struck me how true these patterns are, and how far reaching the choice to give into anger or to be grateful really is.

But it has to be real, sincere gratitude!

Soulful gratitude… is the act of triggering real emotional gratitude that causes your soul to stir. The only way to trigger the eternal power of gratitude is to initiate it and feel it, and then express it outwardly by feeling it as you express it.

You need to feel the words, not just say them.

I’ve already engaged in this process a bit (you can read about one instance in my last blog.), but I recognize that it needs to be a daily, intentional habit.  So I decided that November is the PERFECT month to make the best FLIPping month ever! I will be sharing on my Facebook page at least once a day an opportunity that I have taken to FLIP the gratitude switch.

My hope and expectation is that this will catapult my mentality and emotional state to a new level that will allow me to access a heightened ability to succeed in all areas of my life.  If you would like to join me, leave comments below or on my Facebook page of how it goes for you!

I want to thank Kevin Clayson one more time for sending me a copy of his book.  I truly enjoyed it and plan to reread it multiple times.  I’m excited for his next book and hope I can see him speak at an event in the near future.

Thanks Kevin!