The mark of good therapists is they use the tools they suggests to clients. I recently recommended to a client to listen to the song “These are a Few of my Favourite Things” from The Sound of Music, which is sometimes used as a Christmas carol (Here’s modern version of it from a band called Family Force Five) and write out his or her own list. It was a new idea that came out of the discussion, so I thought it’s something I should try doing as well. Essentially, you want to keep a running list of things that make you happy in a visible spot at work or home in order to be constantly reminded of the things that make life worth living. These should be things that are comforting, inspiring, and remind you of things you should be trying to include in your day. This is also a great discussion to have with people over Christmas: What are some of your favourite things? You’ll be surprised how many of your favourite things are simple and don’t involve materialism… hopefully.
Since this is Christmas, here’s a Bible verse that promotes this idea. It’s a brilliant verse for anyone who wants to enjoy life Christian or non Christian: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Phil 4:8b, NLT)
Chad’s List of Favourite Things (a start)
- The moment you first step into a hot tub
- Having a piece of chocolate before dinner
- Seeing you made your partner happy
- Finding the cheapest gas around when you need to fill up
- Gulping water when you’re extremely thirsty
- By chance seeing someone you like you care about, but haven’t seen in awhile
- Making someone you don’t know genuinely laugh
- The moment you solve a problem that’s been bugging you
- Having a Freezie on a hot day
- Your partner reaching over with one hand to rub your neck while you’re driving home after a long day
- Someone you care about sending you a message out of the blue just to say hi
- Having people trust you enough to share secrets
- Random people giving you a compliment
- Impressing someone you really respect
- A note in your lunch that says you’re loved
- Receiving email money transfers (or in a birthday card is great too)
- The end of the day when you get to sit and reflect on your day
- The moment you get a great idea
- Standing up for yourself in a kind way and getting the response you wanted
- A person of the opposite sex looking at you like you’re attractive
- Finding the perfect gift for someone you care about and being able to afford it
- The moment after an inspirational movie (McFarland USA was a nice surprise)
- The smell of a real Christmas tree
- Someone else cleaning up the cat puke
- The smell of BBQ
- Finishing your vegetables and starting the food you enjoy eating
- Ice cream cones
- Someone telling you that something you did made a difference and they remember it from years ago
- Saying hi to people who are surprised you remember them
- Seeing someone famous
- The feel of a soft cat (or any animal really)
- A dog excited to see you
- Your partner excited you’re home because he or she missed you and not because you need to do a job
- Completing a task you weren’t sure you could do
- Buying something and finding out it’s on sale at the cash register
- Remembering good things in your life
This week may you have a very Merry Christmas.
Rev Chad David, www.ChadDavid.ca, Learning to love dumb people