Enthusiasm is key to success.
Enthusiasm is key to success.

We experience many things in life. We make mistakes and should learn from them. However, do we ever seek knowledge in advance? I think so, sometimes. I check Google and YouTube often to solve some temporary problem that I’m facing and can’t figure out what to do next. However, there are many experts in diverse fields. They continuously put out their wisdom in their niches.

The current vogue is New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve written on it since Thanksgiving often. A couple of days ago, a mentor (Matt Furey) that I’ve followed for years was discussing his experience coming back from a trip to China. His ‘take away’ statement was a quote from Emerson, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

What did Matt Furey recommend to gain that enthusiasm before we tackle our resolutions? It was simple – to be grateful and thankful. He suggested we start simple, with only ten things we were grateful for in 2016. If we couldn’t list ten items within the last year, then go back another year or longer.

He believes that enthusiasm and gratefulness is equivocal. If we can’t define what we are grateful and thankful for, then our enthusiasm level is near zero. With zero enthusiasm it is extremely difficult to start tackling new goals. Gratitude puts energy in your emotional life, your enthusiasm reserve.

With gratitude we can manifest our future potential with more enthusiasm than without it. I was fortunate that I could list ten things I was grateful/thankful for that happened in 2016 fairly easily. However, if we don’t think of gratefulness often, then it can be daunting to make that list.

Another relatively simple, no-cost option to begin 2017 is to write out a dozen or more things that you are grateful or thankful for last year. Try it, it might actually work for you.

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