Right now gratitude, day 1

There are two things that I've been doing for the past few months that have made me happier. One has been Brene Brown's The Gifts of Imperfection e-course, and the other is Gretchen Rubin's Happier podcast. Since it's November and I traditionally do gratitude posts, I'm drawing on inspiration from both of those sources for my posts.

The last assignment I did in the e-course was a collage of moments that made me grateful. The idea behind it was that when life changes, it's not typically the big momentous things we miss. It's the little moments that make up our regular life that make it sweeter. I did a collage that included random things like the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that me, Ben and Shane have been eating lately for lunch, but is real life right now. So for my gratitudes this year, I want to highlight something that is happening or trending right now that brings me joy. Which all seems so much easier than trying to come up with something big and momentous. I mean, I'm grateful for those things too, but I don't want to be repetitive and feel stuck in what I can or can't say.

So for my first gratitude, I want to tell you about this quiz that I took thanks to the Happier podcast I listen to. It's called the 4 Tendencies quiz, and it's super awesome. According to Rubin, there are 4 combinations to how a person responds to internal and/or external motivations. By taking it, I realized that I'm mostly motivated by outside influences (Obliger). I sat with that for a few weeks, and then I had Shane take the quiz. I found out what I already suspected - that he's my polar opposite in motivation, meaning he's more motivated by internal factors (Questioner). It explains so much about both of us! It made the little light bulb over my head click on for so many different areas of our lives.

So today, even though it isn't earth-shattering or very newsworthy, I'm grateful to know myself a little better. I'm grateful to have a little insight into my marriage that might make things a little smoother.

For a little "right now" gratitude I want to include that I'm grateful that a mouth surgery Ben had today went well. My kids have cuspid teeth that get stuck in their jaws, so both of them have had to have them pulled down mechanically. I've been looking forward to getting this step over with so we are that much closer to being done with orthodontia. I'm also excited that I get to go to Thomas' cross country banquet tonight. He became a runner this year, and it's been so fun to watch. He worked really hard and I couldn't be prouder.

If you take the 4 Tendencies quiz, tell me what you are! I'd love to know.