~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~it's all about the love~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday, December 28, 2015

Gratitude & Giving Day 28 - Teodora Kostova

I’ve never been religious, but I’ve always been spiritual. I believe there’s unseen energy in the world around us, energy that can help us or ruin us depending on how our mind works and what’s in our hearts.

In my early twenties I was plagued by negativity and strong bounds of depression. There was nothing particularly bad going on in my life, but I wasn’t happy. Seeing no reason for feeling that way made me feel guilty on top of everything else.

Things needed to change.

As usual, I resorted to books to help me out. Thanks to some very inspiration biographies and books on positive thinking I was able to re-program my whole mindset. I consciously strived to think positively – find that silver lining – even in the worst of situations. And it worked.
Nowadays I go to bed every night with the thought of being thankful for what I have instead of focusing on what I don’t have. And then I wake up every morning, appreciating the new day and what it might have in store for me.

Being thankful for the smallest things has helped me through tough situations and family tragedies. I don’t tolerate negative people in my life anymore.

I have a pretty box in my living room where everyone in my family puts little notes or mementos all year around. Then, on Christmas morning we open the box and relive the best moments of the year together. It’s one of the best experiences anyone can have!
We’ve been doing this for a few years and every year the box gets more stuff in it than the previous year. This year the box was so full the lid could barely close.

That’s not to say that this year we haven’t had our heartbreaking moments, everyday worries, and tough decisions to make. But focusing on the positive, on what we’ve actually achieved despite the hurdles life has thrown our way, we made it another year with a box full of goodness.

I can make a huge list for what I’m thankful for, but I won't bore you half to death with it. The most important thing I’m thankful for every single day of my life is my – and my family’s – good health. This year I’ve seen firsthand how devastating illness can be and realised that our good health is the most important thing in the world. We can always make more money, buy more things, help more people... But we can never get our health back once it’s gone.

A huge thank you to K-lee Klein for asking me to be a part of this amazing, and so inspiring, blog tour.

I’m giving away an ebook copy of any of my books (winner’s choice) as a thank you for reading my post. For a chance to win, just leave a comment below, telling me what you’re most thankful for every day of your life, and a contact email. I’ll draw the winner on the 8th of January.

Happy Holidays! May the odds always be in your favour ;)


Author Bio and social media links:

Hi, my name is Teodora and I live in London with my husband and my son. I've been writing ever since I can remember, but it became my full time job a few years ago when I decided that everything else I've tried bores me to death and I have to do what I've always wanted to do, but never had the guts to fully embrace. 
I've been a journalist, an editor, a personal assistant and an interior designer among other things, but as soon as the novelty of the new, exciting job wears off, I always go back to writing. Being twitchy, impatient, loud and hasty are not qualities that help a writer, because I have to sit alone, preferably still, and write for most of the day, but I absolutely love it. It's the only time that I'm truly at peace and the only thing I can do for more than ten minutes at a time - my son has a bigger attention span than me.

When I'm procrastinating, I like to go to the gym, cook Italian meals (and eat them), read, listen to rock music, watch indie movies and True Blood re-runs. Or, in the worst case scenario, get beaten at every Nintendo Wii game by a kid.

Don't be shy and get in touch - I love connecting with my readers.


9 comments:

  1. Thankful for my friends and family whose unconditional support keeps me going!

    Dr. Baby. Lady@Gmail. Com

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  2. Love this post!!! Thankful for book friends and family. I have and love this book so dont enter me

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  3. Love this post! I'm thankful for my family and friends!

    anamaribelcardenas@yahoo.com

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  4. Angela:

    Thank you for sharing this post with us, i love the idea of having a box with momento's and little notes so that you can remember all the good times at the end of each year.

    I'm thankful for my family and especially my husband and our children.

    ahpg(at)ziggo(dot)nl

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  5. What a great post. I am thankful to friends and family who have helped me through the years.
    debby236 at gmail dot com

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  6. I would not have survived my breakdown without my partner. He took a great burden as I barely survived for 2 and a half years. It has been a few years since I started my recovery, but I am still very grateful for him every day.
    hojurose(at)gmail(dot)com

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  7. Thankful for every day I get to spend with my husband. He has some serious illnesses so everyday is a blessing. I really like your idea about the box. Hoping 2016 is a good year for everyone

    redmd@juno.com

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  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. Hi guys! Thanks so much for you lovely comments! Sorry about the delay in replying - the winner of any ebook from my backlist is Denise Dechene! I've emailed her to let her know in case she doesn't see this comment.
    Hope everyone has a great year ahead!
    Hugs,
    Teodora

    ReplyDelete