We have been
spending a great deal of time this month, focusing on the word Gratitude.
Really, though, do you know what it means? Gratitude means thankfulness,
counting your blessings, noticing the simple things in your day, and
acknowledging everything that you
receive. It means learning to live your life being aware, on a continuous basis,
of how much you’ve been given. Gratitude will undoubtedly shift your focus from
what your life lacks to the multitude that is already present. Giving thanks
makes people happier and more resilient, it strengthens relationships, it
improves health, and it reduces stress. I have noticed all of this to be so
true in how I go about my days. Since adopting my own gratitude journey to
travel on, my relationships (both personally and professionally) have been that
much better, my health has improved, and I really don’t feel the stress like I
used to, letting every little thing bother me.
I have said it
on numerous occasions, in many other blog postings: people tend to take for
granted the good that is already present in their lives. I read about a
gratitude exercise that asks that you imagine losing some of the things that
you take for granted, such as your home, your ability to see or hear, your
ability to walk, or anything that currently gives you comfort. Then imagine
getting each of these things back, one by one, and consider how grateful you
would be for each and every one. We really do lose sight of the little things
that we should be thankful for. We are so quick to always list our friends and
family, but we tend to forget our alarm clocks, the coffee pot (my goodness I
don’t give thanks enough for my Keurig!), gas stations, smiles, utensils,
washing machines, etc etc etc. In addition, you need to start finding joy in
the small things instead of holding out for big achievements. In acknowledging
the appreciation in the small things, those bigger things will come.
Another way to
use giving thanks to appreciate life more fully is to use gratitude to help you
put things in their proper perspective. When things don’t go your way, remember
that every difficulty has within it the seeds of something good. When something
bad happens or something doesn’t go according to what you expected or hoped
for, ask yourself: “What’s good about this?”, “What can I learn from this?”,
and “How can I benefit from this?” It is when we truly start being thankful for the bad things, the moments of disappointment, that we can truly appreciate those little things we took for granted before.
Once you ‘train’
your thought process, your mind, to be looking for things to be grateful for,
you will find that you begin to appreciate simple pleasures and things that you
previously took for granted. Gratitude should not be just a reaction to getting
what you want, but an all-the-time gratitude, the kind where you notice the
little things and where you constantly look for the good even in unpleasant
situations and it should NOT be just a November thing. My true hope is that all
the wonderful ‘Today, I am thankful for:’ statuses on the book of Faces won’t disappear
once November is over. Heck, I am hoping they don’t disappear when Thanksgiving
is over. Today, start bringing gratitude
to your experiences, instead of waiting for a positive experience in order to
feel grateful; in this way, you’ll be on your way toward becoming a Think
Thankfully Master!!!!!
Think
Thankfully!!!!
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