It’s that time of year when our thoughts turn to Thanksgiving and the day that is set aside to feel thankful for what we have. Hopefully this is a mindset that is already present in our daily lives…feeling gratitude and appreciation for the many blessings and opportunities we have. Our lives can be enriched so much if we take the time to be thankful and see the good in all that we have.
We live in a consumer-driven society where we are often wanting more and comparing what we have to what other people have. Yet simply by living in the United States with our freedoms and opportunities, we already have so much compared to others. Each day we have freedom to practice any religion, to speak freely, to enjoy prosperity, to get an education and to work hard for what we want. Our opportunities are limitless.
Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.
Eckhart Tolle
How can we turn gratitude into a daily habit instead of a once a year holiday obligation? By recognizing the abundance we already have…our family, our relationships, our material things that bring us comfort and our memories, dreams and hopes.
Be Thankful for Family
Family relationships, connections and support are things that we can easily take for granted. However, having the love of family, to support us in hard times and cheer us on in the good, is a gift that is more precious than anything we can buy. Family is the rock and foundation of earthly life and we should take time to see and appreciate the good that family provides.
I am especially thankful for my family this year. I feel blessed by my immediate family, my in-laws, my extended family and those close friends I have “adopted” as family. I’ve counted on them for advice and emotional support, used their physical help, shared in happiness and good experiences, helped and received help with sickness, and felt love that has sustained me. These are all things that bring so much good to my life. We should be thankful and see all the good that we have in family.
Be Thankful for Comforts
We, as a society, have so much in the way of material comforts. Compared with many other places and cultures around the world we are blessed beyond measure with material things. I think about this often. I think about it as I put up Christmas decorations in my home and plan our Thanksgiving meal. I think about all that we have when I look at Christmas wish lists and consider what to give as gifts for those that already have everything they need.
Grateful living in the world is important because in our constant pursuit of more and better we can easily lose sight of the riches that lay right in front of us and within us.
Guri Mehta
It would be easy to reflect on all that we have materially and feel guilty. To some degree these feelings can be helpful in guiding us to think more about the needs of others. Being thankful for our possessions does make us pause to consider what our real needs are and if we have too much.
However, instead of being bogged down in guilt, we can shift our perspective to gratitude and seeing the good in all that we have. We can appreciate the comforts, beauty and convenience that we have in our lives. If we can appreciate our material comforts and truly recognize the blessings we have, we can cultivate a thankful attitude.
Be Thankful for Hope
What sustains you and gives you hope? For me it is my faith. My faith in God and the hope that I have for forgiveness and eternal life is something I am so thankful for. I feel rich in the comfort of that hope and recognize the peace and purpose that hope brings to my life. People have different religions and different sources of hope, but we should all find something bigger than ourselves to cling to. We should be thankful and see the good in all that we have beyond ourselves.
Being Thankful Transforms You
Seeing the good in what you have right now can transform you. It can change your daily outlook and increase your happiness. You’ll find more feelings of satisfaction and likely see your relationships improve because you complain less and appreciate more.
Many research studies have been done that show that gratitude can improve an individual’s well-being and happiness (like this one from Harvard Health). A thankful person feels more contentment and joy and doesn’t dwell on negative things.
This is what seeing the good is all about; gratitude, thankfulness and appreciation. It is an attitude, a perspective and a way of life. Seeing the good is also a choice. Choose to see the good in your everyday life. Be thankful for all that you have.
Challenge for this week:
My hope is that we can all turn gratitude into a daily habit instead of a once a year holiday obligation. If this doesn’t come naturally for you, try some of these actions and resources.
Keep a Gratitude Journal
There are many ways to keep a gratitude journal. You can simply write down your thoughts of thanksgiving on paper, you can buy a gratitude journal or you can even download an app (like those listed below) to make your gratitude writing more convenient.
Stumped on what to write about? It is easy to get stuck on the general things we might feel thankful for like family, health and food. If you need inspiration there are countless “gratitude prompts” available with a quick google search. These prompts will help you to look beyond the obvious into some other things to be thankful for.
Examples of gratitude prompts:
- What is something you have today that you didn’t have a year ago?
- What is a personality trait in yourself that you are thankful for?
- What is a possession that makes your life easier?
- What do you like about your job?
- How are you able to help or give to others?
- What is a tradition that you’re grateful for?
- How does your family make your life richer?
- What are five positive memories from the last year?
- What are three good decisions you’ve made this year?
Gratitude Apps
New Gratitude Journal is an app that helps you track five things you are grateful for each day. You get reminders and rewards to help make gratiude a habit.
Gratitude is an app that will send you a text message each morning and you can reply to that number every time you are feeling grateful. That text gets stored in your account so you can read or re-visit anytime.
Volunteer
Volunteering is a great way to feel gratitude and appreciation for what you have. Helping others lets you feel connected to something bigger. Volunteering also reminds you that you have gifts, talents and abilities to share with others in a way that increases the quality of their life.
Pray or Meditate
It’s ok to have quiet time. In fact, it is good to take a few minutes each day to pause and dwell on the positive things in your life. Allow yourself them time to feel grateful and give thanks.
