Happy Thanksgiving and Feeling Grateful
Happy Thanksgiving!
For those of you who know me well, you know that I’m not a big fan of holidays (except for New Year’s and Birthdays!) - usually, there is an overload of food and a lot of people and logistics involved. Then today, on the commute to my client, I had a moment and thought about how much there is to be grateful for. Since it is Thanksgiving tomorrow, I thought it would be an appropriate theme for this blog post.
What are the benefits of being grateful?
Gratitude shifts your focus – whatever we focus on is what we gravitate towards, if we think negatively, we gravitate towards negativity and vice versa. Being grateful shifts your focus by seeing and experiencing situations in a more positive light.
Gratitude reduces your innermost fears – I love this one! When we are grateful for everything, including our problems, fear can be overcome and minimized; fear has less of an importance when we don’t see it as something that is bigger than us.
Being grateful puts you into a state of abundance – when you are in a state of scarcity rather than abundance you tend to worry about the future vs being grateful for what you have right now; when we’re in a state of abundance mindset, we have everything we need.
Gratitude improves your physical and mental health – according to Psychology Today, grateful people experience fewer aches and pains as well as an increase in happiness and reductions in depression.
What are some things we can do to be more grateful?
Remember the bad – when I start feeling bad, I think about where I was a couple of years ago and how far I’ve come. Yes, there is always room for growth and improvement but step by step we get to where we want to be!
Appreciate the things you have – when I’m in a stressful situation, I quickly remind myself of what I’m grateful for, within minutes I feel more in focus and balanced.
Before going to bed, take a few minutes and think of the things that you were grateful for that day – maybe meeting a good friend, trying something new, having a good workout, etc.
Show your love to others – when thanking someone, be genuine; help others without expecting anything in return; tell the people in your life how you feel and what they mean to you
Whether you are having the best day or the worst day, gratitude is what helps you stay grounded and have a positive outlook on life. There are several things I’m grateful for - health, family, friends, the list is long…but one of the things I’m most grateful for is having the opportunity to come into my client’s home and help them become more organized and efficient!
