I can’t believe Thanksgiving is right around the corner and the holiday season is about to kick off. Mentally I’m still at the beginning of October, not thinking about Christmas, despite the fact that everything is already decorated in red and green. I’m still watching Halloween movies! To get myself into the spirit of the season, I feel it’s important to focus on what Thanksgiving is all about–gratitude. It’s a time to remember what we’re thankful for in our lives and all the ways we are blessed. One great way to do this is to start a gratitude practice.
Why practice gratitude?
The short answer: it will make you happier! According to this article from the Harvard Medical School Healthbeat, “Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.” And it makes sense doesn’t it? We’re all constantly being bombarded with advertising that’s telling us we’ll be happy if we only buy this or that product, and we’re always seeing what we lack compared to other people on social media. It helps to focus on being grateful for what we already have, to find contentment in our own lives rather than feeling like we have to wait to be happy until some future time when we have everything we could ever want.
Ways to practice gratitude:
Writing
- Start by writing one thing in your planner each day that you are grateful for.
- Establish a gratitude journal where you write out what you are grateful for regularly (daily or weekly). You can focus on quantity and try to write out 3-5 things in each entry or focus on time and set aside 10-15 minutes to write.
- Write a thank you note anytime you receive a gift or someone makes a generous gesture.
- Write a letter explaining to someone why you are so grateful for them.
Thinking
- Think to yourself in the moment, “I’m grateful for ____.”
- Make a point to turn each negative thought into a positive one. For example, “I really don’t like my job, but I have good benefits and I’m getting great experience.”
- Challenge yourself to see beauty everywhere. Even in a cup of coffee on a cold winter day.
Being present
- Find beauty in nature. Yes it might be cold, but appreciate the changing colors in the leaves or the sunlight on your face.
- Create a connection with the food you cook. Enjoy the process and appreciate that you are able to make these dishes, both physically and financially.
- Enjoy time with friends and family without phones or screens so you can meaningfully connect.
Saying it out loud
- Tell someone that you love in your life, “I love you.”
- Take a moment at the end of the day to tell your family member or partner that you appreciate something they did earlier that day.
- Call your family and friends more often.
- Share compliments that will make others feel good.
- Make gratitude a part of each meal. If you are religious, this could be saying grace, if you are not you can share as a family something you are grateful for each day.
Giving to others
- Challenge yourself to an active of kindness each day.
- Volunteer with a charity to help others.
- Help friends see the positive when they are lost in the negative side of life.
It truly does work. I’ll give you an example from my own life. Yesterday I had an expensive, unexpected expense that left me in a bit of a sour mood. Eventually I had to sit down and think to myself that I am grateful that a) I can cover this expense and b) it will not leave me in financial ruin which is not true for everyone. And I got home early enough to spend some time with my partner before he had to leave for work. Was it a hard day? Yes, but ultimately things are still good and I have a lot to be grateful for.
Do any of you have a gratitude practice? Do you do something that I didn’t mention above? Let me know in the comments!
Maybe instead of #tbt we can have Thankful this Thursday #ttt