Keeping Gratitude All Year Long

The calendar reminds us once a year on a Thursday late in November that it’s time to

gather around family or friends. With some kind of stuffed bird as the centerpiece, we

pause our busy lives to spend time with those we love.

We shut down work, gather around an overflowing table of traditional foods we eagerly

await, and pause to give thanks in between the stuffing of food and perhaps raucous

conversation.

We have this day set aside for expressing gratitude, food, fun and frivolity. Why then, is

gratitude so hard to keep past this one day?

Research tells us that having a pause daily for intentionally counting our blessings, i.e.,

reminding ourselves of all that we have to be thankful for, goes a long way towards

enjoying better mental and emotional health.

It is important that we figure out how to make gratitude, that is practicing gratitude,

more than a one day food filled festive event.

When we stay present with an attitude of gratitude, we can shift our mindset out of

gloom and doom and out of the human tendency to focus on the negative- especially

that which we want but don’t have.

Our brains tend to go there first. We often lament things like when I get a better paying

job or win that promotion then we’ll take that trip to Europe. We often dwell that we wish

we had a better car, a bigger house, or a better boyfriend.

The thing is only you can actively and intentionally navigate your life. If you want a

better job start pouring your energy into souping up your resume, making good

contacts, and searching for what you want.

It is easy to focus on the negative, and sometimes that has a place… there are times,

and relationships that call for allowing ourselves to realize there is an inner

dissatisfaction, or perhaps some real distress that we ought to be paying attention to.

However, quite often we simply cultivate the habit of complaining, dwelling on what is

wrong, what we don’t have, or overfocusing on the challenges in our life.

Practicing gratitude changes all that. When we choose to focus on what is going well,

what we have accomplished, what we will choose to do moving forward that will move

us in a better direction, be it in our career path, relationships or other endeavors, then

we often find that imagining those outcomes can lead us toward both motivation and

gratitude.

Practicing gratitude can look like many things.

You might choose to keep a gratitude journal that you write in each morning or evening

that propels you to consider three things you are grateful for each day.

You might say a prayer or meditation of gratitude each day to remind you where you

want to focus. Practice putting into perspective, even though I want to make changes

with ____, I can still choose to be grateful for ___.

Lastly, just learning to pause and be present in the moment, looking around at the life

you have created. Maybe you have a partner and your relationship feels amazing,

Perhaps you have kiddos and you look at them and remind yourself how blessed you

are to be their parent.

Even in our most challenging times, there is always something to be grateful for. So

count those blessings in addition to counting how many helpings of mashed potatoes

you’ve had.

Pause each day to remind yourself how fortunate you are. Be grateful for what is, and

what you do have. Remind yourself each day is a new opportunity to move in the

direction of the areas you have a dissatisfaction in.

As you begin to practice gratitude intentionally each day, notice what that feels like, how

it affects your mood, your energy and your outlook on life. Be amazed.