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Gratitude

"How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us, and keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what really matters most."

-- Stephen Covey, First Things First

Do you know what is deeply important to you? You can find out by exercising your gratitude muscle on a regular basis.

Feeling gratitude is a daily habit, a muscle in a sense, worth developing. It is a habit, just as complaining, whining and feeling victimized are habits. If find yourself complaining frequently and feeling miserable about your current situation, then listen up. An attitude shift is what we are talking about. Making the change to a perspective of thankfulness will change your life. Remember: What we focus on expands.

Gratitude is one of those things that is easy to feel when our life is going well. It’s so obvious then what we have to be grateful for. We can come up with a respectable list of things we are thankful for at the drop of a hat.

And yet, it is during our time of distress that gratitude helps us the most. During these times, finding meaning while the world is swirling in chaos, can be a lifesaver. But, as I said, coming up with things to be grateful while we are in the midst of trauma is not an easy thing to do. This is why we need to have a list before crisis strikes. It’s like putting money away in a bank account for a rainy day. What we all need is a gratitude reserve that we can tap into when we need it.

Action Steps

Develop your gratitude muscle by exercising it regularly.

Journal - The easiest way to do this is to begin a gratitude journal. Keep a notebook on your nightstand and every night before going to bed, list at least 5 things you have to be thankful for. Coming up with 5 may be difficult at first if you have not had this mindset. You will soon notice patterns in the items that you list. These items will let you know what is deeply important to you. Once you know, you will have a list of what really matters to you the most. You will be constructing your own personal list of what makes your life worth living. When times get tough, this list will prove invaluable.

If you have a spouse or life partner, get two journals, one for each of you. Each of you jot down the reasons you are thankful for your partner that day. Then, exchange journals so you can read each other entries. It will bring you much closer and help you to learn the things your partner thinks are important.
Think at night - If journaling is not your thing, then begin even more simply and just think of 5 things to be thankful for as you fall asleep. What better way to end the day and get to sleep.
Think during the day – You want to work up to spontaneously thinking several times a day about what you are thankful for. You want to sensitize yourself to the things in your life that are going well, as opposed to being sensitive to that which is causing you pain.

Have a grateful winter.