Attitude of Gratitude

I’m writing about choices this year; how to make ones that serve us better and take us in the direction we want to go. One of the best choices we can make is to stop:

Feeling sorry for ourselves
Complaining
Endlessly wishing things were different

and start deciding to be grateful for what we have. This is a huge choice to make that can literally transform our lives. Let me go over some benefits of expressing gratitude.

It improves physical health – grateful people take better care of themselves and experience fewer aches and pains.

It increases happiness & decreases depression It – taking the focus off ourselves can have great emotional benefits.

It reduces stress and increases resilience – the more aware we are of our blessings, the less likely we are to focus on the negative things in our lives, and the less power we give them.

If this is totally outside your wheelhouse don’t despair. There are some easy, doable ways to develop gratitude that will only take minutes to accomplish. Try these:

Write it down – take a few minutes every day to write down your blessings. This will focus your attention away from the negative and toward the positive.
Tell someone else – this is a way of reinforcing the positive feelings you’re developing.
Give back – get into the habit of telling people that you appreciate them and why you do. A note, card, email or text is a great way to let people know how much their kindness (or whatever) meant to you.

The more you get into the habit of recognizing and acknowledging the good things in your life, the more you’ll have. This is a habit that literally feeds on itself – in a good way. So go ahead, find something good and give thanks for it. You’ll be glad you did!