God Bless America
I am very proud of my culture and nationality, but if there is one thing that I wish I could borrow from another nation, it’s the American holiday, Thanksgiving. Imagine having a whole holiday just about being grateful! I love being grateful. Being grateful is one of the best feelings. I defy anyone to feel anything other than wonderfully happy while they’re being thankful. You just can’t be moody and grateful at the same time.
Mind your P’s and Q’s
Gratitude is a bit of a personal obsession. One of the first things I taught my children to do was to say thank you. Not only is it good manners, it also gives me such a thrill to hear them being appreciative of the things that they have been given. When they are showing their gratitude I know that they have learnt something that will stay with them all their lives. It’s a life skill that will always benefit them and never leave them lacking. It seems like such a simple thing but the effect of gratitude can be life changing because thankful people are happy people. Gratitude breeds contentment. You can’t be grateful for what you have and remain unhappy with your lot in life. There is so much joy to be found if you learn to appreciate the little things and be thankful for them.
Every Good and Perfect Gift
As a Christian I believe that God provides for me. Being grateful reminds me, daily, whom I am thankful to. It reminds me that the source and origin of all the wonderful things in my life doesn’t lie in my own power, but everything I have from the food in my cupboards, my family, my home, even the air I breath has been given to me by God. It’s impossible to take these gifts for granted when you are continually thankful.
Creating a Habit
I know that there are people who have less in life than others, but gratitude is most certainly not limited to material possessions. It was the motivational speaker Zig Ziglar who first coined the phrase ‘an attitude of gratitude’. He said ‘The more you recognize and express gratitude for the things you have, the more things you will have to express gratitude for’. It’s not about the amount you have, it’s about appreciating what you have.
If you’re struggling to be thankful, there are lots of things you can do to make gratitude a habit, here’s just a few:
- Keep a gratitude journal – Oprah taught the world about gratitude journals and if you google ‘how to be grateful’ this is pretty much number 1 on every single list! Write down all the things in your life that you are thankful for. Try and add 3 or 4 new things each day. You may be surprised how many things you have to be grateful for and its wonderful to be able to go back in years to come and see how much God has done for you.
- Help others – Reaching out, helping other people and giving back can be one of the most rewarding things we can. Helping someone can also take your mind off yourself, change your perspective and make you feel grateful for the opportunity to do something practical. It can also remind you how much you actually do have.
- Spend time with the people you love the most – Being around your nearest and dearest is one of the easiest ways to feel grateful. Surround yourself with the people who mean the most to you and let them know how much you appreciate them.
- Make a choice – You don’t need to be all sunshine and daisies to be a grateful person. Thankful people also experience hardship, but they are more likely to be able to see good in the challenges. Even in the hardest times there are lessons to be learnt and if you look for them, you can find something positive in the toughest situations.
- Don’t compare – Comparison is the quickest way to spoil your gratitude. It focuses on what someone else has that you don’t.
It’s a wonderful thing to be thankful. To live each day being grateful for what God has given, counting your blessings and giving thanks and appreciation back to your source. If you’re struggling to find a reason to be thankful or if this blog has spoken to you, please click the link below.