On Being Thankful

With Thanksgiving and the holiday season upon us, now is the perfect time to reflect upon what we are thankful for in our lives.

Many years ago Oprah spoke about keeping what she called a “gratitude” journal.  At the time it wasn’t mainstream thinking that what you focus on in your life grows; I just liked the idea and felt it was something I could do easily, so I began my own “gratitude” journal.

I’ve had my share of ups and downs over the years, but even on my worst days, I would force myself to come up with a minimum of 5 things I was grateful for in my day.  There were many nights when I’d just sit there looking at that damn page feeling like I had nothing to write, but I wouldn’t let myself close it without writing something. How ungrateful would that be! (I thought to myself). I knew that no matter how bad things were for me in the moment, there were people out there facing worse, so I’d better find something to be grateful for.

A funny thing happened to me over the years that I attribute to this journal. It actually changed the way I look at all situations in my life now.  It’s like I’ve retrained my mind to see the silver lining in anything I face – job loss, death of a loved one, financial struggles, health issues etc, and it’s heightened my gratitude for the good things too.  Without a doubt it has contributed to the happiness I feel in my life. 

A couple of years ago I was introduced to the concept of Positive Psychology and the realization that happiness is a choice – that we can change our experience of a situation through different thinking about it.  Happiness is not based (wholly) on the occurrences in our life, but our interpretation of them.

Wondering what your level of gratitude is? There is a free assessment you can take to determine your level of gratitude at: http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx.  You’ll see many free assessments here.  You can find the “Gratitude Questionnaire” by scrolling down the list.

Gratitude is enhanced when shared with others. This holiday season, let someone important in your life know what you are most grateful for about them.  For yourself, start your own gratitude journal.  Every day, write 5 things that you are grateful for in your life.  These are my top 2 every time: 1. My health. 2. My husband Dave and my dog-daughter Emma. I figure without these things, nothing else matters and with them, anything after that is gravy!