So another Thanksgiving day has come and gone and were you thankful for anything? Before you you shrug, say your cursory ?yeah, I guess? really stop and read what I’m about to tell you because gratitude isn’t just a word you get to use one day a year. You can go anywhere in the world of self help and find any number of people telling you that you should be grateful because it will attract better things to you. They will tell you about how it can vibrationally align you with what you want to achieve. That’s not why I’m here. I’m not going to give you the same old speech about why you should be thankful and practice you gratitude, it’s old-hat by now and many people have just stopped listening.
Instead, here’s a list of more practical reasons you should practice being grateful for what you’ve got.
1.You’ll be Happier for It: Want to find the simplest way to make yourself happier? Start looking around at all of the good things you have. There. Simple as that. No muss, no fuss and it didn’t cost you a dime. When you look around and take note of all of the good things in your life, you’re activating happy memories in your consciousness and you have no choice but to become happier, as your brain honestly can’t tell the difference between what it thinks and what it experiences. Think a happy memory, live a happy memory, it’s as simple as that. When you find your self down about your situation in life, no matter how bad you may have it, try to find something to be grateful for if for no other reason to get a quick pick-me-up when times get a little rough.
2.It Will Keep You Richer: Spending a little time thinking about all of the great things you already possess will lighten the blow on your pocket book the next time you go on one of those ?I’m bored? shopping trips. We all do it. Usually on a weekend we get to feeling listless and bored. We feel unfulfilled but can’t figure out why. What do we do? We go shopping, purchase a new toy that we don’t need and feel better for the rest of the day. Did the toy make us feel more fulfilled? No, it just took our mind off of it for a little while and kept us occupied. Want to cut your unnecessary spending and save yourself some much needed room in the house? Start listing all of the good things that you have and all of the things you are grateful for the next time you get the urge to go buy a toy.
3.People Will Like You Better: Who wants to hang out with a whiner? I mean really, I don’t have the time for that, do you? The last thing I want to listen to is someone with a perfectly good life whine about how unsatisfied they are with it. You’re life, however screwed up it may seem on the outside, probably has a cream filling of happiness. Sure, some days that might be hard to see, but that’s why people tell you to practice your gratitude every day, so you’ll get better at it. You remember when you were a kid and there was always that one spoiled kid in the class who had every toy imaginable but still griped about wanting more? Remember how annoying that was? Yeah, it’s still annoying. Be grateful, it will keep people from wanting to kill you in the long run.
4.It Will Show You What Really Needs Fixing: Start looking around at the good things you have and you’ll probably find one or two things about your life that you’ve been looking at the wrong way. You may complain about not having enough money, but upon closer inspection you may find that you don’t have a money problem at all. You may want more, but you still eat everyday, still pay the rent on time and have a little left over for a movie on Friday night, so what’s the big deal. You may find that this introspection yields some interesting results. It isn’t uncommon to realize that all of the focus you’ve put on a nonexistent problem has created an imbalance somewhere else in your life. Sometimes we get caught up in worrying about money, or the house, or the spouse, or the kids that we miss the fact that all of those things are just fine and we’ve overlooked our real problems. The more you focus on the good things in life, the more readily you be able to identify and stop the real problem before they even get their foot in the door.
5.The Problems You Have Will Get Smaller: Problems always seem insurmountable until you drag them into the cold light of day, stare them in the eye and realize that they are nowhere near as big and scary as you though they were. We constantly worry about how we’re going to fix this problem or that problem and we play them up in our minds until they are absolutely monstrous and we would do anything to avoid the sheer terror and uncontrollable anguish they will cause. Of course they end up causing absolutely none of this but a little self-delusion and a touch of melodrama never hurt anyone. When you focus on all of the times that life has gone right, you’ll realize that you are perfectly equipped to handle whatever situation may come your way. You may be worried about paying your bills this month, but you’ve always gotten them in on time before and what’s the worst that would happen if you didn’t? So you go a month living by candle light, thousands of years of human evolution has more than prepared you to do so. You’ll be fine, you always are.
So there, that’s why you should be thankful and practice you gratitude everyday. Now if you didn’t spend Thanksgiving being thankful, or you don’t live in America and are completely unaware of said holiday, do not despair. There is no better time to start being thankful than right now. No matter what holiday you want to celebrate, this time of year brings us closer to everyone in our lives. Peace on earth, good will toward men, all of that good stuff. And once all that is over, it’s time to start a new year and create something that you can be thankful for at this time next year. You may have gone without real gratitude your whole life, but start finding it now. Start being thankful for everything you have in life because no matter who you are you have a lot. So from now on, let’s stop using gratitude like the self help buzz word that it’s become and start actually trying to keep our eyes focused solely on the good that we have created for ourselves.
Happy Holidays!
D.R.
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