Gratitude is a habit
This weekend in Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving. I had an interesting conversation with the checkout guy in the grocery store - a young man who explained to me that he thought Thanksgiving was a silly reason to have a holiday.
In some respects he’s right. Like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or Valentine’s on which we honor our parents or our lovers, assigning “giving thanks” to a particular day on the calendar seems to miss the point.
Thanksgiving is something that should take place each and every day.
It’s often said that gratitude is an attitude. Yes that’s true. Even more than that, gratitude is a habit. It’s something that you do routinely - not just once in a while or when the right date rolls around.
Sure it’s easy to let gratitude slip below the radar when life is busy. It seems that we often wait for an unwelcomed jolt that makes us count our blessings. Gratitude as a habit means that you don’t just have a positive attitude. It means that your actions demonstrate your appreciation for the blessings in your life.
So how can can you practice the gratitude habit?
Like any personal success habit, you need a routine…
- Keep a journal each day in which you write down the little or big things you are grateful for that day.
- Say thank you more often.
- Tell others what you appreciate about them.
- Practice finding the silver lining in adverse situations.
- Remind yourself that things can ALWAYS be worse than they currently are.
- Take delight in gratitude in all its shapes and sizes - from good health or a loving relationship to warm socks on a frosty night.
