Giving Gratitude

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With this being Thanksgiving, I thought it would be appropriate to write a post about giving thanks.  One of my favorite t-shirts is one I bought from a Tony Robbins convention. It says, “Live everyday with an Attitude of Gratitude.”  This is something I have to regularly work on. This post is dedicated to the amazing ladies in my Gratitude Group, Sarah, Jennifer and Laura.  I am grateful for you ladies!!

I love the feelings I get when I take time to look around and notice everything I have that makes me feel blessed.  At the top of my list always are my husband and children, my mom, family and friends, God and our church, our home and health.  While I am always truly blessed, I don’t always feel gratitude in my heart and soul. When I take the time to pause and reflect, I become a different person.  I stop taking all of these blessings for granted. And, once I get started, I can always add to my list, such as having heat in our home, food to eat, the sun or the rain, good books, my kids’ teachers, coffee or wine (depending on the time of day!), street sweepers, etc.  

If you would like to adopt a more grateful spirit, here are some unique ways I have personally used to get myself feeling all the warm and fuzzies.  And, I never regret feeling all the warm and fuzzies!

1. Get a Gratitude Journal ~

If you are someone who works best with a starting point, a gratitude journal may be just the thing for you.  They have topics already typed up with room for you to write. A lot of time the starting is the hardest part, so they have taken care of it for you.  Pick a topic that speaks to you, open to a random page and let it surprise you, or simply work through the book from front to back. What’s even better is that they can be done quickly in just a few minutes, so you can always fit it into your busy schedule.  There are some great options HERE and HERE.  Maybe you should ask Santa for one!

2. A Daily Hand-Written Note ~

When is the last time you remember getting a special note in your mailbox?  I don’t mean your email inbox, I mean your actual snail-mail mailbox. Have you ever received a hand-written card, note or letter in the mail that wasn’t a thank you card?  If you received one today, would it stand out to you? That’s the whole point! It is not common practice any more to write out notes and send them to others. Imagine the surprise for someone you love to receive a thoughtful note in the mail that you took the time to write.  Set up a challenge for yourself. Write (and mail!) one hand-written note each day for a month expressing your gratitude for someone. It can be someone you care about or even an employee in a business who provided exceptional service. It could be your mail carrier or a teacher you had in high school that made a difference in your life.  How about the coach of your kid’s sports’ team or the babysitter. Whoever it is, make their day!

3.  Text 3 things you love or appreciate to your other half ~

This one can work for your significant other, but also your bestie, mom or anyone close to you.  Each day send a text or email to them with three things you love or appreciate about them. These need to be sent with no strings attached (tell them not to return the message), and even if you are mad you need to keep it positive (for example, you cannot say, “I love that you always take out the garbage, even though I have to nag you about it half the time.)  The fun part is coming up with three new things every single day, no repeats!

4. Leave random notes ~

This one is fun to do around your home for your partner and/or kids.  You can put them in strategic places where you know they will eventually go.  In my house it would be safe to leave a note to my husband on the Keurig machine and to my boys on the xbox controllers.  You can put them on bathroom mirrors, in their school backpacks or lunch bags, by their toothbrushes, in the shower, etc.

Another fun way to leave notes is around town for total strangers.  Leave encouraging notes in grocery store shopping carts, post a sticky on the atm machine, write a note of gratitude with your tip in a restaurant (and another addressed to the chef!), or hide them in books at the library.  Get creative with your messages and their hiding places! You never know who might be needing to read a little pick-me-up.

5. Pick up the phone ~

I know some of you reading this just cringed when you read that!  Many of us have become accustomed to the quickness of sending text messages, and some don’t feel they have the time for a phone call.  That’s exactly why we should be making more of an effort to call someone we care about. Phone calls with only the purpose of letting someone know how much they mean to us and to say thank you may feel awkward at first.  That’s because we aren’t in the habit of it. We don’t often bare our souls and get all mushy with friends or co-workers. Trust me on this one. If you take the time and put yourself through the awkwardness of pouring out your emotions, it will mean the world to the recipient.  And, I know from experience, it can leave you feeling on top of the world as well.

6. Gratitude Groups ~

For a couple years now, I have been in a texting group with three other awesome ladies.  The main purpose of this thread is for each of us to share what we are grateful for with the others.  When we are on top of it, we make a point to each write our lists daily. Sometimes we get busy and forget, and then one of us will make a list that gets us all going again.  It’s neat to learn about what’s going on in their lives through their gratitude lists, and often there are many things they will mention that will make me realize things I have been taking for granted.  A group can help keep you accountable to making gratitude a habit.

7. Gratitude Prayers ~

There have been so many times I have been down in the dumps that my prayers to God are all about me, me me.  Help me with this, take care of that, etc. I imagine God must get tired of my pity party prayers! Sometimes, when I become aware of my ultra-negative attitude (which just gets worse when I am dwelling on it, yuck), I start a new prayer.  This one is only for gratitudes. I spend as long as I can thinking of every single thing in this world that I can think of that I am grateful for, and I thank God for those blessings. My goal is a long prayer where good things pop into my head faster and faster.  I want to thank Him for all of the things I don’t regularly thank Him for like the moon and the stars, forks and spoons, pretty birds, bees and honey, flowers, lawn mowers, you name it. Variety is what keeps life interesting, so thank Him for all of it!

8. Appreciation list for someone or something you’re upset about ~

Sometimes when we are mad at someone or an event, all we can think about is the negative about them or what is happening.  If this happens to you, sit down where you can spend some time thinking. Write down everything good you can think of about that person or what it is you are going through.  You can be furious at your boss, and your list can include things like, I appreciate that her car is always clean, he makes yummy cakes, she always hugs my kiddos.

We once had a Real Estate Broker on our team who was feeling particularly negative about hosting an open house.  We had her write this list about all the good things about open houses. A little while later she called to say that as soon as she was done writing her list, a couple came in to her open house and wanted her to represent them on writing an offer. She was floored!  

I have even done this task about things in my past that hurt me.  For one particular event, the first time I wrote such a list, I was able to forgive the person.  The second time I wrote the list, I was able to actually be grateful for it happening to me! I could see so much of the best things about my current life that were only possible because of that event that I hated so much at the time.  That’s powerful stuff!

9. Admire yourself in the mirror ~

This is a great one for those of us who feel a little insecure about our bodies or our abilities.  The first time you do this, you may want to be alone. You want to allow yourself to complete the exercise and if you feel silly with someone watching, you may stop before you are done.  

Give yourself a good look in the mirror.  Start at the top or the bottom and move through your body to the other end so you don’t miss any parts.  Really take a look at each part of you and say out loud what you are grateful for about that part of you.  You could thank your bald head because it reminds you that you just kicked cancer’s butt. You could admire your breasts as they provided food for your babies.  You could show gratitude to your knees because they allow you to bend down and love on your dog. And, don’t forget your hands that help you type blog posts or your brain that helps you in your daily work.  

Our bodies are created by God for us to use to live this life.  He made each of us on purpose. If you allow yourself to complete this exercise all the way, you should be feeling more appreciative of that amazing body of yours.  It is capable of so many things. Now, thank your heart for beating and loving the body that God gave you.

10. Thanksgiving dinner every night ~

Ok, I know what you are thinking!  No, I am not implying that you cook 12 different dishes and 4 types of pie for 25 relatives every single day.   Who has the time, money or energy for that! And, can you imagine the weight gain?! What I am referring to is a tradition that many families do around the table while they are eating their Thanksgiving dinner, going around one by one and stating what each person is thankful for.  This is such a positive practice and doesn’t have to be done just one time a year. What a way to teach your kids about daily gratitude. It gives families something to talk about during dinner, bonds us together and keeps us all focused on appreciating the good in life. Make it a daily practice at your dinner (or breakfast) table!

I hope this gives you some new ideas to try to increase the gratitude in your heart.  If an attitude of gratitude is something that has been missing in your life, pick one or more of these ideas today and give it a try.  Don’t overwhelm yourself trying to complete all of these. The best way to assure a new habit sticks is to make it simple and easy to incorporate.  Or try a different one each day for 10 days in a row. I would bet that once you start feeling the amazing benefits of a grateful heart and showing appreciation to others, you will be hooked.  Not only that, but it will be contagious to others. You may inspire your kids, loved ones, or even complete strangers to adopt a more grateful spirit as well. Now, that is truly making the world a better place!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.  I am so grateful you are in my life.