Gratitude

GRATEFUL + ATTITUDE=GRATITUDE

During this Thanksgiving season, I want to challenge you to make gratitude your new daily ritual.

It's easy to continue cultivating bad habits, right? So, how about replacing one of them with this great habit? Here's my recommendation:

Start a gratitude journal.

Write in it everyday at least once - morning or evening.

Start by thinking of at least 5 things that you are grateful for and write them down.
Superficially writing down the words is not enough to shift your consciousness. You'll need to dig in all the way. Deeply access how grateful you are, letting yourself experience the feelings. You'll know you're 'there' when you sense a warmth welling up inside of you.

Why am I recommending this practice? Here are just a few of the benefits:

·Improved Health

I've come to understand that fear cannot co-exist with gratitude.

When there is fear, the body is constricted and defended. Fear is connected to stress and stress creates disease.

When there is gratitude, the body is open and released. There is a sense of well-being which creates an environment for health.

In other words, gratitude is good for you! It's also good for those around you.

People have a need to be appreciated and loved. It's in the top 5 of human needs. When you have an attitude of gratitude toward the people in your life, you radiate love and appreciation and they will benefit.

·Better Perspective

Gratitude resets your perspective about life.

As you do this work, you will start to become more aware. There is so much that happens all around us that we simply don't notice because we're focused on something else.

You will start to be aware of special moments, the beauty all around you, the near misses, unexpected kindnesses, the greatness in the people you encounter. You'll even see that there is still something good, even in a bad situation.

This ritual will recalibrate you to become more centered around your soul instead of your busy problem-solving mind.

·Increased joy

When you're grateful instead of fearful, you will also have more joy.

Gratitude brings in light and chases away darkness. Try being deeply grateful and depressed in the same moment.

I'm not saying that all your problems will go away, but you will have a tool in your toolbox. Gratitude is a bulwark against toxic negative behaviors such as complaining, entitlement, anger and resentment. Try moving into gratitude the next time you're feeling afraid or upset.

Cultivating gratitude in your life is a process that requires tending and effort. (Most of the good things do.)

Instead of waiting for Thanksgiving to roll around once a year, I encourage you to use this season as a launching pad to incorporate this wonderful habit into the rest of your life.

You'll be grateful that you did.