Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude is a great discipline to adopt and a good place to start our reflections.
There is a growing cultural awareness of the power of thanksgiving. In her book ‘Thrive’, Ariana Huffington writes “According to a study by researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of Florida, having participants write down a list of positive events at the close of a day - and why the events made them happy - lowered their self-reported stress levels and gave them a greater sense of calm at night”.
Another advocate of the Gratitude Journal is Oprah Winfrey who talks about being grateful for the good we have and not focusing on the things we lack. - even if we start with just the fact we can breathe. This positivity is a sure way of attracting more of the good whereas focusing on the bad situations constantly only empowers and attracts the things we are fearful or anxious about like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
When we are thankful, we rid ourselves of a spirit of entitlement and the expectation that the world owes us. It helps us shift perspective from problem focused to solutions mindedness and encourages us to appreciate what has already been accomplished. We can change the story we tell ourselves regarding what we are going through. We may not be able to control our circumstances but we can control our response to the things that happen to us by changing our perspective.
Gratitude, according to Dan Mager (Psychology Today, Nov 18, 2014), facilitates contentment, promotes physical health and helps us sleep better. It will even improve our relationships.
What are you grateful for...?
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