Spoiler Alert: Practicing Gratitude Did Not Come Easy to Me
I love that Thanksgiving in the United States invites us to intentionally take some time to think about what we’re thankful for. Sometimes, with the holiday approaching, I like to take the time to think back over the whole year and think about what I’m truly grateful for since last Thanksgiving. Other times, I’m so focused on the present, that I can’t think much beyond my current circumstances and what I'm thankful for today. Taking the time to reflect on what we’re grateful for at Thanksgiving time reminds me how valuable it is to reflect on what I’m grateful for on a regular basis, not just one day a year.
I haven’t always practiced gratitude on a regular basis. Sure, I wrote thank you cards when I was growing up (and obviously still do) and genuinely appreciated when I received gifts from people. But, I certainly didn’t stop and think about all that I was grateful for regularly. And let's be real, I can't stop myself from seeing how to improve things. So while the glass is generally half-full, I usually notice what's missing, especially if it's important to me.
PracticingGratitude Regularly
However, this past year, I started doing it on a daily basis and writing down what I was grateful for regularly. I confess it wasn’t actually easy at first. For a while, I found myself writing down some of the same things over and over again. And not that it isn’t good to be grateful for the same things, but it was almost like it took me some time and practice to see beyond the obvious things I was grateful for: my husband, our kid, our baby on the way, our parents, our family, God. Obviously, it’s good to be grateful for these things and to see them and appreciate them. But not having been in the habit of practicing gratitude regularly, I honestly found it challenging at first to see what else I could be grateful for. And then it started to shift.
OurPerspectives
One thing that I’ve discovered about practicing gratitude regularly is that it has a way of shifting our perspective. In our increasingly busy lives, this can be vital for our health, to be honest. I don’t know about you, but the past season of life has been filled with more loss than seeming life. We lost my dad almost two years ago, had a miscarriage 8 months ago, and 2 months ago my younger cousin was killed in a car accident. And that’s just the loss in the past 2 years. In seasons of life like this, it can be really easy to focus on what’s missing, because truthfully it feels like a lot. And we should recognize the loss...we must if we’re going to grieve well.
Simultaneously, it’s important to remember what we do have in our lives to still be grateful for, especially when what (or who) we don’t have is so glaringly obvious. Having a daily practice of writing down what I'm thankful for has helped me maintain a more holistic perspective. It reminds me of all that I do have, even when I'm in the midst of hardship, pain, and loss. And it helps me stay hopeful when it honestly can be easier not to be.
The Surprising Health Benefits
And did you know that there are also actual health benefits of practicing gratitude regularly? Studies show that gratitude can actually kickstart the rewiring of our brains. A fantastic video summary of the many benefits to our overall health and wellbeing of practicing gratitude regularly are illustrated in this great 2-minute video. The benefits include better sleep, increased happiness and contentment, increase energy and even reduce blood pressure!
So, what about you? What's your experience with gratitude? I'd love to hear in the comments below.