On this eve of Thanksgiving my thoughts are on all that I have to be thankful for and my heart is full. This afternoon, I will be playing Secret Turkey by putting messages of hope, gratitude and joy in mailboxes and on car windshields of people I don’t know.
Practicing thankfulness and gratitude are a part of my life all year, not just on Thanksgiving. There are studies that show gratitude practices can relieve depression, foster a sense of well-being, and even rewire your brain for happiness. If I start to feel low, the first thing I think of is refreshing my gratitude practice because I know it helps.
5 Ways to Bring More Gratitude & Happiness Into Your Life
- Write 5 things you are grateful for each day
- Write 100 things you are thankful for on Thanksgiving
- Take pictures throughout your days of things that warm your heart
- Create art of some kind that is about what you love
- Write and send thank you notes every week
- Write a thank you letter to anyone living or passed who has touched your life in a positive way – these do not need to be sent unless you want to
If you have a gratitude practice that feels less than fresh or want to try something different, you may want to focus on magical moments, heart shapes around you, things you find beautiful, or witnessing the good in people around you.
When I ask my clients to write 100 things they are grateful for they often feel it will be a daunting task. They are even more likely to rebel if I ask them to write them about a spouse or relative they are upset with. But, once they get going, the momentum builds and most write well over a hundred. Afterwards, they report having full hearts and appreciate the exercise.
I don’t know about you, but tomorrow morning I will be writing my thankful list. I want to marinate in that feeling of gratitude and appreciation.
At the top of the list will be each of you who for some strange reason take the time to read what I write.
I am grateful for you!
May you have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday full of love, fun, and lots of gratitude.
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Living a Life of Grace and Gratitude