Maintain a State of Gratitude

My family recently volunteered at a local soup kitchen. My daughter handed a man a bag of food and began to tell him what was inside. He looked at her, gave a warm smile and said, “I’m grateful for whatever is inside.” It was an amazing lesson for her and a humble reminder for my wife and me. There are so many things we take for granted. One of those is simply having enough food to eat. Tuning into the little things daily can help you to maintain a state of gratitude.

Next week we celebrate Thanksgiving in the America. Thanksgiving has become a day of family, food, and football. While I plan to enjoy all of these things, this year I am committed to focusing on the “Thanks” part of the holiday. It‘s nothing elaborate. I just plan to take a few minutes to reflect and appreciate what I have, and encourage my family to do the same. I also plan to set and maintain Thanksgiving resolution to try to maintain a state of gratitude throughout the year by appreciating the little things along the way.

Maintaining a state of gratitude is important because gratitude creates happiness. If you are judging or complaining, you cannot feel gratitude. Gratitude and anger cannot coexist. Your mind can only center on one emotion at a time. Anger looks at what’s wrong. Gratitude focuses on what’s right.

Another benefit of being grateful is that others will enjoy being around you. The ability to be well-liked and peacefully coexist with others has huge benefits both in a social and a business setting. People gravitate to, and do business with, those they like.

The key to operating from a grateful state of mind is to stop focusing on what you don’t have, and to start focusing on what you do. Here are some thoughts on how to begin:
• Make a Thanksgiving resolution to tune into gratitude.
• Before you get out of bed each morning think of one or two things for which you are grateful. It will help maintain your focus and provide a great start to your day.
• Take mental notes of great things you experience as you go through your daily life.

There are so many great things that happen to us every day that we simply take for granted. With a little discipline, you can maintain a state of gratitude. You’ll be a happier person and so will those around you.