Masterful Mindsets – A Commitment to Gratitude

“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.”  ~ Randy Pausch

Question:

Do you make it a practice to express gratitude to others regularly? Do you take time daily to say a prayer of gratitude for all you have in your life? Are you fully committed to living a life of gratitude?

Action Challenge:

Thanksgiving is always a time when we are reminded to be thankful for the blessings in our lives, but it’s quite sad really that as a society we put all this focus on gratitude for just one day. And then so many people spend the rest of the year being angry and disrespectful to others, unhappy and ungrateful about their current situations and never satisfied with the amount of time, money and possessions they have.

Now I’m not saying this is you. (Of course, if the shoe fits…) However, even if you don’t do this to the extremes mentioned above, my guess is, you could use a little boost in your gratitude practice. As a matter of fact, if you can’t answer an absolute “YES!” to all of the questions above, then keep reading.

At a time in our world when pretty much all you hear on the news are stories of violence and hatred, isn’t it obvious that we need to express more love and kindness than ever before to heal this world we all live in? And wouldn’t it be interesting to see if being thankful for our differences made a difference in the world?

Now I know you might be thinking that your one small act of gratitude won’t change the world, but couldn’t it help? The ripple effect begins with the first drop. And a single expression of gratitude could be the drop that creates that ripple!

Let me give you an example…

Have you ever held a door open for someone and they walked through without even a smile or thank you? What was your reaction? Probably disappointment and anger, or something along those lines. But when someone does thank you for holding the door open, what does that do? It’s highly likely that makes your day, as well as theirs and it encouraged you to do other acts of kindness. Now isn’t that a ripple effect worth starting?

My challenge to you is to make a commitment to daily gratitude – every single day. Don’t just be in thanksgiving for the one day this week that you celebrate, commit to being grateful all year long! Here are a few ways to put the practice of gratitude into place:

1. Look for opportunities to express gratitude to others. It can be a simple “thank you” for a kind act or a bigger expression of gratitude. Look for out of the box ways to be in gratitude too. For example: Pick a quality you love about someone in your life and thank them for being that way.
2. Each morning (or whenever you do your prayer/meditation) take a few minutes to add a prayer of gratitude for at least 3 things in your life. You may pick small things (i.e. a warm day) to be thankful for or bigger things (i.e. excellent health). The most important part is that you are expressing gratitude to the Source you believe in daily.
3. Live a life of gratitude. I know that we aren’t always happy with everything going on in our lives, but I also know that what you focus on is what you get more of. There is no doubt in my mind that if you choose to shift your focus and energy on all you have to be grateful for, you will have more to be grateful for. Plain and simple – what you focus on expands. If you want more in your life to be thankful for, you must focus on what you have rather then what you don’t have. Choose to live a life of gratitude and then be open to receiving all that it brings back to you.

On a final note, I want to wish you and those you love a very blessed Thanksgiving this week. Whether you are in the US and celebrating the holiday or not, I want to thank you for allowing me to be a part of your journey. May the beauty and grace of living a life of gratitude be yours now and always.

***I want to hear from you… share your thoughts about this week’s topic below. Then be sure to join me for more on this subject during a special addition Facebook Live, Tuesday, November 26th at 2:30pm MT/4:30pm ET on my Facebook Biz Page: @CoachMichelleWeimer

***AND click the link below to grab a little Gift of Gratitude I have for you.Who doesn’t need more energy during the holidays? My gift to you is my Energy Mini Series. Get it here: https://michelleweimer.com/energy