Change Your World Through Gratitude

Gratitude Starts with Attitude

There's no doubt we live in a world of deep uncertainty. It's not that difficult to become pessimistic about what our present looks like and what our future holds. It's far easier to complain about what we don't or won't have than it is to be grateful about all that we already do have.I forget about gratitude whenever I get myopic in my life and work. How often have we felt sorry for ourselves for not having the careers or family life that others have on social media? How often have we projected our envy as criticism towards those who have succeeded further in their dreams than ours?The truth is that our lives are probably not as bad as we think nor as great as we project online. I would assume that for most we are somewhere in the middle. We just flip flop our perceptions when convenient. Yes, I'm guilty of this. You've heard it before... Gratitude starts with attitude and a posture that unleashes live and joy into our being.

Say Thank You Today

As we approach this holiday season, it's a natural time for all of us to slow down a bit and reflect upon this past year (or years) of life and work. Taking a moment to pull out names from our memory of people who made a difference in our life is a great practice to engage. I won't pour any guilt on you for not doing this earlier. I'm probably writing this in part to remind myself of this annual activity.Let's spend a few minutes today or tomorrow to communicate our gratitude to people in our lives that have invested into who we are today. It may be a family member, friend, co-workers, client/customer, or even someone you've never met, but have appreciated from afar online. Whoever it may be, take some time to write them a card, send them an email, or post a comment on their respective feeds.In addition, take a moment to write down (yes, on that thing called paper) a list of things you are grateful for. I think you'll find something to note. If not, you really need a vacation or some friends!Enjoy this season and embrace their simple practices of gratitude to realign your life to things that really matter.

"Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity...it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." Melody Beattie