Happy Thanksgiving week! The holidays are upon us (how crazy is that?) and we are all probably starting to get those holiday feels. The cozy, snuggle up by a fire with a blanket and drink hot chocolate feels. Some may say, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” I’ve noticed so many people beginning to decorate for Christmas, start shopping for loved ones’ gifts, and maybe even wrapping those presents already! It’s such a loving and giving season, and I love it. But how about Thanksgiving? Is the American culture beginning to skip over Thanksgiving? I know giving gifts and love is definitely not a bad thing, but are we forgetting the reason for Thanksgiving, to be thankful for what we have?
I’ve recently been reading a book called Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier by: Dr. Robert A. Emmons. This book is amazing, and I highly recommend it; I’ll definitely be putting it up on my Favorites page. The book describes MANY psychological studies performed by several psychologists over a very long span of time about how being thankful is good for us. My favorite thing about this book is that it speaks to the logical mind (giving us examples from real studies) while showing us all the warm fuzzy feelings we could get from practicing gratitude. I want to share a passage from the book with you.
“The Reverend Peter Gomes, distinguished professor in the Harvard University Divinity School, wrote, “When I saw the Christmas lights being strung up across the city streets and the Santa Clauses in the store windows at Sears, I knew that Thanksgiving could not be far away.” In Gomes’s view, we have forgotten Thanksgiving in contemporary life, and more fundamentally, we have forgotten the very reason for Thanksgiving: expressing gratitude. Contemporary social science research will remind us that if we overlook gratitude, it will be at our own emotion and psychological peril.”
This very distinguished Reverend and Emmons have noticed how our society has begun to love Christmas so much (which, is no surprise! It is the best time of the year!) that we are forgetting to be grateful for all the things and loved ones we already have!
I’m a big fan of Christmas. I love all my family traditions, traveling to DisneyWorld (our newest family Christmas tradition), all the food, giving gifts, receiving gifts (let’s be honest, we all love getting gifts, too), getting to see family I don’t see all the time, the music, this list could go on and on and on. But first, I’m so thankful that I have all of those wonderful things during my holidays. Everybody’s situation is different, and we each have something to be grateful for. “Not every day is a good day, but there’s something good in every day.”
If we cultivate gratitude every day we can see several measurable benefits: psychological, physical, and interpersonal. I can’t even begin to tell you how much my life has changed since I’ve begun practicing gratitude. I’ve changed my Find the Positive journal into a gratitude journal that I write in every night. I’ve noticed myself become significantly happier, more cheerful (yes, this was possible for me), and more observant of how others help me every single day. I see how blessed I am by friends, co-workers, random strangers, and God (or whichever spiritual being you choose to believe in). I have so much more appreciation for others and notice myself being more patient. I have significantly less anxiety, and the anxiety I do feel I have the energy and mindfulness to make the changes needed to ease my anxiety; like creating a budget, which I’ve never in my life done before, to help with my money anxiety. I could go on and on about how gratitude can change your life, but I suggest you just start practicing it for yourself and notice the difference it makes in your own life!
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, for there’s so much to be thankful for. And I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, when the time comes. 🙂 Until then, don’t forget to start Finding the Positive and be grateful for it! My FTP: 1. I’ve been getting random opportunities to fly recently and I’m so thankful for the people who have thought of asking me! It means a lot that I get asked to do it, they definitely don’t have to ask me, but they do. I’m very grateful for that. 2. I’m grateful that God has blessed me with the ability to own my own business and therefore set my own schedule. It allows me to be flexible and do many of the things I love. Some days it is scary, but then I remember that I have nothing to worry about because He’s always going to take care of me. 3. I’m grateful to my brother who made me breakfast yesterday morning. We live together, and he really likes his sleep, so when he got up, went to the store, and made us breakfast I was very thankful. It was very caring of him and it was delicious. Thanks, brother!
Lastly, I’m going to leave a link here to an article about Dr. Robert Emmons and his research. It’s a great article and a great way to get excited about his book, Thanks! How Gratitude Rewires Our Brains
AT CHOICE 