My Attitude for Gratitude

Notice the influx of gratitude themes invading the internet and other news outlets? I wonder if it has to do with the economic situation that is making people stop to think about the things we take for granted.  It's so easy to get caught up in the moment of trying to live that we forget all the reasons we truly are blessed and should be grateful.  There are probably a huge lists of things anyone can be grateful at any given moment if one stops to think about it.  My grandmother never dwelled or focused on the bad things.  For those of you over 40, you might have heard all the stories of what it was like to be a woman back in the 1800's and early 1900's (and of course before).  My father, who is 73, tells me how his mother would get up before everyone else to light up the woodstove, she would get the daily bread made (not store bought) and would have to wash clothes with one of those washboards that would bloody her knuckles up every now and then.  We truly have no idea how easier life is and all the reasons we should be grateful.

One of the biggest ways to avoid getting down about your situation is to not dwell on it.  Focus on the good and help others.  Studies have proven when you help someone else more down and out then you, you feel better.  If it's too hard to think about, keep a journal of all the things you are grateful for on a daily basis.  In time, life will be much better.  I have a brother that is incapable of seeing any positive light in anything so he remains a miserable, unhappy person.  Granted he does have a bad life, he could take a moment to realize he has two healthy children, a loving family that looks after him and so much more.  I have told him for over a year to stop and remember what is good about his life versus what is bad.  He won't listen ...

Things to help get or maintain an attitude for gratitude:

• Keep a journal or write in it every day what you have to be grateful for.
• Help someone less fortunate then you.
• Build your self-esteem if you have a low one.  Avoiding the pitfalls of what you perceive can be an amazing mood changer.