ADOPTING AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

  October is upon us and in Canada, Thanksgiving is just around the corner which means the maple leaves are changing colour and putting on an amazing show!  The weather is surprisingly warm right now and dare I say it, we haven’t seen rain for days.  People seem happier when it’s warm and sunny outside.  We have so much to be grateful for here!  Since Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful, what a great opportunity to write about gratitude.

Adopting an attitude of gratitude is a wonderful way to immediately increase your level of happiness.  It’s something we can all do to lift our spirits instead of depending on other people or things to do it for us.  It’s not easy being grateful all the time, but I’ve come to realize that when you feel least thankful, that is when gratitude can give you the best gift which is perspective.  When you learn to say thank you, you have the ability to see the world in a whole new light.  It doesn’t have to be big, it can even be the man who served you coffee at your favourite coffee shop gave you a free cookie or maybe it was a sunny day and you were able to enjoy some of it outside.  Even on the days when it has clearly been a bad day, being grateful for one thing like the fact you were able to eat or that you are alive, counts just as much as the rest.  It’s easy to be grateful for the big stuff that happens once in a while, but every single day is giving us something to pay attention to and that is what I am writing about today.  If you look hard enough or reflect on your day to find something that you can be grateful for, your attitude will improve and you will feel less stressed.  One way to keep track of this is by keeping a gratitude journal.  Just knowing that you have something positive to write about in your journal allows you to look at your day differently, maybe with more forgiveness and patience. This way on each day, you can write down whatever you feel grateful for, it doesn’t have to be long, just make the day count for something good that crossed your path.  The beauty of this is that it creates a history of all the real life events that happened in your own life.  If you are ever feeling down or blue, your journal is an instant pick me up because it is a reminder of all the positive things that are out there and they are yours to re live. If more people could re frame their lives in the positive, imagine what a satisfied society we would all be living in?  This doesn’t mean put on your rose coloured glasses and step outside, it simply means slow down, look closely and pay attention to all the good that’s around us because it’s there.  It’s like Maya Angelou says, “even the caged bird sings” and you can too.  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!     -JJ