“It’s not happy people who are thankful. It’s thankful people who are happy.”
I love this statement, and as Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I was thinking about all the things that I am thankful for this year, and about what being thankful is really all about. There is so much truth in this quote, because so much changes and shifts in your life when you consciously adopt a thankful heart and mindset. Why consciously? Because while on some great days, it’s easy to be happy and feel thankful for the wonderful things that have happened to you, there are many other days when honestly, feeling thankful is the last thing on your mind. And so thankfulness has to be a conscious choice. To decide to live a lifestyle of thankfulness and to make it a daily discipline. The result? Like the quote says, happiness. Why?
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Thankfulness changes your perspective and helps you see things in a different light. Nothing makes a problem or a struggle worse than dwelling on it. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in it and completely lose all sense of reality and perspective, but when you consciously change your thought patterns and begin to remind yourself of all the good things and blessings that you have forgotten about, you may just be surprised. Thankfulness helps you shift your focus from the bad to the good. And ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the good outweighs the bad, in a big way. It’s easy to overlook the little, ordinary and everyday blessings that go by without us even noticing, when really, it’s those little things that make up our days and weeks, and the more we notice those little things, the better those days and weeks will be.
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All this isn’t to say that I am always thankful and always have the right attitude. There are many times when I find myself complaining, feeling frustrated and having a little pity party for myself, thinking that things couldn’t possibly be worse for me, which in fact, couldn’t be further from the truth. So this is what I need to strive for. Of course we all have times when we feel discouraged, unhappy and frustrated, but instead of dwelling on those things, choose to fill your mind with the good. With the things that you are thankful for every day, whether they are big or small.
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I hope that you all enjoy this upcoming holiday season, that spend it with those that you love most, and that you find many, many things to be thankful for, not just on the good days, but every day.
