Gratitude is not a new concept at all. It’s been shared widely over the past 2 decades if not more. By now, most people have at least heard of it and how it can make a difference in life. If you haven’t learned about how a gratitude attitude can change your life, there are plenty of resources to dive into and soak up this information such as The Secret. I think the most famously known stories are of gratitude rocks, there are 1500 stories (and counting) on The Secret TV if you want to hear others’ recounts.
If you haven’t heard, in short, when you shift your thinking into a gratitude attitude, it has positive effects on yourself and those around you.
Let’s imagine you are at a dinner party and you get served something you don’t like. You could say “Ew yuck, gross I won’t touch that!”. You could also choose to show gratitude for the effort that went into making the food and say such things as “Wow, that looks like it took a lot of effort, it looks so colorful. Unfortunately, I can’t eat it right now. Thank you”. In each scenario, what do you think the chef might feel? In both situations, you might not eat anything but your feelings and those of the host would likely vary greatly from the first and latter comments.
A religious connection. I believe those who are religious, would have an upper hand with a gratitude attitude, simply for the sheer amount of prayers made in gratitude for that which was prayed about. It is the act of recognizing of gratitude and expressing it in some way shape or form.
However, you don’t need to be religious or spiritual to practice gratitude. I believe that everyone can practice gratitude, no matter their faith. All one needs is an open mind and heart and a willingness to express gratefulness. It can be an outward expression out loud or quietly as an internal thought.
Here are some ways to practice:
- Try expressing your gratitude for one thing today
- Try expressing gratitude to someone else this week
- Try expressing gratitude towards a child or children
- Try expressing gratitude in silence
- Try expressing gratitude at work
If you are new to expressing gratitude, it may feel a little strange at first. Take your time to find your words and share at the right moment for you. Along the way, pay attention to how you feel before and afterward. Notice anything different or just the same? You may not notice giant changes, perhaps the shifts are subtle or less noticeable.
Here are my favorite ways to show gratitude:
- Daily, with my family
- At events
- Mealtimes – especially when I get full or other internal food dialogues going on
- Shopping
- Services & purchases
- People in service
- At work – especially around learning mistakes, and leadership
- In transit & on the road. There’s so much to be grateful for, why not leave the road rage behind?
- To fall asleep. When I have zero access to sounds, music, or noise, one of the best ways I found to fall into Zzzz land is to quietly recite as many things or people as I’m grateful for. I just keep going until I’m no longer awake lol.
Where in your life could you practice a gratitude attitude? Will you become an outgoing gracious expert or an artist of silent gratefulness?
Why not make the world your oyster by simply expressing gratitude sentiments?
Change your thoughts – change your world.