It’s Thanksgiving, and you know what that means!
It’s a fantastic time to pause and reflect on all the beautiful things we’re grateful for. Numerous studies have shown that gratitude can increase happiness, wisdom, social acceptance, and overall health.
Not only that, but gratitude helps us find meaning and coherence in life so that we can improve ourselves and elevate others.
However, we know that the holidays can be hard on some (actually, a lot). Sometimes, we just don’t feel grateful because we’ve been through the wringer. We would rather hibernate away from the world and the people, places, and things (much less the festivities) that are more challenging than charming.
We want to offer some practical suggestions to help you express gratitude (even if you don’t necessarily feel it):
1. **Share Three Good Things Daily**
Each day, take a moment to say three positive things that happened out loud. You can do this with your kids at bedtime or during dinner. It’s also empowering to express gratitude alone, even in tough times.
2. **Keep a Gratitude Journal**
Take note of small daily moments that matter to you, such as enjoying a few quiet minutes during your drive to work or being grateful that a rainstorm didn’t flood your basement. On challenging days, revisiting these entries can serve as a reminder of the blessings in your life.
3. **Express Thanks to Your Partner**
Couples who express gratitude toward one another create a powerful cycle of intimacy and trust, making both partners feel valued and understood.
4. **Cherish Joyful Moments**
When you experience happiness, take a moment to recognize that feeling. Focus on your emotions, what’s happening in your body, and thoughts for a few minutes. Later, when you recall this moment, it can help you reconnect with those positive feelings.
5. **Focus on Others, Not Yourself**
People often feel more grateful when they concentrate on others instead of being caught up in their own thoughts. Cultivating empathy for others can enhance gratitude and result in more incredible benefits.
There are countless ways to develop your sense of gratitude. By practicing these, we hope you feel overwhelmed by the many blessings in your life. You are a significant blessing to us. We continue our work because of you; when we say, “From our family to yours,” we truly mean it.
With that in mind, from our family to yours, we wish you a Thanksgiving filled with gratitude. We sincerely pray that you find goodness in every moment and feel loved and acknowledged as you see others in a new light and appreciate them even more deeply.
Please feel free to share something you’re grateful for with us. Or, if you want to lift up a prayer for you or someone you are contending for, let us know that too. We would love to hold your arms up while you wait for your (and their) blessing to reveal itself.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Sources:
https://insightchicago.com/gratitude
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15427609.2018.1499350
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/soul-console/202312/holidays-are-not-always-the-most-wonderful-time
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/comfort-of-gratitude/202010/are-empathy-and-gratitude-linked-to-each-other