Establishing a Daily Practice of ThanksLIVING!
Many countries celebrate a successful harvest with some type of “Thanksgiving” harvest celebration. We also have National Gratitude Month (November), and World Gratitude Day (September 21). But what about all the other days of the year? Shouldn’t we be practicing giving thanks every day?
A few years back, one of my favorite people shared a concept with me shortly after one Thanksgiving. He asked me, “Why don’t people celebrate gratitude and being thankful every day?” Such a simple yet brilliant question. He added, “This is why I try and celebrate thanksliving every single day instead of just one day a year.”
Since that day, I have tried to live this philosophy – and yes, some days it is much easier than others. That said, most of us have many things to be thankful for, including community, shelter, food, jobs/careers, pets/animals, hobbies, and more.
Thanksliving is about being intentional about celebrating our gifts and the good in our lives while having a mindset of gratitude. It is about changing our focus from dwelling on the negatives to reveling in the positives.
Fun fact: Having a daily gratitude practice can raise our level of joy, happiness, and self-esteem, while also improving our health and sleep (by reducing toxic elements such as stress, anger, resentment, regret, frustrations). It also leads to a greater sense of satisfaction with life. Furthermore, thanksliving helps with developing patience, understanding, and compassion.
Strategies for a Life of ThanksLIVING
Keep a Gratitude Journal. A friend gave us a set of notecards and a jar and instructed us to write down special and happy moments; then at the end of the year, pull them out and spend time reflecting on all the goodness of the past year. Personally, I like keeping a running journal of all the things and people I am grateful – because I can reflect on it daily as it sits right on my desktop. These techniques are great for reminding us of the good in our lives.
Express Appreciation to Others. I grew up in a family that was not extremely expressive – about love or gratitude, so expressing appreciation to others was something I had to learn. I have since discovered how powerful love and appreciation are – and how so many of have people in our lives who care about us and do things for us. Today, this activity is always the highlight of my day because it brings so much joy to a loved one, but also to myself. Is someone on your mind? Reach out and send them some love.
Give Back, Serve Others. Nothing helps us get out of our own heads and problems than by giving of our time to serve others in need. Helping can take many forms, from checking in with a neighbor or friend to volunteering with a group that serves the community. There is no better way to feel joy and break out of a funk than to help others. Every volunteer organization I have ever been involved with was always looking for more helpers; be that helper.
Practice Gratitude Moments. Force yourself to take breaks throughout your day to clear your mind and change your perspective. Just about once every hour when I am working at my laptop, I force myself to get up and perform what I call “exercise snacks” for my health – and as I do these little breaks, I also incorporate gratitude. For example, as I lift some hand weights, I look out the window and express how grateful I am to live on my little hilltop.
Take a Gratitude Walk. It could be in your backyard, through the neighborhood, at a local park, or a favorite hiking trail. The key is focusing on feeling grateful for your surroundings, including the fresh air and water, the natural beauty of the trees or flowers, the peaceful sounds of a river or ocean, the majesty of a pond or lake, or the deep beauty of the mountains. These walks are your chance to truly stop and smell the roses. (You can also simply sit quietly and soak up everything; it’s called forest bathing.)
Appreciation for Near-Misses. Almost a year ago I was in a scary car accident where both cars were totaled, with ours stranded on a busy interstate highway. After mostly recovering from the physical and mental injuries, I realized that my partner and I were saved that day and I have such deep gratitude for being able to continue my life and my mission of helping people find their health and healing. Sometimes, it simply takes a change in perspective – from “why me” to “it could have been so much worse.”
Final Thoughts on Living Thankfully Every Day
Thanksliving is one of the simplest and best ways to improve satisfaction with life.
Remember that the two keys to thanksliving include having a gratitude mindset (an “attitude of gratitude”) and developing a strategy of looking at things with a different perspective – with a positive lens so to see the good, even when the bad is trying to win. We must be our own best friend and advocate, focusing on the positives whenever possible.
For me, as a Christian, when thinking about intentionally celebrating thanksliving, I take to heart the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Philippi: “Finally… whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Some of my other articles on the subject:
Additional Readings on Gratitude
Dr. Randall Hansen is an advocate, educator, mentor, ethicist, and thought-leader... helping the world heal from past trauma. He is founder and CEO of EmpoweringSites.com, a network of empowering and transformative Websites, including EmpoweringAdvice.com.
He is the author of the groundbreaking Triumph Over Trauma: Psychedelic Medicines are Helping People Heal Their Trauma, Change Their Lives, and Grow Their Spirituality and the well-received HEAL! Wholeistic Practices to Help Clear Your Trauma, Heal Yourself, and Live Your Best Life.
His latest book is a true game-changer: The HEALing Revolution Diet: A Science-based Approach to Heal Your Gut, Reverse Chronic Illnesses, Lose Weight, Clear Your Mind, and Increase Longevity.
Dr. Hansen's focus and advocacy center around true healing ... healing that results in being able to live an authentic life filled with peace, joy, love. Learn more by visiting his personal Website, RandallSHansen.com. You can also check out Dr. Randall Hansen on LinkedIn.
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