What if we all got into the habit of making one day a week our “Thank you!” day? Irrespective of your religious view, you can offer the universe a thank you for the blessings. When my children were younger we used to keep a “Thank you” box on the counter. Each person, adults included, had to write at least one slip a day about something they were thankful for. The box was full at the end of the week, and we all enjoyed sitting and reading the things we had put in there. Hearing what someone else was thankful for was always interesting, because it would point out things throughout the week someone else had missed. Oftentimes someone was thankful to another person in the family for something, and the process of reading the slips out loud always made the person being acknowledged feel good about what they’d done. Try setting a day aside this week as your thankful day. The rules are as follows:- Every time you catch yourself about to complain about anything, stop and find something you are thankful for instead. Turn attention and energy you are about to invest in a negative manner into something that is more positive instead. As many times as you can, do it right in the moment.
- Write down the things you are thankful for so that you develop a running list. Set a minimum target of five things you can find in any given day. They can be as big or as small as you’d like. Just make sure they are things you are genuinely happy for.
- Become more aware of things around you – the “simple” things like sunlight, music, silence, or a friendly face. Be really attuned to the world at large as you search for things. You will gain two things, an increased awareness of your surroundings along with some things to be thankful for.
- As a practice, try saying out loud, “Thank you for _____.” Even if you don’t believe in a greater deity, the practice of hearing yourself say “thanks” out loud to yourself can be an uplifting experience.
- Keep your thankful lists in a folder (online or hard copy). Take them out and review them whenever you need a reminder of the good things in your life, or an emotional shot for the day.
Being thankful can sound so simply and so easy. In my experience, most of us don’t do it as often as we should. Look at how easy it is to make a complaint list – we don’t need a blog to tell us how to do that! Try at least one thankful day this week. (Adopted From http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/understand-other-people)
