A Choice I Make Every Day

Gratitude. It’s an emotional feeling that I do my best to nurture daily. In fact, I have a sign in my office to remind me to embrace the power of gratitude. In our world – full of comparisons and the constant social media chatter that reminds us that we fail in comparison to the latest celebrity in terms of money, social status, and a beautiful life – It’s easy to feel less than satisfied. Don’t let that happen.

YOU are in control of your emotions and how you choose to view life. By embracing a position of gratitude, it is easier to pivot and focus on all of the amazing things that are all around you. I choose to be grateful and to embrace a position of positivity and gratitude. It is my choice. Every day. There’s an old saying that “you get what you project.” Said another way, if you focus on negative things, that is what will be returned to you. If you focus on the positives, your world will open up to more meaningful experiences.

If you have a roof over your head, be thankful as some do not. Do you have a mode of transportation that gets you where you need to go? Be grateful as others do not. Do you have healthy delicious food on the table? Lucky you! Especially if you have friends and family with whom to share not only the food but the human interaction that makes it taste all the better.

Gratia,’ is the Latin origin for ‘gratitude’ and means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness.

I was listening to a podcast recently where author Arthur Brooks was being interviewed about his new book with Oprah Winfrey called “Build The Life You Want.” He said, “Many people feel gratitude as something that happens to them because of their circumstances, which makes it feel out of reach in bad times. That’s the wrong way to approach it. Gratitude isn’t a feeling that materializes in response to your circumstances. It is a life practice. And even if you feel that you have little to be grateful for right now, you can -and should- engage in it. Researchers have shown that you can call gratitude into existence by choosing to focus on the things for which you are grateful – which we all have – instead of the negatives in your life.”

Scientists say gratitude raises positive emotions by stimulating the medial prefrontal cortex, part of the brain’s reward circuit. Gratitude can make us more resilient and enhance relationships by strengthening romantic ties, bolstering friendships, and creating family bonds that endure during times of crisis.

This month many will be enjoying Thanksgiving, a national holiday celebrating the harvest and other blessings from the year. If you have family or friends with whom you will be gathering, remember to be grateful for the people, the food, and the comfort of your community and for all of the little things that make your life better.