Living in Gratitude : The Power of Thanksgiving in Our Lives

Being grateful is a challenge for all of us because it doesn’t come naturally to us. In America we tend to be very self-centered and narcissistic, operating out of fear and tending to focus more on what we don’t have than what we do have. Many of us live with a sense of entitlement for the lifestyle and benefits we have available to us. Therein lies the challenge. To have a grateful heart and overall thankful attitude, a person needs to be humble, unselfish, content, and joyful in the journey of life, rather than getting everything at the speed of sound in the here and now. "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others." Marcus Cicero So what does it mean to truly be thankful for something? What does an attitude of gratitude really look like? Plain and simple, gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation is a feeling or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive. Gratitude has been said to have one of the strongest links with mental health of any other character trait. Numerous studies suggest that grateful people are more likely to have higher levels of happiness and lower levels of stress and depression. The link between spirituality and gratitude has recently become a popular subject of study. Researchers have found that spirituality is capable of enhancing a person’s ability to be grateful. Gratitude and thankfulness are viewed as high level principles in the Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, and Hindu traditions. Worship with gratitude to God is a common theme in most religions, as the concept of gratitude permeates religious texts, teachings, and traditions. Recent studies have shown that people who tend to be more grateful have higher levels of subjective well-being. Here are some findings from Dr. Robert Emmons studies: Grateful people are happier, less depressed, less stressed, and more satisfied with their lives and social relationships. Grateful people have more positive ways of coping with the difficulties they experience in life, being more likely to seek support from other people, reinterpret and grow from the experience, and spend more time planning how to deal with the problem. Grateful people have less negative coping strategies, being less likely to try to avoid the problem, deny there is a problem, blame themselves, or cope through substance use. Grateful people sleep better, and this seems to be because they think less negative and more positive thoughts just before going to sleep. While many emotions and personality traits are important to well-being, there seems to be evidence that gratitude may be uniquely important. The positive effects of being grateful are more far-reaching than many of the other possible virtues you can choose for yourself. Your overall well-being, environmental impact, manner of handling challenging circumstances life brings, and coping mechanisms are all greatly impacted by the power of gratitude and your attitude towards it. One of the main points I hope you discover is that gratitude is so much more than just positive thinking or having a positive mental attitude. The truth is, that being grateful is not always easy, and it does take some work as well. To recognize your dependence on others, to humble yourself and become a good receiver, this is not always easy since most of us are better givers than receivers. Another powerful reality is that your entire life can either be one filled with health, wellness, strength, and helping others, or you can be sickly, weak, depressed, and self-centered. It’s all a choice that you make. Gratitude, thankfulness, and appreciation are there for the taking, but you must choose to make this a foundational virtue in your life. Being grateful is a challenge for all of us because it doesn't come naturally to us. Therein lies the challenge. To have a grateful heart and overall thankful attitude, a person needs to be humble, unselfish, content, and be joyful in the journey of life. What does an attitude of gratitude really look like? Plain and simple, gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation is a feeling or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive. Two of the main points I hope you discover is that gratitude is so much more than just positive thinking or having a positive mental attitude. The truth is, that being grateful is not always easy, and it does take some work as well. Another powerful reality is that your entire life can either be one filled with health, wellness, strength, and helping others, or you can be sickly, weak, depressed, and self-centered. It's all a choice that you make. Cover Page; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Why Being Grateful Makes Such a Big Difference in Our Lives; Having Gratitude Towards the Creator; Health Benefits of Living a Grateful Life; Being Grateful In All Your Circumstances; What Keeps People from Being Grateful?; The Top 20 Benefits of Having an Attitude of Gratitude; The 7 Ways to Develop Gratitude in Your Life; The Greatest Form of Gratitude: Pay It Forward; Gratitude Can Make Your Business and Workplace Flourish!; Abundance Mentality vs. Scarcity Mentality: From which mindset do you operate? Powerful Quotes on Gratitude to Give You a Daily LiftBringing Everything Full Circle; The Road Experience; The Road E5 Marriage Enrichment Weekend Experience; Additional Resources; About the Author