10 Tips: Cultivating An Attitude Of Gratitude & Thanksgiving
“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
10 Tips: Cultivating An Attitude Of Gratitude & Thanksgiving
Want to be Happy? Be Grateful? Brother David Steindl-Rast
When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears. Anthony Robbin
In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you. Anon
Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude. E.P. Powell
No woman can control her destiny if she doesn’t give to herself as much as she gives of herself. Suze Orman
In daily life we must learn that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. Brother David Steindl-Rast
1. Begin each day with an expression of Thanks… Thank your body, your mind, your space, your Creator, all around you and all who you will be in contact with each day
2. Cultivate an attitude of giving thanks and giving back. Perform a random act of goodwill in thought, deed and action every day. A smile, a quiet prayer for someone else, a helping hand, a compliment, volunteering time, a gift, and even a call will help us help others.
3. Make a commitment to remember the grace in small things and to trust that disappointments are lessons
4. Be Present in your life and exchanges with others and see the grace in your interactions.
Today, I reached for an old copy of my Oprah Winfrey’s – O, The Oprah Magazine – from November 2014, on The Power Of Gratitude. I had kept it because it was rich with insightful articles and sharing on Gratitude and Thanksgiving. It got me thinking about what has buoyed my spirit these past few years as I struggled to move my life in a new direction. Sometimes, we forget that it’s the little things that get us going and help us make incremental leaps in our lives. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am sharing 10 tips that have served me well. Do we have bad, down days? Of course, it is part of our life experiences to have ups and downs, and the key is to reflect, respond, and release the stuff. When we take time to express our gratitude and give/share it to others, more of the grace that gratitude inspires will come knocking on our door. Above and below, I have shared 10 Tips to help us all cultivate a spirit of active gratitude.
When a house is on fire,
the vessel salvaged
is the one that will be of use,
not the one left there to burn.
So when the world is on fire
with aging and death,
one should salvage [one’s wealth] by giving:
what’s given is well salvaged. Buddha
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” Oprah Winfrey
10 Tips: Cultivating An Attitude Of Gratitude & Thanksgiving
10 Tips: Cultivating An Attitude Of Gratitude & Thanksgiving
Gratitude is our ability to see the grace of God, morning by morning, no matter what else greets us in the course of the day. Craig Barnes
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. John F. Kennedy
Gratitude is one of the sweet shortcuts to finding peace of mind and happiness inside. No matter what is going on outside of us, there’s always something we could be grateful for. Barry Neil Kaufman
Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind. Lionel Hampton
5. Cultivate a spirit of forgiveness; Learn to forgive others, to let go of judgements, old hurts and slights
6. Be grateful for all the good that has crossed your path; the mentors, good Samaritans, friends, family and strangers
7. Maintain a journal and/or write a list of things you are grateful for each day. It could be 1-5 or more. Read: Oprah’s Gratitude Journal
In addition to the many vignettes shared in that November issue, O, The Oprah Magazine, staffers asked a number of contributing writers/editors to fill in the blanks to a number of questions. The questions also gave me a chance to reflect and be reminded that we don’t journey through life alone. We all meet guides and helpers along the way; both good and bad ones. Instead of being resentful about our bad experiences, we must learn to forgive and move forward. By forgiving others, we forgive ourselves and release the hatred and anger we hold inside. Do you hold grudges or do you believe in forgive and forget? Remember: They are all teachers/teachings on the path to wisdom and growth and we must be grateful for all of our experiences. Variety is what makes life’s lessons richer. Here are the questions and you can answer them in the comments or write them in your journal.
A. I’ll never stop being grateful for…..
B. My favorite way to say Thank you is….
C. The best Thank you I’ve ever received was….
D. When I was a kid, I didn’t realize how grateful I should have been for….
Come back later for my answers
More Below!
“The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become.” Robert Holden
10 Tips: Cultivating An Attitude Of Gratitude & Thanksgiving
10 Tips: Cultivating An Attitude Of Gratitude & Thanksgiving
Happiness cannot be far behind a grateful heart and a peaceful mind. Anon
Gratitude, like faith, is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it grows, and the more power you have to use it on your behalf. If you do not practice gratefulness, its benefaction will go unnoticed, and your capacity to draw on its gifts will be diminished. To be grateful is to find blessings in everything, This is the most powerful attitude to adopt, for there are blessings in everything. Alan Cohen
Gratitude and complaining cannot coexist simultaneously. You must choose the one that best serves you. Hal Elrod
Wealth can also be that attitude of gratitude with which we remind ourselves everyday to count our blessings. Chris Gardner
8. Take stock of your struggles and successes; applaud your progress and forgive your missteps
9. What makes you happy? Are you where you want to be? Write it down and create a collage of your dreams/goals from old magazines and printouts.
10. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude by celebrating the life you have instead of waiting for the life you want. Celebrate the good and bad days, the ups and downs and the struggles that have sharpened your understanding and mellowed the fire in your belly. Celebrate!
The more we view our experiences as gifts, and express gratitude for them, the greater our chance of receiving more gifts of grace. Our actions and participation are important aspects of the work needed to create more of it. All we do in life, every action, thought, word, and belief we hold is part of an effort to connect with that joyful, happy place inside our being and an attitude of gratitude solidifies it all. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Season!
“Sow a thought, and you reap an act;
Sow an act, and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit, and you reap a character;
Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.” Samuel Smiles
This post was also inspired by a prompt from WP Daily Post: I Can’t Stay Mad at You: Do you hold grudges or do you believe in forgive and forget?
Positive Motivation Tip: Be Grateful for the breath you take and all you experience and say thank you!
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos Copyrighted and from my Personal Collection
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
I really wish people would spend more time thinking about all of the things they have to be grateful for all year round. I have so many things to be thankful for–family, friends, health, and happiness. Happy Thanksgiving!
Yes, I wish the world and all its inhabitants would remember to say thanks for something every day… More Peace, Less War! <3
These are really good ideas. Number 7 would be really helpful to keeping things in perspective and remaining humble.
Dear Liz, I agree… It is one that I hold dear too. <3
It is so important to be thankful and grateful all the time- that is for sure.
Definitely… We must always have a thank you on our lips. 🙂
I think it is great that so many people do the November days of thanks.. however I personally think we should be thankful more than just in November. This is a great post and a great reminder of the ways we can be thankful!
I’m with you Kristen. Thanks must be an every day affair… But I’m also grateful for Thanksgiving! 🙂
we all have a LOT to be thankful for in our lives 😀
We sure do… even the breath with take takes grace. TY! <3
I love the journal idea. I’m trying to appreciate and be thankful this season.
Likewise… there is always more we can say thanks for! 🙂
I’m glad Thanksgiving lets us pause and say thank you. However, I hope we can all practice gratitude more often.
Amen to that! 🙂
I love the quote by Oprah Winfrey. We should be thankful for what we have and don’t expect too much of the things we’ve been praying for. You’ll be surprised that you’ll end up having more. Happy Thanksgiving Day Eliz! Hope you have a wonderful celebration.
Thank you for all you do. You make me shine with your VA work! <3
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving dear Eliz!
Thank you dear friend! Be blessed… Trying to get my health in better condition.
i love the idea of using experiences as gifts
Indeed… I do too. TY! 🙂
I need to be grateful that I am better off than some people and appreciate that I have freedom of speech which others don’t.
Yes, there is so much to be grateful for… 🙂
Wow,learning that happiness doesn’t make us grateful but that it’s gratefulness that makes us happy really connects things for me. When life seems to be gloomy,there is always something to be grateful for. I pray that I remember that and live in that state forever. Life is way to short not to. Thank you for your post.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Sheraw! 🙂
Inspiring post! Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving!;)
wonderful tips! i shared it on my wall. This is inspiring 🙂
Happy Thank Giving Day to all of such. Wish we are all had a happy day
Amen! Happy Thanksgiving!
I cannot emphasize it enough how important it is to give thanks on a regular basis
As much as I would like to avoid it, but I still hold one – just one grudge against a person. I cannot find it in me to forgive him. He caused so much pain on me and my children that I wish I would never ever see even his shadow! This is what I pray for – that I learn to forgive and move on from a traumatic relationship in the past.
Amen to that and blessings to you!
Such great ways to show gratitude! Today I am grateful for time with my family.
We should be thankful in all aspect of our lives. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
Thanksgiving blessings to you too Nicole!
Great post! We are thankful each day but I love that the family all gets together today. Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving! <3
“Begin each day with an expression of Thanks’ – This was interesting for me to see and links to my spiritual beliefs as well. It’s an important aspect to Judaism to wake up every day in appreciation and thanks.
The candles look so cute.
These are some great ways to cultivate gratitude on a daily basis. Great post!
I absolutely believe that being grateful will make you much happier! This is a wonderful post to help remind us of that 🙂
I like the idea of keeping a gratitude journal. It’s easy to forget all of the seemingly small blessings when there are negatives that can take over your mindset. A written acknowledgment of them does make a big difference.
This is a great post for Thanksgiving. I hope that you and your family had a great one.
It feels so great when everybody give thanks to the Lord for the blessings HE gave us all and for the future of mankind. Gratitude comes from within, and could be opened-up by the beating of the heart.
Even when things are not the way I might have first thought, I remain grateful and I give thanks for the chance to improve my strength and turn things around.
These are such great tips! I have so much to be thankful for, I could never even write it all down!
You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.
Sarah Ban Breathnack – 🙂 love that wise words
Wow here some nice quotes and the quote I like the most is “No woman can control her destiny if she doesn’t give to herself as much as she gives of herself.” Suze Orman
My circumstances haven’t changed but my attitude has and my gratitude for life has been restored. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Amen to that. TY! 🙂
As people celebrate Thanksgiving today, may we always be grateful for the blessings receive, for the friendships and experiences we have, they make us who we are today 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving. I think it’s really great to start a day being thankful and cultivating that attitude for the rest of the day.
Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving to you too!
There is no any pratice or celebration of thanksgiving in my country. So I actually not really sure when is the thanksgiving day. Anyway, we should learn to appreciate what we have now and feeling thankful for everything happens in our life.
i think being grateful is something that should be so basic in life, and yet so difficult to achieve. i wonder where had we gone wrong, but education (or overly pampering parents?) seems to cultivate a wrong sense of self-entitlement in the younger generation. we seem to be taking many things for granted and it really time we make a change for the better.
Love the orange in this shots. So festive
I agree.. always be thankful for everything! My mom told me to always be happy and I’ll get more
Happy Thanksgiving Day, may you have a blessed year with your family. Thanks for the information to remind me.
Thank you Kelly! Happy Thanksgiving too!
There is always a lot of things to be thankful. Just always be glad on what you receive.
Like your article, i am also thankful for most of the things that I have, it might be materials as well as blessings in life.
Great tips on gratitude. Love those candle pictures too.
These are true and great advice, yup, we need to let go hurt and forgive others. Happy Thanksgiving Day!
“Make a commitment to remember the grace in small things and to trust that disappointments are lessons” — Disappointments in life teaches how to appreciate the things we have, and makes us work even harder to get what we want. Thanks for another lesson!
I think we must be thankful for everything that we are given with. When we look at people who are in a much worse position than us, then you know the value of being thankful to the Creator & keep moving on.
i like the colour scheme in this XD very autumnal! i’ve always wondered why thanksgiving was such a big thing over there. colleagues told me about it and now i know 😀
I love these candles soothing, relaxing, and a symbol of an important celebration 🙂
We should always be thankful for what blessings we have. Some people only see the faults in life and get miserable. All they need to do to be happy is to count their blessings and be thankful.
There are just so many things that we have to be grateful about. And celebrating a thanksgiving day is a great way for us to remember and thank the Lord and all the people that made something special just for you.
I love that quote by Oprah. It is so true too.
I am grateful for family and friends that support me daily thanks for sharing.
I like those prompts from the magazine, and I think I will journal with them. Great ideas to show thanks.
Very inspiring! I have goals but reaching them is not the only happiness for sure. Even I’m not there yet, I’m happy and thankful that I have a life, good health, family and hope!
I’m not sure if my comment went through.
Very inspiring! I’ve goal but it is not the only happiness. Even I’m not there yet, I’m happy and thankful that I’ve a life, good health, family and hope.
#3 is so beautiful! that one really spoke to me and i would really like to focus on remembering the grace in small things
These candles and quotes are equally gorgeous!!! Thanks for sharing this inspiration! : )
Some people are really Grinchy year round and I wish they’d read your post. I love your quotes which are perfect for your message.
Hahaha! You Grinch comment made me laugh. So true. TY!
These are some great tips. I especially agree with #1.
TY Victoria!