3 Steps To Be More Grateful
It’s November, the month of thankfulness! Do you ever arrive to Thanksgiving day and realize you haven’t truly processed what you’re grateful for? Me too. Thanksgiving is a special day that we set aside to take note of the blessings in our life. The truth is, we should be doing this daily! We’re going to give you a few steps to live a more grateful life, and make everyday Thanksgiving day…without the food of course.
Keep a Thankfulness Journal
You guessed it, It sounds like exactly that. A book full of the blessings you’re appreciating in your daily life. Pick out an empty book, and set aside 5 minutes each day to write a few things you’re thankful for. I hear ideas like often, but my problem is finding enough time in the day to implement it. A good tip to creating a new habit, is to link it to a habit you already have. For example; Do you have an hour lunch break that you take every day? Start your lunch break by spending time in your thankfulness journal. How about a regimented nighttime routine? You get the idea. Pick a habit, and add something into it.
2. Say “Thank You” Twice
You heard me, just say thank you! Verbal expressions communicate to your brain better than keeping it in your mind. You’ve been in the usual conversation at the grocery store. You finish at the check out line and the cashier gives a friendly “Have a great day!” You respond with “You too” or maybe a “Thank you”. What if you said thank you twice? While she’s ringing up your groceries express a simple “Hey, I really appreciate you”. When you leave, follow up with “No really, thank you again!” Repeating thankfulness is the best way to get across to your heart, and to the people around you, that you really appreciate them. Practice saying thank you to anyone who goes a bit out of their way to help you. And do it twice.
3. Be Specific
Here’s what I mean by saying to be specific. If you think about the people and things around you, it’s easy to say “Yes, I am thankful for xyz”. But can you name specifically why you’re thankful for that? Instead of thinking “I’m thankful for my mom”. Practice being specific and say “I’m thankful that my mom sacrifices her time for me. I’m glad that she makes a birthday cake for me every year. I’m grateful that my mom takes my kids to ice cream when she babysits them.” Once you get down this road of thankfulness, it’s surprisingly hard to stop! Be specific about your gratitude.
Thanks for taking the time to read this! See what I did there. I’m grateful you’re in this corner of the internet, and want to invite you to Elevate Life Church. We’re home to north Florida, and you can find our service times here on our website. Have a great day!
