Today I’d like to discuss cultivating an attitude of gratitude. How do you get started on a journey of acknowledging and appreciating all of the goodness in your life?
Here are three simple steps:
Step 1: Cultivate an attitude of gratitude in which you choose to see the good in all things.
Step 2: Say “thank you” every chance you get.
Step 3: Every week write a gratitude list.
Being grateful doesn’t mean you must always be happy and walk around with a smile on your face. It means that you make an effort to acknowledge what you have to be thankful for. Gratitude lifts the spirit, opens the heart, and nourishes the soul. Think about the times when you’ve been grateful, it’s easier to feel good about yourself because you are willing and able to see the good in others.
Every day I think about all that I have to be grateful for:
- My mother
- My relationship with my mother
- The fact that I truly love my mom
- That I am financially able to do things with, and for her
- A wonderful husband who lets me be ME
- Enough to eat
- Many comfortable beds to sleep in
- The ability to live the life I love
- Friends that matter
- A clean and sober life
- My beautiful animals
- That I love and value animals
- My education
- That, and so much more…
What are you grateful for today? Think back over your life to where you were 20-, 10-, 5-, 1-year ago. If you can’t think of anything, extend your net a little wider to include the last week, month or year. Consider also looking beyond the obvious. Perhaps the answer might be something you’d never think about, like being able to see, being able to walk, having a job, or not having a job so you have time to do what you want.
Starting today make a pledge to yourself to make gratitude a bigger part in your daily life. Through my own experience, I can tell you with great confidence that it will change your life in profound ways!
FRANCINE D. WARD, ESQ.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & ESTATE PLANNING LAWYER
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