How to Have a Great Year By Using the Power of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is one of the BEST holidays…at least in our house. It’s one of the “big 3”: Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. Each of these holidays is special for its own reasons. Each combine traditions, family, friends faith, and…a sense of life out of the normal routine.
Its the lack of routine that you can use to kick start your mind to have a great year — the rest of this one and the next one! Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for all of your blessings, and there are many to be sure. You are programmed to be mindful of these blessings on Thanksgiving day, but why not everyday?
In this article, I show you how to have a great year by using some practical gratitude exercises. These are exercises that you are programmed to think about on Thanksgiving, but you can use everyday.
The Power of Thanksgiving
Being intentional about your gratitude does wonders for your psyche. When you are intentionally thankful on a daily basis, the following occurs:
- You train your mind to focus on what you have, not what you don’t
- Your mind is primed with positivity
- Your thankfulness rubs off on others, and increases your natural attraction
- You increase your empathy for others, which in turn leads to better relationships
How do you bring those wonderful Thanksgiving feelings to you daily life? How do use the power of this one day to have a great year?
Here are a few simply exercises that if you practice often, if not daily, will bring this to your life.
Intentional Thanksgiving Exercises
Here are 4 simple exercises that you can perform often, and even daily to help you have a great year.
Add 3 New Things for Which to Be Thankful to Your List
Every…Day…Whether its before you jump out of bed, or during your morning coffee, or maybe as you are going to bed in the evening. Find 3 things to be thankful for in the upcoming day, or that had happened during the day. Write them down. Daily gratitude is part of my morning routine to have a successful day.
If you keep a running list, over time you will be amazed at the blessings in your life. Three things each day equates to 1095 per year. Start multiplying that over the years…powerful.
Tell 1 Person Each Day Something You are Thankful For In Them
We so often take for granted that those in our life “know how we feel”. That may be true, but more often, they don’t know as much as you think they do. When you start to verbalize your gratitude with them, that’s where magic happens. Immediately, the other person’s mood is uplifted. Sometimes your little “thanks for being you” is just the kick that THEY needed to turn their day around. Its contagious.
Write Down 100 Things For Which You Are Thankful
Occasionally (I do this approximately every 6 months), a great exercise is to sit down and focus intently on all of the blessings you have. Create a list of 100 things. The first time you do it, it may take a while, but its important to get to that number, or even higher. You are forcing your mind to search, and as that happens you begin to open your mind to ALL of the blessings. It makes you more aware, and it takes you out of the rut of thinking that you may currently be in.
The is also an excellent parenting tip for those with kids. No matter the age, have your children make a thanksgiving list at least once per year. Maybe 100 things isn’t appropriate for your child, but adjust the size accordingly.
Volunteer
The holiday season offers many outstanding volunteer opportunities. The health (mind and body) benefits of volunteer work is well documented. Find a community meals program, or a soup kitchen. Find a volunteer effort that gets you around those that may be a little less fortunate, or puts you in a group of people working toward a common cause. This volunteer effort MUST be something where you are serving other people or you are serving WITH other people. When you serve with and for others, it provides you with perspective, community, and empathy. These are all things that increase your awareness of the blessings in your own life.
A Category Primer
You may find yourself struggling sometimes to find new things for which to be thankful. It’s ok, don’t beat yourself up. The exercises actually work better if they are not always super easy. When you find yourself in that spot, here is a list of categories of blessings to help spur your mind:
- People (Living or Passed On): I find that my lists are almost always 50% people.
- Stuff: Yup, its ok to be thankful for the stuff in your life.
- Opportunities: You have opportunities all of the time. See them as blessings, whether or not you “take” them.
- Struggles: You are the person you are in part because of the struggles you’ve been through. The more you struggle and come out the other side, the better you become. Struggles make you stronger, be thankful for them.
- Events: Big or small, be thankful for them all.
- Abilities: You have been blessed with unique talents and abilities, always be thankful for them because those are the super powers that you can bring to the world.
In Summary
Using the power of Thanksgiving…everyday…is one of the keys to help you have a great year. A great year or a terrible year is really just about perspective. Gratitude is one of the most important investments in yourself that you could ever make to help give you the proper perspective.
Here are some ways to bring Thanksgiving to your daily life:
- Add 3 new things to your daily Thanksgiving list
- Tell 1 person each day something you are thankful for in them
- Write down 100 things for which you are thankful
- Volunteer
Intentional daily gratitude has made one of the biggest impact on my life, and I’m sure it will in yours as well.
