This week's bonus Thanksgiving episode covers gratitude - not surprising, perhaps, but you probably don't know some of the reasons Kristen and Becky promote gratitude all year long. You probably know the health benefits - being thankful means you will feel less stressed, less depressed, less physical pain and perhaps sleep better. You will also feel happier and enjoy increased confidence.
Did you know that practicing gratitude offsets negative mindsets such as entitlement, victimhood or resentment? We sometimes think people are happy and then they feel grateful but the opposite is true. The people who practice gratitude feel happiness no matter what their life circumstances may be.
The Dalai Lama said that, "We need to learn how to want what we have NOT to have what we want, in order to get steady and stable Happiness." You invite a power into your life when you learn to want what you already have because at one point, you didn't have it and now you do.
Being thankful also shows humility to God (or your higher power). We are not owed anything that we have. Everything is a gift. Gratitude is about appreciating things as they are, not as we think they should be. Accepting what you have also shows that you are willing to receive another's offering and their intent behind it.
Start your day with a gratitude journal. Even acknowledging one thing that you appreciate each day can have an impact on your mental state. Happy Thanksgiving. We're grateful for YOU, listener!
