Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, minus the dishes. Why? It reminds me to pause, take a look around and be thankful for the people and circumstances of my life. When we take action to intentionally pause and appreciate what we have, it builds our capacity to take care of what we care about. When we are taking care of what matters most, we are developing our ability to step fully into our power.
When we are out of choice and reacting to life and circumstances, we can fall into a pattern of getting stuff done and become entangled in thoughts of what’s wrong or missing. When we are caught reacting to life we often feel depleted and powerless. We feel like there is not enough time or money or resources. We feel overwhelmed and over-extended as we chase down getting more to have enough or be enough.
Creating moments in our day to pause and practice being present and grateful for what we have empowers us to become much more in tune with what truly matters. Our biggest cares come sharply into focus and we see with more clarity what we want to pay attention to. We have the experience of sufficiency and being enough.
Here’s what I’m learning about practicing gratitude:
- requires we intentionally create pause moments to reflect and appreciate each day to build the muscle for feeling enough and connecting with sufficiency
- gets us out of reacting to our worries and fears of not being or having enough and into a more empowered mindset
- is an experience that offers a window to see into our lives with more wonder and openness and less criticism or complaint
- brings into focus what we really care about and encourages appreciation for the here and now
- re-grounds us in where we want to take meaningful action to take care of what’s most important
Gratitude as a mood, shifts us from feeling insufficient to feeling good enough. It offers us a possibility to see that we are enough just as we are in the moment. And when we feel good enough we are more open to connect with others and be fully present in our conversations and in our lives.
Not convinced? Studies have shown over and over again that practicing gratitude contributes to happiness. And it’s one of author Shawn Achors 6 exercises to creating more happiness in your life.
What are you grateful for? What practices do you have to make time to appreciate and cultivate your goodlife?
