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9 11, 2020

Creating an Attitude of Gratitude with a Gratitude List

By judythemorgan|2020-10-31T22:25:01-05:00November 9th, 2020|Monday Motivations|1 Comment

Gratitude is not most people’s natural disposition.

I understand.

It’s hard to be thankful when all around us is hurt and pain and disappointment and anger. It is 2020 and finding things to be thankful for seems impossible.

Gratitude doesn’t make sense, but it’s a needed discipline to push off negativity.

Being grateful is a choice. It’s not so simple to change our choices.

Developing an attitude of gratitude can take time and effort. One way to begin that change is to write a daily gratitude list.

I’m not saying it will be easy. On those Judith Viorst terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, it might seem impossible. A daily gratitude list can help with an attitude adjustment.

How do you start a daily gratitude list? What to put on your list? Here are some suggestions:

Write out a list of things you’re thankful for. The kinesthetic experience of tangibly writing is valuable for two reasons:

The physical act imprints a feeling of gratitude at the cellular level.
Handwriting is a slow process and provides more time for contemplation.

Begin with two or three at first and work your way up to whatever number makes you feel comfortable.
Chose simple things to put on your list. You woke up. In a warm place. The sunrise/sunset. There is so much to be thankful for, if we only have eyes to see.

Most important, you may have to pretend at first. So, fake it, if necessary, until the habit is established.

As your list making becomes habit, you’ll discover two things:

Gratitude is all around.
Gratitude grows the more you use it.

Two Ways to Develop an Attitude of Gratitude

By judythemorgan|2018-11-02T15:59:04-05:00November 5th, 2018|Holidays, Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

I know blogging about thankfulness and gratitude in November is cliché, but what better time to focus our thoughts on thankfulness and gratitude.

After all, we do celebrate Thanksgiving Day in America this month.

Too often, though, our attention on thankfulness is missing for the rest of the year.

Being grateful is a choice. If you’ve lived most of your life NOT focusing on gratitude, it’s not so simple to change that perspective.

Here are two ways to help you cultivate an attitude of thankfulness beyond one Thursday in November.

Keep a thankful list.

It’s sometimes hard to write down things that you’re thankful for, especially on those terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad days, but over time the act of physically writing out a daily list can produce an grateful attitude.

Start your list with simple things like a bed to sleep in. A house that keeps you dry and warm. The sunrise/sunset. If you look around you, there is so much to be thankful for.

If writing out a list isn’t for you, you could try grateful beads. That’s what I use.

My grateful bead string has ten beads to help recall things to be thankful for. Three beads for three people who touch your life. Six beads for six things, events, and occurrences and the final bead to remind you to give thanks to your creator.

You can find beads like mine here or do a search online for grateful beads. There are many options.

Share thankfulness on social media

We are a plugged-in culture, which makes it next to impossible to avoid social media altogether no matter how hard we might try. Social media sites are filled with an abundance of thoughts and images of wars, earthquakes, floods, fires, sick children, murdered spouses and, lately, politics.

By sharing positive, uplifting posts, memes, and videos instead of those, you encourage attitudes of thankfulness in yourself and others.

Give these two ideas a try, I think you’ll find an attitude of gratitude grows the more you use it.

Focus on Gratitude – It Changes Things

By judythemorgan|2017-11-29T07:07:45-06:00November 29th, 2017|Wednesday Words of Wisdom|1 Comment

An attitude of gratitude is proven to increase our sense of well-being and happiness as well as our

Energy Optimism Empathy

Gratitude can change everything.

So even though tomorrow is the last day of November and those social media reminders about being grateful disappear. Don’t allow out of sight, out of mind to become a reason to stop having an attitude of gratitude.