Blogging about thankfulness and gratitude in November is cliché.

On the other hand, there’s no better time than the month when our nation pauses for an entire day to give thanks.

Sadly, gratitude is not a natural disposition in most people. I understand.

It’s hard to be thankful, especially when those terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad days gang up and all we see around us is hurt and pain or disappointment and anger.

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

Research shows that over time, the act of physically writing out a daily list can produce a grateful attitude.

Here are two ideas for finding things to be grateful for:

I use a string of ten beads to help me recall why I should be thankful.

Three beads remind me to be grateful for three people who touch my life. Six beads to say thanks for six things, events, and occurrences, and the final bead reminds me to give thanks to our creator.

My grateful beads came from a craft fair. You can find lots of choices for grateful reminders on Etsy, just search grateful beads.

 

Another helpful (and fun) way to jog memories about what to be grateful for is the M&M thankful game. It’s the perfect addition to any Thanksgiving Day gathering. All my family loves this game, especially me, because when you finish your card, you get to eat the M&Ms! Now that’s a game I can get into.Being grateful is always a choice. It shouldn’t be limited to November or Thanksgiving Day.

Wouldn’t it be lovely to seek out things to be thankful for daily rather than only one day or one month per year?