The Art of Gratitude
Mastering the art of gratitude is one path toward happiness and fulfillment in life. As you approach this Thanksgiving, every holiday, and New Year, give thanks for each day and everyone in your life.
Find ways to bring and maintain hope and optimism in your life. Research about personality, confirms people who are outgoing, optimistic, and conscientious tend to live longer, healthier, and happier lives.
Who says that being thankful is limited to a single day each year with a big meal of turkey and dressing? Many individuals celebrate the holidays alone in many different ways.
Choose Gratitude and Find Happiness
Whether you are alone or with family on the holiday, express gratitude by doing things that make you happy. Simple things like:
- Taking a walk with your dog and being grateful you can walk and that you have a dog
- Eating an apple and a granola bar instead of that Snickers bar you really want
- Calling your best friend to catch up and share a few laughs
- Sleeping in late in a warm comfortable bed
- Watching the sunrise and the sunset and giving thanks for the beauty of nature
- Being a bright spot in the life of another person who may be feeling down
- Volunteering to help others or to support a cause in which you believe
- Staying up late to watch the nighttime stars
- Making a bowl of popcorn and watching a funny movie with your family
- Taking your spouse out on a date
- Reading bedtime stories to your children
- Take a nap in a hammock with your best friend.
Choose to be more optimistic and present in the actions of daily life to avoid the negativity, pessimism, and fear that so often fills the news. Spend time with happy people and less time with those who drag on your emotions.
Create Your Life Instead of Being Taken Off Course by Life Circumstances
Our 15th President Abraham Lincoln said,
“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds to be.”
A new year’s resolution by columnist Dr. Frank Crane recommended
“Determine this year to be master of self; that you will control your thoughts, regulate your passions, and guide your own deeds, that you will not let events lead you by the nose.”
Embrace The Art of Gratitude for the Basic Things in Life
While celebrating Thanksgiving with a big meal and a slice of pie can be enjoyable, how are you doing the other 364 days? Are you finding joy or allowing small annoyances to take you off track from living a joyful life?
Each day, find ways to express gratitude for the basic things in life. For example, rather than being irritated about waiting 15 minutes in a fast-food drive-through line, express gratitude for having money to pay for food and transportation.
Pay attention to the foods you put into your body. The food you put into your body and the state of your health go hand in hand.
Thank the employee at the fast-food check-out window who probably hasn’t received a compliment or a nice word all day. Leave $10 to contribute to the cost of the meal of the person in the car behind you. Small acts of kindness go a long way to making us feel better about challenging days.
Housing and Gratitude
The Realtors on the Sam Wilson Home Selling team, help people find homes to make dreams come true. Yet we realize that many individuals throughout the world do not live in a warm dry home or have access to water or sanitation.
1 – Having a Warm, Dry Home
In the United States, we take living in a warm, dry home for granted.
- The last time a global survey was attempted by the United Nations in 2005 – an estimated 100 million people were homeless worldwide
- The top causes of homelessness in the United States are a lack of affordable housing, unemployment, poverty, and low wages. Overall 66.7% of the homeless population in the United States are single, 33.3% are families
- As many as 1.6 billion people lack adequate housing
- Over 700 million people live in extreme poverty
Every night when you go to bed, give thanks that you have a bed and a home in which to sleep. Many do not.
2 – Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation
One in three people globally does not have access to safe drinking water. Many communities do not have access to safe sanitation services. The United States has one of the safest water supplies in the world.
Every time you flush your toilet, turn on tap water or brush your teeth give thanks. Be grateful for the bottle of water you drank today.
Create a Gratitude Journal
Times are difficult. Many people struggle to get through challenging days. Be an inspiration for others.
Participate in the art of gratitude by creating a gratitude journal. Think of and write down three things that you are grateful for each day.
At the end of the week review the journal and share it with a family member or a friend. Seek to be positive in your thoughts instead of dwelling on everything that can and might go wrong. Living in fear or negativity results only results in feeling more fearful and negative.
Be kind to others even when you are short-tempered. Take no joy in a desire to be right and others wrong.
Focus on your life, your family, and your relationships. Avoid criticizing others with different opinions or beliefs.
Gain respect for the differences and beauty of others. Choose to be happy and not allow the problems of the world to distract you or drag you down. Your thoughts create your reality today and in the future.
Through consistent practice of the art of gratitude, you will change your mindset to see the positive side of any situation. You will become more resilient, focus on solving problems instead of creating them and enjoy better relationships with others.
During this holiday season and throughout the year we are thankful for the clients we serve and the realtors who work on our team. If you are looking to sell or buy a home, let us know how we can help.
If you are looking to join a real estate team with an abundance mentality that believes in helping others and giving back to the community, we’d like to hear from you.
Sam Wilson on Behalf of the Sam Wilson Home Selling Team
© 2021 Sam Wilson All Rights Reserved. Articles by Pamela D Wilson
