Cultivating an “Attitude of Gratitude”

Part I

It is almost Thanksgiving although you would never know that if you visited your local drug store or department store lately. Over the past several years, our consumer culture has created the need for stores to take us right from Halloween to Christmas appearing to literally skip the month of November taking Thanksgiving with it!

However, a lot of folks seem to agree that when it gets down to it Thanksgiving is really their favorite holiday.

There are no costumes to make, candy or gifts to buy. What is there is the opportunity to gather with family and friends, enjoy a meal together and take a moment to give thanks. Thanksgiving offers a welcome respite, a resting place before the swirl of activity and expectations of Christmas take over.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could keep the spirit of Thanksgiving and the feeling of family and thankfulness with us all year. What if we considered every day an opportunity to acknowledge and give thanks for all that we have in our lives. What if we developed an “attitude of gratitude” that we practiced every day rather than just that one special day of the year.

Having an “attitude of gratitude” is an effective way to create a more powerful life. Teacher and author, Louise Hays tells us “gratitude is not the result of things that happen to us, it is an attitude we celebrate by practice. The more we are thankful for, the more we will find to be thankful for”. Gratitude increases our abundance and can move our thoughts from obsession to peacefulness, from stuck-ness to creativity, from fear to love. Gratitude provides a beautiful way to take responsibility in all aspects of our lives. Expressing gratitude, even for situations or people that we don’t necessarily believe are deserving, gives us a way to respond to circumstances in our lives. Gratitude gives us power.

Cultivating an “attitude of gratitude” is a self-perpetuating enterprise. The more grateful you feel the happier you get – which generates even more gratitude. But just like learning to speak a foreign language or learning a new skill, developing an “attitude of gratitude’ requires mental discipline and dedicated practice. It requires consistent and heartfelt effort.

What better time to commit to gratitude as a way of life than this year’s Thanksgiving celebration. Make this year even more special by deciding to keep the gratefulness shared around the dinner table going throughout the upcoming year.

To help you get your new “attitude of gratitude” off to a great start, here’s an eco-friendly idea to try for your Thanksgiving meal.

A favorite magazine suggest the following:

Instead of going around the table, telling everyone

what you’re thankful for, try a more personalized

approach with recycled “grateful” place cards. For

each guest, think about something that has made a

difference in your life (mom’s ability to make you see

the silver lining or a big sister who’s also a best friend).

Jot it down on a piece of old cardboard, the inside

of a cereal box, or any other firm writing surface you

can salvage. Then cut a slit in an old wine cork and

slide the card in. Spread your love and be surprised

by how something so simple can impart so much

meaning.*

Remember an “attitude of gratitude” takes commitment and practice. Making gratitude a way of life is a wonderful intention to create for yourself and your family during the Thanksgiving season. Join “Bright Spots” next time for inspiration and ideas of how to keep the power of gratitude present and working in your life every day.

* body+soul Magazine November 2008

With the current economic situation, the good news is that stock brokers and real estate agents all agree “it’s a great time to buy”. If you have some extra cash laying around, this is the perfect opportunity to “buy low” on some great stocks or get a real “steal” on that dream house..

Some more good news is that these uncertain economic times also provide an excellent opportunity to buy or invest in something even more worthwhile – our families, our community and ourselves! What better way to feel more powerful when there is uncertainty than to decide to take action and invest in what is nearest and dearest to our hearts.

We can buy and invest and not even spend a dime. We can invest our time, we can invest our skills and talents, we can invest our love. Here is a chance for us to reclaim our own internal resources and discard our old reliance on external, artificial modes of fulfillment.

It’s an opportunity to realize what we “do have” and “can do’ rather than what we “don’t have” and “can’t get”.

Let’s get back to basics! What better time to invest our time and love into our families by finding ways to re-connect at home and get creative about entertainment – looking at what we already have right under our roof rather that what’s out there to consume. Instead of ordering pizza for take out – get the whole family to make a pizza together at home for family game night. While playing a game of Monopoly, engage in an important conversation with your children about being responsible with money.

Spread your wealth around! Seize this time to reacquaint yourself with your unique skills and talents, re-identify with your own personal passion and find a way to share those gifts by investing in your community. Rather than spending Saturday afternoon roaming the mall for that great deal on something you don’t really need or at the movie theater watching a movie soon to be released on DVD anyway, spend your time and talent helping out on the local Habitat build, a community clean up day or another project that is special to you..

The best investment yet! When times get tough, it is important for us to be strong and resilient, offering us yet another opportunity to invest. Make an investment in yourself – shore up your most valuable resources, your mind, body and spirit. Get out that library card – boost your mind and brain power by reading up on financial planning, environmental issues or something important to you. Resurrect that treadmill in the basement or the jump rope in the closet and get to work on your body, building up your heart, lungs and muscles. Take a walk outside and feel the abundance. Breath in the fresh fall air, look up at the crisp, blue sky and listen to the crunch of the fallen leaves under your feet. Renew and replenish your spirit.

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There is no doubt about it – this is a great time to “buy”. Let’s get in on this deal and not let the opportunity pass us by. When the economic picture gets brighter, and we all know it will, we will be stronger, healthier, smarter and more connected than ever. Yes, this is a “tip” we can’t afford to miss out on.

erAre you ready to take a new look at your life? Are you re-examining where you are, where you want to go and who you want to be? Is it time to explore new choices available to you in your career; your relationships; your personal health or well being? Do you have a dream just waiting to be fulfilled?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions and if you are ready to embrace your life and make empowering choices that will create a life in which you are reaching your fullest potential and living an extraordinary life, you may want to take a look at life coaching.

Life coaching is a powerful professional service that offers on-going support to individuals who are looking to clarify and attain certain goals, manage transition either personally or professionally, create balance in their work or life or take a dream and make it a reality. It is an exciting, proactive tool that has been very successful in helping people fulfill their personal potential while they create a whole and balanced life.

People from all walks of life are realizing the tremendous benefits of coaching to improve their lives and make their dreams come true. Entrepreneurs, professionals, women and men in transition, managers, CEO’s and artists are among a full spectrum of individuals looking for change to bring out the best in them and their lives. Some people come to coaching for “more”, such as more satisfaction, more money, more clarity, more heart and or more organization. Some people come to coaching for “less”, like less stress, less procrastination, less drifting.

Life Coaching was founded in the 1980’s by Thomas Leonard who owned a financial planning business. He realized while he was working with his clients on how to manage their money issues, that they seemed especially interested in discussing life options outside the financial realm. As a result, he changed his practice to “life planning” and founded the first coach university. As the profession has emerged over the past 30 years, theories of psychology and business consulting have been adapted and merged to create the backbone of what coaching looks like today. Now, there are coaches for practically every aspect of life – there are: personal and career coaches; business coaches; relationship coaches; family coaches and wellness coaches – there are even retirement coaches - just to name a few!

Much like an athletic coach or personal trainer challenges their athletes to push themselves beyond their perceived abilities and to excel on the playing field, coaches do the same for their clients – encouraging and pushing them to stretch their untapped muscles, push beyond their personal comfort zones – get on the playing field of life and play all out!

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