It Changes Everything

Gratitude.  It's the theme of the week.  Are you sick of hearing about it yet?

While I know it can feel like everyone in America is jumping on the gratitude bandwagon just in time for Thanksgiving, and the "be grateful" and "give thanks" reminders can start feeling redundant and turning into white noise, I think it's super important to try our hardest to not tune them out.

If you're open to it, each time one of these reminders hits you, take the opportunity to listen, look around, and let the things you're grateful for flood your mind.If you're not open to it, resign yourself to a sad state of perpetual misery.  I'll special order you one of those personal thunderstorm clouds to follow you around.  ;)

But seriously, the only way to feel true joy is to live from a place of gratitude - and even though the over-commercialized nature of this time of year can make it feel a bit cliché, I think it's pretty rad that we have a holiday that's centered around coming together to give thanks.

We should have more traditions rooted in something so freakin' awesome.If there are things about Thanksgiving that you don't think you're grateful for - things like: doing the dishes, making small talk, traveling, etc. - I'd like to challenge you to a little perspective shift.

Each time you witness a complaint or annoyance pop up, counter it with an underlying amazing implication.

If you're not psyched about doing the dishes after your meal - you could remind yourself that the dishes are a result of enjoying an abundance of food that was prepared with love.

If you're dreading making small talk at family gatherings - you could remind yourself that with each conversation you have the ability to learn something new about other people and yourself, and that you have people in your life who care about you.

If you're not looking forward to traveling - you could remind yourself that you're lucky to have loved ones to visit, a warm place to spend the holiday, and a means of transportation.What I'm getting at here is that the silver lining is always there if we're willing to focus on it.   Gratitude is always hanging out in the shadows of our perceived inconveniences.

It's also something that's accessible to us all the time (not just during its designated holiday), and this little mindset reframe exercise can be applied to every single area of your life on any given day.  Keep that baby in your tool belt so you can grab it at a moment's notice!Having a gratitude practice decreases our stress levels, improves our health, strengthens our relationships, and so much more.

Every bit of gratitude we feel adds a bit of loving energy to the world - and right now, loving energy is needed more than ever.

We should all do our part to contribute as many bits o' love as we possibly can.  Throw it around like love confetti!Before you go, I just want you to know how grateful I am for YOU. I truly appreciate you welcoming me into your inbox and life - I value your openness and support in a huge way.  I've got nothin' but love for you.And hey, if you don't think you can get past the awkward family conversations today, you can always default to this.