MIDWEEK INSPIRATION

5 Great Ways to Express Thankfulness Year-Round 

             - By Loren Meier

What are the biggest parts of positive thinking and the law of attraction? Can you guess?
Appreciation and gratitude! The title may have given it away, huh?

Start appreciating what you have right now!  I am challenging you to start getting the "attitude of gratitude"! Start by appreciating what and whom you already have in your life. Be thankful! Celebrate Thanksgiving everyday (minus the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and crazy Aunt Sally!). Here are a few steps you can follow to get in the mood of appreciation.

Step one: Appreciate what you have right now!

You may not have the car, home, money or clothes that you want right now. Even so, be thankful for what you do have. Appreciating what you have right now will create a feeling of abundance. If you focus on wanting or on being discontent, those negative thoughts will attract even more negative feelings.

I am thankful for the clothes I have, the food I eat, and the home I have. I am thankful for the car I drive. Sure, I might want a house cleaner, fancier shoes and a car that doesn't have so many miles and is better on gas and more environmentally friendly. But right now, I am thankful for my car because it gets me where I want to go. I am thankful for my clothes because they cover me up, protect me from the sun, keep me warm, and spare others from seeing me in my birthday suit.

What are you thankful for? Write in down, say it out loud, "I am so happy and thankful that....!"

Step two: Appreciate the people in your life.

Write a list of what you appreciate about the people close to you. Include your family, friends, and coworkers. You will probably be amazed at how much more you love and enjoy each person once you start recognizing their good points.

I appreciate Denny (my fiancé) for:
~always supporting me in what I want to do
~for taking the trash out
~for taking me on a vacation
~for hugging me
~for loving me so much
~for having faith in me
~for accepting my family
~for working so hard
Etc.

Start your list for the people that mean the most for you.

Step three: Keep an appreciation journal.

Encourage everyone in your family to keep his or her own appreciation journal. Every night before you go to bed write down 5-10 things that you appreciated that day in your journal. This is a wonderful and rewarding task to do with your children. If your kids are too small, sit down with them and have them tell you what they appreciated and write it down for them. You will both benefit from the effort and they will go to sleep thankful and positive. Psychologists tell us that it takes 21 days of repetition to create a habit. Play it safe and keep your journal for at least a month and you will be thankful!

Step four: Create a family appreciation board.

So many times we don't tell the people who mean the most to us how thankful and appreciative we are of them. A great activity to do is to create an appreciation cork board to let the people in your family know what you appreciate about them. Put little post-its near the board so anyone can add an appreciation anytime they want. "Mom, thanks for the great dinner!", "Dad, I really loved that you came to my school play, Thanks!", "To my son, I appreciate how nice you are to your sister.", or" To my daughter, thank you for doing your homework right after school yesterday." See how long it takes your family to fill your board, and then start over. This is a great tool for the whole family and makes both people happy. We all like to feel appreciated. This board will create a happier, healthier, and more positive bond for your family.

Step five: Write thank you notes!

Thank you notes are a great way to get the "attitude of gratitude".

Create a habit with your kids to send, or even make thank you notes.

It not only teaches them to be thankful, but it also can be a fun art activity.

When you are thinking about all the things you are thankful for, here are a few topics you can think about:

Health
Love
Friendship
Your clothing
Your toys (kids and adults!)
Your Free Time
Your animals
Family
Where you live
Your body (what all it does for you)
Relationship
Exercising
Fun
Events
Opportunities
Gifts
Intelligence
Uniqueness
Great Ideas
Sense of Humor
and of course the thing that will be number one on your list ...this article!

I hope these tips help you get motivated to start being grateful. We might not have exactly what we want, but when we appreciate what we do have more of what we really want will follow. Well, I appreciate you, for reading this article and for being who you are! Here's a big thank you card to you all, Thank You!