Like other quarterly tax payers, I recently sent in my final contribution for 2011. I put a Love Stamp on the envelope.<\/p>\n
That never would have happened in the past. I would have fussed and fretted and grudgingly written out my check.<\/p>\n
Although I grew up with constant messages to be thankful and appreciative, those feelings were not familiar friends. Most of the time, I\u2019d compare myself to others and I always came up short.<\/p>\n
My classmates were more talented, more attractive, more intelligent. Other people had houses and cars that were far cooler than anything I owned.<\/p>\n
The only time I came close to being thankful was when I\u2019d hear a story of tragedy or misfortune. Whew, I\u2019d think, at least I\u2019m not a starving orphan in Africa. Whew, the tornado missed our town.<\/p>\n
Stuff like that.<\/p>\n
During an especially dark and difficult period of my life, I was horrified to discover some dreadful personal behavior. When my teenaged daughter would arrive home from school, I would begin to list all the mishaps that had occurred during her absence.<\/p>\n
Then one day, I heard myself. I felt remorseful and was determined to change.<\/p>\n
I came up with a plan. \u201cLet\u2019s make a pact to tell each other three great things that happened during the day as soon as you get home.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sounds like such a simple thing, but what happened next was nothing short of miraculous. For starters, I had to pay attention.<\/p>\n
But that wasn\u2019t the biggest change. Suddenly, I found myself purposely making sure that I had good things to report.<\/p>\n
My focus shifted and before I knew it, good things were happening that I hadn\u2019t consciously instigated myself.<\/p>\n
That was only the beginning. I discovered that when I tapped into genuine gratitude, I began to uncover resources that had been hiding in plain sight.<\/p>\n
This was heady stuff. For the first time in memory, I began to love my life. I stopped comparing myself to other people.<\/p>\n
Gratitude knocked self-pity off its pedestal.<\/p>\n
Eventually, I began keeping a Gratitude Journal. That had a surprising gift for me as well. Not only was I consistently reviewing my days and noting the things for which I was thankful, I was creating a resource to stop me when I was tempted to backslide.<\/p>\n
On a day when I was feeling less than confident, I\u2019d grab my journal and see page after page of all the blessings that had already shown up in my life.<\/p>\n
It gave me my perspective back.<\/p>\n
Many people who\u2019ve turned their lives around report that change didn\u2019t happen until they\u2019d hit rock bottom. Emotional pain was the motivater for change.<\/p>\n
You could test that for yourself, I suppose. Or you could experiment with practising genuine gratitude right here and now.<\/p>\n
Writer Gustave Flaubert said, “The greatest goal in life is the not the attainment of fame. The principle thing in this world is to keep one’s soul aloft.”<\/p>\n
Gratitude is the propellant for blasting your spirit into higher realms.<\/p>\n
Show your appreciation. Start your own Gratitude Journal. Don’t overlook an opportunity to thank someone.<\/p>\n
It’s impossible, after all, to stay grumpy where there’s so much to celebrate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Like other quarterly tax payers, I recently sent in my final contribution for 2011. I put a Love Stamp on the envelope. That never would have happened in the past. I would have fussed and fretted and grudgingly written out my check. Although I grew up with constant messages to be thankful and appreciative, those…<\/p>\n