“Be intent upon the perfection of the present day.” —William Law.
Thankfulness absolutely matters.
- A thankful heart breeds contentment. It appreciates the many gifts of life itself.
- A thankful heart promotes optimism. Optimism leads to enthusiasm and determination.
- A thankful heart brings healthy attentiveness. It finds time to slow down and count blessings.
- A thankful heart shifts the focus of attention from ourselves to others. It understands that our lives have been enriched by them.
- A thankful heart is more likely to help others. It humbly realizes it has benefited from others and as a result, is more apt to notice needs.
- A thankful heart attracts generous people and faithful friends.
- Studies have found that gratitude results in better physical health and mental awareness.
- Gratitude heightens enjoyment of the good seasons of life. And provides strength to make it through the difficult ones.
Unfortunately, gratitude can be finicky. There are seasons of life where gratitude is easy.
When your home is warm… when you are eating a delicious meal… when your child’s report card is impressive… when everything is lining up exactly as you envisioned, it’s really easy to be thankful.
But other times, it remains elusive. When the storms of life hit—as they always do—thankfulness doesn’t come so quickly.
It is hard to be thankful when your world is crashing down. And yet, those are the days we need it most—those are the seasons of life when its strength, optimism, and perspective carry us through.
But when thankfulness is most needed, it is often the most distant.
This reality is because we have mistakenly begun to consider gratitude an emotion of the heart, as just another response to our circumstance. When things are going well, it’s easy to respond with a thankful heart. But in the seasons where things are difficult, thankfulness never even enters our mind.
We would fare better if we learned to consider gratitude a discipline of the heart—one that requires attention and consistent practice.
Gratitude requires practice when it’s easy and even more practice when it’s difficult. And the more we train ourselves to that end, the more we are able to access it when we most require it.
Some helpful thoughts to spur us on in this new discipline of the heart may include: scheduling 5-minute periods of thoughtful thanksgiving each day, intentionally finding gratitude in simple joys, reflecting on the past (particularly if your current season of life is a stormy one), keeping a gratitude journal (on-paper or on-line), expressing thankfulness during life’s little inconveniences (red lights, doctor waits), or seeking the perfection of each day.
This can become a truly life-altering designation. Gratitude is, after all, a discipline, not an emotion.
Steffie says
Well said, those are beautiful words. As always, thank you.
VB says
I felt gratitude isn’t really about discipline like to carry through to do the tasks, it is less unlikely to bring happiness. “Thankful for the vegetarians”, is a slogan I have seen recently that has made me smile! And, that’s what being grateful is to me. No discipline or demanding or effort. On the contrary, my workplace has a “30 days of thankful” on a calendar to give to the staffs. And, it didn’t work so perfectly well thought.
Maria Pinto says
I took a mindfulness class earlier this year & all the participants were sent a lovely gratitude journal and asked to write down 3 things we are grateful for every day. It could be the tiniest thing, whatever came to mind, but it is very comforting to keep up with. It does require some discipline, but it really helps me to realize the important things in life and what really matters.
Narayanan says
Absolutely agree with the kernel of truth: “Gratitude is a discipline, not another emotion!”
Thanks for sharing a truly powerful truth that empowers everyone that realises the fact of such profound matters!
Kate says
An article from 2011 that can´t be more accurate in 2020. I love the fact that you pointed out that it requires attention and consistent practice and it´s not something you just decide to casually. Keeping a gratitude journal is truly underrated too. Beside that, people could use the journaling for more like to write down goals, make plans to acheive them and so on. When written down it gives the whole thing a sense of commitment. That´s why a gratitude journal could work miracles for many.
Best wishes
Kate
PS: I just followed you on Twitter as well :-)
Anne Stericker says
Love this blog. Just had a difficult thing happen in my life and found that coming up with 100 things I am grateful for really helped me to put it all in perspective. Still a little bummed, but a lot less than before the exercise. Thank you!