7 Steps to Being Thankful This Thanksgiving
Practicing Gratitude This Holiday Season
Thanksgiving: How To Be Thankful
Start a new Thanksgiving tradition this Thanksgiving Day by listing all the people in your life for whom you are thankful.
Family
Easy to take for granted; impossible to replace when they're gone. It seems obvious, but most people forget to thank their family members. Be thankful for your children, who teach you to see the world through fresh new eyes. Be thankful for your parents, who teach you what to expect as you grow older. Be thankful for grandparents, who teach you what life was like before you even existed. Take a moment to thank each of these people in your life, and experience deep gratitude that you have a group of people who have the same background, same ties, and often the same physical features as you!
Friends
Friends are the family you'd choose for yourself. Whether its your best friend forever, your high school friend who you haven't talked to in years, or your golfing buddy who can always be counted on to pick up a round of 18 holes, be thankful for all the great, interesting people you've collected around you. And be thankful to yourself for being a great friend, too.
Your Neighbors
Be thankful for good neighbors, because they're a daily influence in your world. Whether they help shovel your driveway, or they simply wave and smile every time you pass on the driveway, they live closer to you than anyone else except your immediate family. Be thankful for living in a community where you know your neighbors on sight, and can trust that they might pick up the mail if you go away on vacation!
Your Coworkers
You may spend more waking time with you co-workers than anyone else. Be thankful for coworkers that keep your company going in times of recession (and you employed!), and who can be relied on for ideas, support, and professional camaraderie.
Your Teachers
Learning doesn't end when you graduate. Whether you thank your old high school teacher for a valuable lesson that only became apparent years later, or you thank the associate who delivered a great meeting that expanded your horizons; thank people who constantly challenge you to learn more and become a better, well-rounded person.
Your Service Workers
The little people who have a big impact in your life. You've probably made it through your day by relying on the services of at least a half dozen people These is the person who deliver your early morning newspapers, the person to pass you coffee in the drive thru in the morning, the person who takes your lunch order, or the person who bags your groceries at the store. Their purpose in life is to make your life easier, and you can be grateful that they're doing so.
Yourself
Thank yourself every day for doing the best you can to make your life and the life of all the other people on this list as great as possible.
- Thank yourself for being a good family member, even when your family makes it difficult.
- Thank yourself for being a good friend, because you need to be a good friend to get them.
- Thank yourself for being a good neighbor, whether by being friendly or even just being quiet.
- Thank yourself for being a good coworker, and contributing to the ongoing employment of the people you work with.
- Thank yourself for being a good teacher, whether its to your children or even your dog!
- And thank yourself for being a good service worker, even if its simply for passing the salt to someone who asks for it.
Experiencing gratitude is one of the simplest win-win situations. The people whom you thank find that you've made their day brighter with a few simple words, and the experience of feeling gratitude fills your day with positive emotions.