Every holiday season seems to come with a greater expectation of happiness and gratitude. After all, every celebrated holiday begins with the words “Happy” or “Merry.” The moments we celebrate most in life are centered around hopefulness, cheer, joy, and thanksgiving. Although it is common in our culture to express more positive feelings and emotions during the holiday season, for some individuals, this can be a challenge.
It is much more difficult to be thankful when we feel that something important to us is being threatened. Most recently, our health, our finances, our relationships, and our future is increasingly being shifted for a number of reasons causing greater fear and uncertainty in many ways. Such feelings of uncertainty can paralyze us to only focusing on the negative things going on around us and less on the good things in our life. Now, more than ever, it is important to be intentional with our thoughts on being thankful.
Thankfulness is consistently associated with increased happiness. In fact, it is often understood to be the single most powerful approach to increased happiness. It cost you nothing, but the benefits are immense. Studies show that practicing gratitude can improve both physical and psychological health, increase energy, reduce stress, and generates greater hope for the future. It can lead to better management, increased productivity, improved decision making, and much more. Finding ways to be thankful has the ability to strengthen and improve our current relationships as well as promote new connections along the way.
Creating a sense of thankfulness does not have to be complicated. I have truly come to appreciate a mindset my mother has taught me. I call it the “get to” mentality. It is based around changing one simple word that is commonly uttered as a result of full calendars and lengthy to-do list. This small change can in turn cultivate a fresh attitude of thankfulness in our daily routines. It seems so simple, but changing the words “have to” to “get to” opens up an opportunity to be grateful in many circumstances. “I have to take the kids to school,” “I have to work today,” “I have to exercise,” or “I have to cook dinner” are all common examples of expressions of the daily grind most of us experience. Now go back and reread those thoughts and change the words “have to” to “get to.” When we do this, it creates a perspective of thankfulness that easily generates further thoughts of gratitude. I challenge you to change your “have to” to “get to” and see how your own personal gratitude builds.
We all have the ability and opportunity to express gratitude whether publicly or privately. Learning to adopt this perspective into our daily lives can create a new habit of gratitude that has a number of benefits we can carry into the holidays and beyond. Giving our best – whether in our homes, in our workplace, or in our relationships – requires intentionality. No matter what the circumstance, its beneficial to look for opportunities to be thankful. It changes our perspective. Thankfulness will incubate belief in our life, and I encourage you to purposefully practice it every day. It will affect the culture around you in a more positive way.
It would only be appropriate to conclude by expressing on behalf of the entire team at Rezult Group that we are truly thankful for the opportunity we have to work with the clients and individuals that trust us and our business. We look forward to continuing the partnerships we currently value and the new connections to come!
