Want happiness? Adopt an attitude of gratitude!

What are you grateful for? Some days that might be a hard question to answer. It’s easy to get caught up in the many bad things that are happening in the world. When you watch the news, it’s often focused on what has gone wrong in communities and in the world. We might hear about people claiming to want to have more unity, but there’s still a significant amount of dissention and conflict.  It’s easy to point the finger at others – but where can the change start? There’s a saying, ‘Be the change you want to be.’ We’re suggesting adopting an attitude of gratitude. If you have one already, that’s wonderful. However, we find that a little reminder now and then never hurts.

We started thinking about this because September 21^st is World Gratitude Day. It first was brought up in 1965 at a Thanksgiving dinner meeting at the Meditation Center of the UN building in Hawaii. Sri Chinmoy, a meditation teacher, suggested having a special day to help unite people around the world over gratitude. Attendees at the meeting promised to bring the idea to their countries and hold a gratitude meeting every September 21^st. It wasn’t until 1977, however, that the UN made the World Gratitude Day official as an annual day of remembrance.

The dictionary defines gratitude as “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” An attitude of gratitude is a way of thinking that’s very positive. It happens when people are looking for things to be grateful for. I (Lynn) was fortunate to be part of Authentic Happiness coaching program as a trainer for Dr. Martin Seligman and Dr. Ben Dean. The program served 100’s and went world-wide. In that program we used an exercise called the Three Blessings, which we continue to use today.

This exercise involves each day identifying three things (blessings) you are grateful for.

It’s a very powerful exercise to bring people into an attitude of gratitude because it involves focusing on daily finding the positives. Notice how easy it is to get up in the morning and be a bit grumpy if it’s gray and rainy, or too hot or too cold outside? Take a minute to realize that the reason you could determine the weather was often because you had the wonderful blessing of being able to see it. Also, you had the blessing of a roof over your head, so you didn’t have to live out in the bad weather day and night.

We often take so many blessings for granted. But, when you begin to count blessings each day, it contributes to happiness and a meaningful life. As Steve Maraboli says, “If you want to find happiness, find gratitude.” Also, you can share the blessings around the dinner table with family or with an accountability partner. The exercise becomes a great topic of conversation that’s positive. If the three blessings are written down close to bedtime, research shows it contributes to pleasant dreams.

Why is it important to cultivate an attitude of gratitude? We talked about how it brings happiness and improved mood. Also, it can lower stress, help people sleep better and improve the immune system. Of course, it’s wonderful for building good, lasting relationships because everyone wants to be around a positive person. We like the way Kristin Armstrong puts it, “When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in.”

So how can you develop more of an attitude of gratitude? We’ve listed some ways and there are many more ways to develop that attitude. An important key is to take time to notice those blessings. Take good care of yourself and give yourself time to actually be alive – see the sunset, enjoy nature, feel the breeze, foster good relationships and have the mindset to appreciate those blessings.

Showing appreciation of others and doing some form of kindness, even if it’s small, is important. Sometimes that kindness you thought was small, can make someone’s day. Maybe it’s a nice smile or a kind word. Research also shows that if you are doing the kindness, receiving the kindness, or even observing the kindness done by someone else, it can be felt as a blessing.

What about you? Do you have an attitude of gratitude? We encourage you to use the strategies we’ve suggested. Be more fully aware of the blessings you already have in your life. By doing so, you may feel an increased feeling of happiness – and who doesn’t want that! Also, we want you to know that we are grateful for you!

Chanhassen MN residents, Doug and Lynn Nodland are success coaches and owners of The Balance Center in Excelsior. Contact them at WeCare@SharingLifesLessons.com

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2023 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.