Life is full of good days and bad days. Sometimes you lack motivation and watch your plans go awry causing a sinking feeling in your stomach. There are also days when you feel sorry for yourself and just want to go back to sleep. When these days strike, one of the simplest and most effective ways to deal with them is to focus on grateful things since they always exist around you.
A Warm Home
When winter is cold and snowy and summer is hot and rainy, having a comfortable home with a roof over your head is one of those grateful things you can easily take for granted. Regardless of what the weather is like where you live, be thankful for your home.
Plenty of Water to Drink
We rarely stop to think about how we should be thankful that the water we have is safe to drink. However, this is one of those grateful things that 780 million people lack access to each day.
Plenty of Food to Eat
Most of your food is both tasty and healthy. Sometimes it will even taste wonderful. Regardless, you’re not one of the many who are hungry in this world.
Life’s Small Pleasures
There are many small grateful things around you, like a(n):
- Sunrise
- Ocean tide
- Beautiful tree full of colorful Autumn leaves
- Sun breaking out of a gray sky
Access to the Internet
In the past we only had spotty knowledge unless we took time to visit the local library and find a book or magazine. This has drastically changed today and now you can learn about pretty much anything online. This has made it easier to learn new skills and habits that will make your life happier and better.
Friends and Family
Regardless how hard or trying your friends and family may get, one of the grateful things most of us have is the love, support, kindness, and fun they offer us.
Health
When you take care of yourself your body probably does a great job of taking care of you. This doesn’t mean you won’t get sick sometimes, but you should still be thankful for all the things your body helps you do like seeing, listening, walking, hugging, and experiencing the world around you daily.
The Kindness of Strangers
The small things people do for you are grateful things you can’t overlook. For instance, when someone lets you get ahead of them in line, let you into their lane when you’re driving, or hold a door for you, be thankful.
Setbacks That Make You Stronger
Think back over the hard times and see how they’ve helped you become stronger mentally. If you’ve been sick, you may have gained a new appreciation of modern medicine, your own body, and how to take good care of it. You’ve probably already overcome some big adversities in your life that have helped you to work harder and smarter than ever before. When you look back over these things you can certainly be appreciative of whatever opportunities lie in front of you today.
Being Alive
Everyone will have a time when they’re accidentally in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, you’re alive in this moment, on this day, and it’s full of great experiences.
Being Thankful
Sometimes we just need to stop and be present in the moment. When we do so and we take a look around us we’ll always find something to be thankful for. Now that you understand the power of gratefulness in your life, I issue this challenge: Find some of the things around you that you’re thankful for… What are they?
Picture Credit: Oleksandr Pidvalnyi