Hello, everyone! It’s amazing how quickly we are barreling toward the end of November. I feel like I’m one blink away from waking up in December. As November comes to a close, we’re rapidly approaching a time of year many people associate with gratitude. However, we also are surrounded by stress and fear, in many ways now more than ever. If you’re anything like me, you might get so caught up in your anxiety that you forget to take time to experience gratitude. This can be a very harmful mindset to remain in. Thankfulness doesn’t fix anxiety or fear by any means. I do think it can be a useful tool to combating anxiety though. I’ve been doing a lot of my own reflecting on the issue. Today I want to share the lessons I’ve learned on how to be thankful.
Make a List
I try to write a list each day of at least five things I’m thankful for. This has helped me to continually reframe my thoughts to focus on what’s going well for me. It’s easy to get stuck on the bad, so it’s nice to have a list to look back at to remind me of the good. It doesn’t matter where you write the list. I put mine in my daily planner, but you could write yours in a dedicated notebook or on the back of a receipt. The important thing is to just write it. This act will help gratitude to become a habit. A key thing here is to not write the same list every day. Variety encourages you to think about what you’re actually thankful for. It prevents you from just going through the motions.
Recognize Your Privilege
The phrase “recognize your privilege” can be somewhat uncomfortable. There’s this idea that having any kind of privilege means your struggles aren’t valid, but this isn’t the case. Your struggles and fears are valid. No one can take that away from you. However, it is important to recognize the opportunities we have that others don’t. Sometimes the simple things we take for granted are things others long for. Some examples are a good education, a safe place to live, and enough food to sustain yourself. For some of us these things are just a part of our daily lives. It’s important to take time to be thankful for them.
Learn to Appreciate the Small Things
I’m a firm believer that nothing is too small to be thankful for. Many days my gratitude list includes things like “eggs for breakfast” and “peppermint candles. Some days I have big things to be thankful for, but learning to appreciate the small things has helped me to be thankful even on the most basic of days. What small things bring you joy? It could be anything from your favorite blanket to a tasty snack. The little things are often what keep us going.
Share
Don’t be afraid to let people know what you’re thankful for. I think gratitude is something that often spreads. Make a point to talk about how pretty the sunset is or how much you appreciate your coworker helping you. Telling people what you’re thankful for can cause them to think about gratitude too. Before you know it, it will have made its way back around to you. Community is valuable. Sharing gratitude is an important way we can foster it.
I hope you all have enjoyed this post. I’d love to hear what you’re thankful for today in the comments. If you want to see more from me, feel free to click on the links below.
Thanks For Reading,
Elliot J. West (he/they)
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