"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them." John F. Kennedy So, how do we live out gratitude as JFK suggests? Let s first define what gratitude is. Merriam-Webster s online dictionary defines Gratitude as: the state of being grateful: thankfulness Some may think to themselves, Well it would be easy to be thankful if I lived in a certain kind of house, drove a nice car, or had great relationships! Science tells us that the truly successful people around us practiced an attitude of gratitude long before they began enjoying what you see today. Remember the definition says it is the state of being grateful. Not just thinking about it. If you want real change in your life, it requires a process and effort, not just thoughts. Look at what Mahatma Gandhi says drives your destiny. Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny. It all starts with your beliefs and then you can move through the process to change your thoughts, words, actions, habits, values, and your destiny. Let s break that down into Action Items we can apply in our everyday lives: Statement Core Action Items Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny. Beliefs Thoughts Words Actions Habits Values Commit to the belief that what you sow in your life, you will reap. As you sow gratitude you will reap even more. Spend a few minutes at the end of each day thinking about the things for which you are grateful. Write them down in a journal. Every morning, read the previous day s gratitude journal entry out loud. When you've had a tough day, read as much as necessary for your thoughts to change toward gratitude. Once per week circle the entries for which you were most grateful and that you want more of in your life. Reinforce these new habits (thoughts, words, actions) and focus on the areas of your life in which you want more gratitude. Over time with consistent effort, you will begin walking daily in gratitude and watch what happens in your life! The more gratitude you have, the more you will attract.
Use the gratitude wheel below as a reminder of some areas in your life in which you can develop an attitude of gratitude. FAMILY FRIENDS HEALTH FUN STUFF MONEY FAITH SPIRITUAL JOB CAREER NATURE Practical Application 1. DAILY: Write down three things in each category represented on the wheel. HINT: It can be a word, a person s name, a sentence, a scripture, a song, etc. This is your gratitude journal. Do it in a way that you can create a new habit and stick to it. 2. WEEKLY: Once per week, review your daily entries and pick the four things you were most grateful for in the last week and journal about why you were thankful. HINT: Invest a little time here. This is where the rubber starts to meet the road. Read your entries out loud. It is important for you to hear yourself say what you are grateful for. 3. MONTHLY: Review your weekly journal entries. Ask yourself the following questions a. Which entries stand out the most? Circle those. i. Ask yourself Why do these stand out the most to me? b. Which entries would you like to have more of in your life? Put a star by those. c. Observe which categories get circled and starred most often and apply Smart Goals goals setting method to get more of what you want.
4. STRETCH YOURSELF: Only do this if you really want to grow in gratitude and have life chase you down with things you can be grateful for. a. Ask five friends this question Is there something in my life that I am overlooking that I should be grateful for? HINT: This one step will give your trusted friends permission to speak into your life. You may be surprised what you ve been walking by. b. Write their answers in your journal c. Read them at the end of each week 5. INVEST IN OTHERS: Perform an activity that you don t normally do and do it for the activity s sake. HINT: It s amazing how much more grateful we can be in our own lives when we see the lives of others through their eyes. a. Volunteer at an organization like Big Brothers & Big Sisters, visit the elderly in a local nursing home, or help out at the local animal shelter. The kids, the elderly, and the animals need to know someone cares about them and they return thanks immediately. b. Take a friend to lunch without any ulterior motive and pay for it. c. Research an outdoor activity (e.g. walking trails) and invite a friend to join you. You get the double whammy of being able to build a stronger friendship with someone and enjoying all that nature has to offer. To gain quality friends, become the kind of friend you want to attract. d. Raise money for a worthy cause. e. Pay the cashier at a convenience store for the next person s drinks, but don t stick around to be acknowledged. Just know that you are being a blessing to someone else without any expectation of a return. f. And the list goes on g. And on
WEEK # Daily: Each day write three entries of things you are thankful for. Keep it simple. Weekly: Pick three entries from this week that you were most grateful for during the week. 1 st Pick: 2 nd Pick: 3 rd Pick:
Month # MONTHLY REVIEW Circle the Weekly entries that stand out the most to you. Put a star by the Weekly entries that you would like to have more of in your life. Answer this question: Why do I want more in my life?