Thankful Today, Grateful Always

Today is Thanksgiving, an actual American holiday suggested by President Abraham Lincoln as the last Thursday in November in 1863. Each president after Lincoln recognized Thanksgiving, with the actual day fluctuating through the years. In 1941 Congress sanctioned the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving, and made it a legal national holiday.

So, the theory goes, one day a year we set aside all our activities and gather with our families to eat a huge turkey dinner and express our thanks for all we have been given.

But, really, there is no need to wait for that fourth Thursday in November to thank each other for what we’ve been given. If we develop an attitude of gratitude, we can look around each and every day and appreciate the situations and people in our lives, even if everything is not perfect.

In other words, thanks might be a reaction to something we have received while gratitude might be an attitude we can develop irrespective of what we have already received or experienced.

So while we have one day set aside to concentrate on giving thanks for what we have, consider making each day one to concentrate on your attitude of gratitude. Grateful people are less stressed, less depressed, and more satisfied with their relationships than others in psychological studies.

So what do you have to lose? If less stress and depression and better relationships are possible, cop that attitude of gratitude – every day!

What’s the key to success?

I know – it sounds like a loaded question. After all, everyone is looking for “the” answer to that question, aren’t they? Well, I’ve got it.

The key to success in any area of your life: athletics, business, finances, health, relationships is your mindset. Yep. That’s it. And your mindset starts with how you talk to yourself.

Now if you’re reading this and thinking, “what’s she talking about? That’s crazy. And besides, I don’t talk to myself” then that’s the voice to which I’m referring.

We all talk to ourselves, but not so many of us are really aware of that talk. And, for many of us, that talk was programmed a long, long time ago.

The first step all of us can take to get from where we are to where we want to go is to just notice that voice. What is it saying? Is it noticing all the ways things are working or all the ways things are messed up? They’re both accurate. But there’s a difference between being accurate and being right.

Yet so many people are more committed to being right than to being happy. They will go to great lengths to prove not only that they are right, but that others are wrong. That’s where the right/accurate distinction comes into play.

What is your mindset? Do you believe in yourself? Are you confident and assured and asking great questions of yourself and others? Or do you find that you are more of a victim and end up finding all the ways the world has dealt you a bum hand? Either way is accurate – you will probably find evidence for whatever your point of view is.

But how is that working? Are you happy? Are you achieving goals and dreams? Do you have the relationships you would like to have? The health? The job? The money? Check your mindset. All of us are perfectly programmed to get the exact results we’re currently getting.

Noticing your mindset may not be the answer, but it’s the first step to really creating whatever success you want.

Notice what you notice and you’ll be way ahead of the game.

Are you ready for BIGGER small talk?

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“How you doin’?”

“OK.”

“Well, see ya later.”

“Yep. Bye.”

Small talk.

It’s everywhere in our lives and it’s necessary. If we didn’t have small talk, we might not have any talk at all. We’re used to it. We’re “comfortable” with it. We expect it.

Now BIG talk, that’s another story.

“What’s good in your world today?”

Now there’s a question.

The first step to achieving different results in our lives is becoming aware of the way we are thinking (or not) and responding (or not) to the stimuli around us.

It’s election week and the talk has been bigger than normal, but still probably somewhat predictable. By that I mean that after every election, there are probably those people who are happy with the results and those who are not happy. And it’s probably pretty evident what the talk is like.

People tend to talk a lot about things they really have no interest in doing anything about. It’s easier to complain than to act, yet action is what makes a difference.

So my quest is to wake people up to the conversations they are witnessing, participating in, and supporting by their awareness (or lack thereof).

This blog will ask some important questions, not because I have any answers, but because I think more often than not, the answers are in the questions. When we ask better questions, we will get better answers. When we challenge each other to really think and respond rather than to repeat and react, we will be creating a brand new experience with every conversation.

We will be engaging in dialogue, which means we suspend any previous assumptions in order to learn from each other.

So, today’s question is:

What’s good in your world today?

Your answers are welcome here – and solutions & possibilities will be abundant by the dialogue created.