I often forget to be grateful, which I truly do find odd. If you’ve ever had a gratitude session, where you not only think about what you’re grateful for, but really feel the gratitude, you know how awesome it makes you feel.
Are we not supposed to be drawn to things that make us feel good? Instant gratification. It would seem to me, that feeling gratitude really does have all the components needed to become an addiction, and yet it is something most of us forget to practice.
I imagine it must be a survival issue, if we become addicted to focusing on all the things we have going for us, we wouldn’t be as drawn to pursuing better and more things.
But, since most of us are not in danger of forgetting to hunt for food at the local grocery store, just because we are focusing on how good we have it, maybe turning the practice of gratitude into a daily habit, could actually help us instead of hinder us.
In attempts to fit everything into my Miracle Morning routine, I’ve realized some things fit better into my drive and walk to work. I was listening to a podcast where the gentlemen talked about going for a walk every day and thinking about all the things he was grateful for.
I thought, I go for a walk twice a day, from my car to work and back again, and although I normally try to gain focus for the day during my walk, it never really has the effect I’m looking for.
Being the holiday season, I’ve always found Christmas music really makes me feel grateful and festive. For the last week I’ve been stepping out of my car, putting my headphones on, turning on the Christmas music and as I walk to work, contemplating all the things that make me the happiest luckiest person in the world.
I end up walking to work and back to my car with the biggest smile on my face, which feels odd. How often do you see people walking down the street, smiling their ass off? I hope that this will soon become the norm, because if you are reading this, you have tons of reasons why you should be happy 24 / 7.
Of course we all have our ups and downs, but this is an amazing time to be alive and you have so much to be feeling on top of the world about.
Too often we look at others around us and think, I don’t have that or I’m not there yet. Or you think about where you thought you should be by now. In no way I’m I suggesting you stop striving for excellence, I am however, suggesting you can feel like the luckiest person in the world while doing it.
Start thinking about what you have in comparison to the rest of the world. How many people would kill to be in your shoes?
My walks, normally start out with how awesome it is that I have the ability to listen to music from Spotify on my iPhone. Then to the fact that I am walking to my job, how blessed I am to have a job. And of course, my family who is awesome, and to my kids daycare provider, how blessed I am to know that my children are in good hands and that everyone is currently in great health. And so on.
So try it out! If you have a walk that you do daily, even if it’s only a two minute walk, make gratitude a daily habit by adding it in.
