This month we’re shining the spotlight on gratitude in various forms. For those who celebrate Thanksgiving, and for those who do not, we welcome the month of November with gratitude for a change in seasons, the beginning of a seasonal slow-down, and an opportunity to prepare for the close of another year and the ushering in of the new.

I don’t know about you all, but Thanksgiving is far and away my favorite holiday. I mean, let’s face it: an entire day dedicated to eating delicious food is pretty amazing. However, it can be easy to forget to truly give thanks and take stock of everything we are grateful for.

There is an abundance of research on the various physical and mental health benefits that gratitude brings. However, I’ve found the most compelling argument for gratitude in Dr. Brené Brown’s book Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead.

(Side note: most of my blog posts will likely mention Brené Brown because I think she’s an incredible researcher, writer, speaker, and all-around human being. You’ve been warned. All of the quotes listed below come from Daring Greatly.)

Brown’s early research focuses on uncovering the qualities of what she calls wholehearted living. Essentially, she wanted to identify specific traits in people who are “the most resilient to shame” (p. 9). She defines wholeheartedness as “a way of engaging with the world from a place of worthiness” (p. 9). She came up with a list of ten qualities for wholeheartedness, and one of the most noteworthy, in my opinion, is “cultivating gratitude and joy” (p. 9).

I love that she puts joy and gratitude in the same category. She states that her participants “described joy as a spiritual way of engaging with the world that’s connected to practicing gratitude” (p. 123). Regardless of the specifics of what your spiritual beliefs might be, “practicing gratitude is how we acknowledge that there’s enough and that we’re enough” (p. 124). This does wonders for our self-esteem, and it can increase our joy tenfold.

Finally, Brown refers to gratitude as a practice because the participants she identified as wholehearted spoke to gratitude being “more than merely having an attitude of gratitude or feeling grateful” (p. 124). Therefore, gratitude is something that takes work and concerted effort.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and as though we don’t have enough time to do anything for ourselves. My challenge for you all is to make practicing gratitude part of your daily routine. I think you’ll be astounded by how much it boosts your mood, your sense of joy, and your quality of life. Here are some suggestions for easy ways to weave a gratitude practice into your day-to-day life.

Keep a gratitude journal. This can be as simple as listing three good things that happened during your day. If you don’t necessarily have the time to write a journal entry every day in narrative form, simply start by making a list of things, people, etc. that you are grateful for each day.
Make a joy jar. This is one of my favorite things to recommend for families. Take a mason jar, decorate it however you would like, and ask each member of your family to write at least one thing that brought them joy in their day on a slip of paper. Have everyone add their slips to the jar throughout the day, and read them all out loud at the end of the day when everyone can be together. While this practice is great for families, it is certainly something you can do on your own as well.
Gratitude meditations. If you’re like me and sitting in silence makes it difficult to clear your mind, give guided meditation a try. One of my favorite apps to use is called Insight Timer. It’s free, and you can search for meditations on any given topic. Search for guided gratitude meditations on apps like Insight Timer or on YouTube. Taking even just five minutes every day to meditate on what you’re grateful for can improve your health over time.

I hope you all enjoy the upcoming holidays, make time for gratitude, and savor the joy it brings because you are absolutely worth it.

The Month of Gratitude, Pt 1: More than an Attitude