Andrew was going for a sales job. He knew he had the least experience and least qualifications to get the job. In face he wasn’t even sure how he’d got the interview. What he did know was he was very thankful to be given the opportunity. The interview went well, though it was impressed on him again that everyone else was more experienced for the role. As he left the building, he slipped the receptionist an envelope. Inside was a thank you note for the man who had just interviewed him, thanking him for his time and for the opportunity. That evening, he got the call to say he’d got…

Generating a list of everything we are thankful for can really help on those slightly cloudy (or downright stormy) days when it’s hard to conjure up a pile of thankfulness. Like anything, gratitude is a learned behavior. It’s something we find easier the more and more we practice. If you can’t find some things to be thankful for, work your way through this list and use it to make your own. Things You Own You can feel gratitude for … Having shelter. I have a home to live in, a bed to sleep in, and a place to put my things Having something to wear. I have something to keep…

If it just sounds too weird to relate to, think about what our body needs to do to become stronger and more resilient. If you want to build muscles, any form of resistance helps. The heavier the weight, the harder your muscles have to work to build up. We use weights to fight against your muscles, to grow them. The muscles actually tear a little as we work them; stretch and then rebuild, connecting more fibers. The muscle growth doesn’t happen during the session, but afterward when we rest up and let our muscles mend. To build muscles best you need to work them so they tear a little, feed…

So we’ve covered all the good bits of our life and we’re focusing on them. But what about the bad things that happen? Should we be grateful for them as well? Well yes, if possible. Being grateful for bad things that happen to us isn’t saying that what happened should have happened. It’s not about lying down like a doormat; ready for the next punch life might throw at us. Being grateful for the bad things that happen is more about learning to live with the life you’ve had, and seeing the good that can spring from anything. If you look at people who are successful, often they have a…

For those raised in a home where faith was part of their lifestyle, the concept of thankfulness and gratitude is a big part of their culture. You may have been raised to give thanks before eating or to say thank you to God/the Creator/the Divine/the name you have for your higher power before bedtime. One of the universal concepts is that we all need to be filled with gratitude in part because it is part of what makes the world go around. On the metaphysical level, this is referred to as the law of Gratitude. This means that the universe or the essence of life around us reacts to the…

So we’ve got the people around us feeling a little happier and our minds getting the happy message about what about our bodies? What does being grateful do to our body? Our cells are constantly changing, renewing, and mending themselves. Many doctors recognize the worth of a positive attitude toward health. In fact, if we feel good about ourselves we tend to look after our physical selves better. We make better food choices, eat for hunger and not to stave off sad or complicated emotions and we enjoy making our bodies move. A happy body is a healthy body. Many obesity theorists think that one of the reasons that people…

Once we are used to thanking the people around us, it’s time to start being grateful for some of the good things working in our lives. This can be difficult to quantify, especially if you are under a fair amount of stress or find life a bit tough. However, there are so many things we have around us we take for granted, and often have no idea of the positive impact those things have on us. As is true with human nature, there are so many things we don’t realize the worth of until we don’t have them around us. If you have children, you’ll be aware of that sense…