Positive Thinking: Attitude of Gratitude

Tis the season for family, friends and food! However, among all these amazing celebrations and traditions is a core value that we can continue to practice even after the holiday season is over: Gratitude.

Here are 5 ways you can stay grateful this holiday season and beyond!

1. Replace expectation with appreciation.

Take time this season to let go of your should’s and could’s. Instead of being led by your expectations of how things should turn out or expectations you might have for yourself, appreciate where you are and who you are in this moment. Releasing your expectations and trading it for appreciation allows you to stay present. When you come to your yoga mat, release any expectations of how you should feel, how strong you should be or how flexible you could be. Allow yourself to be grateful for the body you were able to bring to your mat. Be thankful for the time you carved out for your practice. Be happy you have the privilege of turning inward to feed your own mental and physical health. Appreciate the world around you and your whole perspective can change.

2. Embrace Challenge

We often take obstacles or limitations in our life and allow them to identify us—whether they’re mental or physical. We start to say things like “I’m not strong,” “I’m not flexible,” or “I’m stressed out.” We let these limitations become who we are and as a result, we end up standing in our own way. Instead of allowing these obstacles and struggles to become real hinderances, embrace them. Accept yourself where you are and accept these challenges as a valuable part of who you are. Realize that obstacles in your path or merely opportunities to grow stronger, stretch further, work harder and release more. Each challenge in your life can be embraced to help you grow. Bow to your struggles and thank them, for without them you might never have realized how strong you can truly become.

3. Make it your Mantra

Being grateful is a step on the path to happiness. But it’s good to remember that there will be hard times along the way. That’s why it’s important to keep gratitude as a daily mantra. Beginning your day with a daily mantra keeps you grounded, connected and present. Take time to recount the things in life you can be thankful for and add things to the list as you go through your day. Keep a list of positive experiences you can look back on when you’re sad or have a hard meeting at work. Whether you woke up in a positive light or are struggling to see the silver linings, let everything, from the leaves changing colors to getting the last scone for your coffee, steer you to gratitude.

4. Inspire Action

Gratitude is an amazing practice to put into, well, practice. It is not only about recounting the things you have that you’re thankful for. Its also about sharing the love, giving back and inspiring action. Thankful for your mom? Give her a call! Thankful for your health? Grab a friend who’s never been to yoga and share the experience. Grateful for a big Thanksgiving dinner? Volunteer at a soup kitchen or donate canned goods to those in need. Let your gratitude shine bright, inspire others and effect positive change in the world.

5. Stay Present

Release attachment to the future and the past. Be connected to the present because—as cliche as it is—the present is a gift. Embrace the moments and the people around you. Enjoy the good things and know the bad things will pass. Allow yourself to take everything one step at a time, stay grounded, and be grateful!

No matter the season, gratitude is an amazing practice to keep. During this holiday, enjoy and embrace the things in your life that make you thankful. Keep this practice going throughout your day, throughout your week, throughout the rest of the year and beyond!

What are you thankful for this holiday season?

Republished from brilliantlivinghq

If you want to jump out of bed in the morning shouting ‘I love my life’ at the top of your voice (and mean it) – the time and place to start is here and now.

It’s brilliant to have a vision of how you want life to look – and goals to get you there.

It’s great to use tools like affirmations and visualization to put you in the right frame of mind to achieve those goals.

But it’s not just about looking forward to happiness in some future time.

It’s about where you are now, being happy with who you are and what you have now.

And this is where gratitude is the best attitude kicks in.

Gratitude and appreciation give you a simple yet amazing mind management tool with the power to change how you feel right now and carry you forward towards your goals.

‘I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.’ Brene Brown

Gratitude is one of the universal themes from our shared experience of what it means to be human.

It crosses cultures, gender and age, and features in the world’s great religious traditions.

Every language in the world has a way of saying ‘thank you’.

But despite the fact it’s easy to say, and we throw out cursory ‘thank you’s everyday, it’s not so easy to feel and experience.

To make gratitude a deliberate part of our daily lives takes practice.

So is it worth it?

Writing down 5 things they were grateful for once a week for ten weeks, had a measurable positive impact on the happiness and health levels of a group studied by Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough of the University of California.

And if when it comes to managing your mind, gratitude is the best attitude to focus you on the good things in your life and train your mind to look for more of the same.

‘Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.’ Zig Ziglar