This past week, life did that thing where everything got terrifyingly and unstoppably out of control. And despite my feelings of guilt and frustration…the world kept spinning.
The only thing that changed was my attitude. So let’s jump on in.
What does gratitude mean?
Gratitude is defined as the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness: she expressed her gratitude to the committee for their support.
That’s why gratitude comes up so much around Thanksgiving. It can be considered one and the same. So if it makes it easier to think of ways to be “grateful” just replace it with “thankful”.
What does gratitude feel like?
I find that when I express gratitude, I’m overcome by a sense of humility.
Let me explain. I have a choice about how to react when awful or even slightly frustrating things happen. I can choose to be angry and tell myself, “I don’t deserve for something like that to happen to me.”
In essence, I’m saying that I’m better than my problems or my hardships.
That I am somehow exempt from those things happening to me. And I often feel that way. I get pissed and think, “I didn’t deserve that. I should be better than that happening.”
But when I choose to show gratitude for those experiences, I am choosing to humble myself to that experience and accept the truth that I’m not better than what happens to me.
I don’t necessarily deserve for good or bad things to happen or not happen. I’m alive by the grace of God and have ZERO control as to what happens to me in life, despite my constant pretending that I do. When you stop telling yourself that you “deserve” anything in life, you create space to be thankful for everything in life, even the hardships.
Gratitude keeps me humble. It reminds me that no matter the circumstance, I am called to be thankful.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
It’s not just about saying, “I’m thankful for this terrible thing that I actually hate.” Do you really think that’s ever going to feel genuine? Definitely not.
Truly accepting that there is beauty and grace in both the good and bad things will slowly shift the way you experience LIFE.
It can be a challenge but practice thinking about the greater good and the lesson that is derived from whatever hardship you’re dealing with. Here’s what it looks like for me.
I’m grateful for:
Late nights at the office because I know that my effort doesn’t go unseen and hard work always paves the way to better rewards
Bills because, while paying them off is stressful, they teach me how to be mindful and thoughtful with how I spend my money elsewhere
Injuries because they give me space to slow down and heal and teach me to appreciate my body
Hard training sessions because they fuel the desire to win so much more than winning does alone
Just like everything else in life, gratitude takes practice. When I first started keeping a gratitude journal, I only focused on the obviously good things. It’s much, much easier, but is also a necessary part of practicing gratitude, something we’ll talk more about later.