Thanksgiving can run the gamut from wonderful to significantly less so, depending on your circumstances.
We can easily feel victimized by the circumstances the last few years have dealt us.
Depression has skyrocketed.
Languishing is a term that we've come to know.
Loss is tangible and ever-present.
Being overwhelmed is the norm.
For many Americans, Thanksgiving is about being grateful, at least for a day.
Going around the table and having loved ones say what they are most thankful for is not going to cut it this year, though.
We need positivity, resilience, contentment, mindfulness, and joy more than ever, and practicing gratitude can be a gateway to all of that. It can also reduce stress, improve relationships, and boost your self-esteem.
Most Americans are missing out on the benefits of regularly practicing gratitude.
Practicing gratitude on a regular basis means that our brains are focusing more on the positive things around us.
Those things have always been there; we're just bad at noticing them if we're focusing on the negative.
Just the act of noticing positive things, attracts more positive things.
Gratitude fundamentally changes how you see the world as well as what you attract.
If you want to get the most out of the holiday season, express gratitude more frequently than one day.
Start listing what you're thankful for every day. Counting your blessings is a legitimate way to pull yourself out of the downward spiral of noticing all the negative things around you.
Dr. Nancy Williams is a Leadership & Life Coach and music educator. She is known for her straight-forward communication style and getting to heart of what is holding her clients and students back from progress. Her mission is to inspire awareness and empowerment so that others can be agents of positive change in the world.