Oct 31, 2011 12:35 PM
In the past I've written about how happy people are more productive and happy companies are more profitable.
When I teach the psychology of happiness in my Happiness Workshops, I teach about the nine choices extremely happy people make.
One choice all extremely happy people make is a feeling of appreciation and gratitude throughout each day, not just on one special day a year.
Thanksgiving is the time we have agreed in the United States and Canada to formally express our gratitude for family, friends, and things.
But is it really about being thankful or merely getting together and eating huge amounts of food?
When you get together at Thanksgiving do you formally talk about what you're grateful for? I mean actually set aside a few minutes for each person to go around the room and express their gratitude? If not, why not? Try it and see what happens.
Gratitude is the shortcut to happiness. It is a feeling of thankfulness in your heart for what you have.
If you want to be happy, thank about (not a typo) what you have to be grateful for throughout each day and feel the feelings of gratitude in your heart. I do this first thing every morning for a few minutes during my meditation and highly recommend you do the same. It's a great way to start your day.
Ungratefulness is the shortcut to UN-happiness. If you want to be unhappy, here's how to do it. Think about and focus on what you don't have. To intensify this feeling, think about other people who have what you want and feel jealous or envious. Now, how does this make you feel? I'm guessing not very good.
On the other hand, gratitude is the shortcut to happiness. If you want to be happy, here's how to do it. Think about and focus on what you have and feel thankful. To intensify this feeling, close your eyes for a moment. Put your hand or hands on your heart and feel deeply grateful for what you have. Say to yourself, "I feel deeply thankful for…" and then name some things you feel thankful for—or could feel grateful for.
If you're having trouble thinking of what to feel grateful for, how about the fact that you can read this right now or listen to it using a device for the visually impaired? Here are a few more for your consideration: your health; your eye sight; your ability to hear; your ability to speak; your ability to move around (mobility); a roof over your head; the fact that you're not starving to death; the love of your family; the love of friends; the fact that we, for the most part, live in a peaceful society; the fact that you can choose your attitude in any situation; the fact that you can educate yourself for free at any public library or on the internet.
If this seems simple, it's because it is. All you have to do is choose to focus on the people, places, and things you have to feel grateful for and not on what you don't have or what others have (jealousy and envy).
The choice is yours: happiness is a choice!
Try this: tomorrow morning as soon as you wake up, think about 5-10 things you can feel thankful for. Dwell on those feelings of gratitude for 3-5 minutes. Close your eyes. Touch your heart with one or both hands. Even if it isn't directed to a particular deity, to intensify your feeling of gratitude in your heart, you can repeat to yourself every few seconds "Thank you" over and over and notice the feeling the gratitude grow stronger and stronger.
Do this every day for 40 days and see what happens! I would love to hear from you about it.
At a time when it would be easy to focus how bad things are, I'm choosing to focus on what I have and feel grateful.
What are you grateful for? Why not turn 'Thanksgiving' into a daily ritual (without the huge meal!), rather than a fleeting, once-a-year event? I know you'll be much happier and productive as a result!
David Humes is a professional speaker, author, productivity and happiness expert. He's the coauthor of 'Stepping Stones to Success' with Deepak Chopra, Jack Canfield, and Denis Waitley. David is a certified clinical hypnotherapist, a certified NLP practitioner, and an internationally certified 3rd degree black belt in Wado-Ryu karate. For more information, visit http://DavidHumes.com Copyright © 2011 by David Humes. All rights reserved in all media throughout the universe.
