Core Value Blog Post: Grateful is our Mindset
Let’s start today’s discussion with a question we have all been asked probably 100 times:
Is the glass half-full or half-empty?
When we answer this question, it helps us understand other ways of thinking. If the person sees the glass half empty, they are usually pessimistic or negative and see things in a negative light most of the time, especially when it is unclear. In contrast, those that answer that they understand the glass half full usually see things in a positive light and are generally more optimistic people in every situation.
One thing that is also true about the given answer is that usually, the people that see the glass half full are very good at shifting their focus and channeling their thoughts and attitude in any situation. It is much easier for a grateful person to see the positive in every case, and the more appreciative they are, the more they can see that the rest of us don’t see it that way.
Being grateful can change your life and not just because it helps keep you positive but because it can shift your focus and help you not only stay positive and happy but healthier as well. Many studies have shown that just being grateful can improve mood and even reduce stress, so why not just be thankful all the time?
Well, some people struggle with being grateful from time to time, and some are just not grateful at all. Why is that you might ask? Well, over the years, there have been many that tried to understand this. There have been opinions that genetics and personality have a lot to do with being grateful or having a grateful mindset, but some only share that opinion.
There is one opinion that most ‘experts’ agree on. That is the opinion that our brains can be trained to be more grateful! All we need to do is build our ‘grateful’ muscle. Much like we do when we want to build muscle on our body, we will lift weights or do aerobic exercises to strengthen our muscles and help them get bigger, stronger, and have more endurance. The same is possible with gratefulness.
There is plenty we can do to be more grateful. We can write down what we are grateful for often. We can volunteer in homeless shelters or food pantries and remind ourselves how many people have less than us, or we can associate with people that are more grateful than us generally and have their gratefulness rub off on us. Or you can do all of those and supercharge your gratefulness, regardless of becoming more grateful can be achieved and can have major impacts on quality of life, so please go for it!
As we continue through this crazy year of 2020, it has been a reminder of so many things we take for granted. This year we learned that going to school, work, restaurants, traveling, and many other things that we take for granted we should be grateful for. I am sure if there is one good thing that will come of this year’s crisis it is the fact that it has taught us all to be grateful for the little things and never forget that many don’t even have a restaurant or school near their home they can attend or also have the possibility of getting a job because of where they live or the economic conditions of their country, all things that most of us have always taken for granted.
As we continue throughout this year, we all hope that things will improve with time or even the political divisions that exist around the world so we can get back to our usual way of life, and rightfully so, we take so much for granted. Not to worry, though, this too shall pass. Before you know it, we will be sitting at the Thanksgiving day dinner table in November, and we will all celebrate that holiday the traditional way, which is sharing what we are grateful for. That is what makes Thanksgiving so special because everyone comes together and reminds each other what they are grateful for, it’s one of my favorite holidays because of this, but you know what? Why do we have to wait until November each year to remind each other how thankful we are for the blessings that we enjoy? Well, we don’t! We can do it every week, every day, and even every minute cause there are no rules for gratefulness; there are no limits to it, and there is no fee charged for giving thanks, so what are you waiting for and why are you holding back? Be grateful and help Jack Fallon change the world; time is a wasting!
This is TLC, and grateful is our mindset! Our glass is always half full, meaning our mind is always filled with positive thoughts, and our hearts are always filled with love and thankfulness. Just keep being grateful and watch your life change and keep helping others be grateful and watch the world change!
LETS GOOOOOOOO!!!
Until next week, Thanks for reading!
