Why I am Grateful, Blessed, and Thankful

As Thanksgiving and the winter holidays draw near, I reserve time to reflect on the personal progress I've made so far this year, and reasons why I am feeling grateful, blessed, and thankful.

 

I've discovered when I use positive self-talk to describe a shift in my attitude and/or small victories, my encouraging words help me see more clearly the blessings in my life.

Read Motivation from a Word for the Year to learn more.

 

Perhaps my research and personal experience on gratitude may help motivate you to identify and appreciate people, places, and things in your life you are grateful for. See Best Ways to Inspire Gratitude with Affirmations for ideas.

 

Here are current reasons why I keep a gratitude list. It helps me feel more thankful, names my blessings, and helps improve my sense of life satisfaction and even happiness.

 

I am:

Grateful, blessed, and thankful I am alive, and am happy each day can be a fresh start.

Grateful I usually wake with a grateful heart.

If I wake in a negative space or get grumpy later on, I choose to use one or more of my stockpile of self-care practices that lift my spirit. Some examples include those detailed in Simple Morning Routines to Help Us Thrive All Day.

Grateful the older I get the more simply I want to live.

Grateful I appreciate what is rather than obsess or complain about what isn’t.

 

Grateful for the blessing of eye sight. 

Grateful for the blessing of hearing.

Grateful for the blessing of sense of smell.

Grateful for the blessing of sense of touch.

Grateful for the blessing of taste.

Grateful for a bird’s song and children's' laughter.

Grateful for my sense of humor and ability to laugh at myself and back off from judging others.

Grateful for bees and butterflies.

Grateful for the moon, stars, and sun.

Grateful for water to drink, wash, and clean.

Grateful for plants, animals, flowers, weeds, and trees.

Grateful to Mother Nature, the planet, the great outdoors, and beauty in the natural world.

Grateful for my voice and speech, and the ability to communicate.

Grateful for my home and savings so I have necessities and a little extra.

Grateful for healthy food and sustainable clothing and feel the abundance.

Grateful I feel the wonder in music, art, books, and creative endeavors. The arts help me see the world as beautiful and fascinating.

Grateful I am mindful to savor each moment.

Grateful for my legs for allowing me to walk, carry me to places, and enables me to conduct daily activities.

Grateful for my mind and the ability to think, remember, and find solutions.

Grateful for my hands, arms, shoulders, back, and additional organs, systems, and body parts that make me who I am.

Grateful for the love I share with my husband, friends, and family, and grateful I sense they are gifts in my life.

Grateful to be able to feel love, sadness, anger, joy, and a myriad of emotions, as my feelings help me discern what I want more of or less of in my life.

Grateful for mistakes, as they have helped me improve myself and become a more effective person.

Grateful I can start my day over at any time.

Grateful my life has purpose, and feeling grateful helps me be kinder, gentler, and more compassionate with myself and others, both in my thoughts and interactions.💗

 

Before you go, please comment below.

What things, people, and places are you grateful for and what are your reasons?

Did this post help you recognize some blessings in your life or give you inspiration to reach for new ones?

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This post is intended for information and entertainment purposes only and not intended for mental health advice.

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Best Ways to Inspire Gratitude with Affirmations

 

Several studies indicate that a gratitude-affirmation practice can  enhance health, happiness, and life satisfaction. Composing and reciting gratitude affirmations may even improve the relationship we have with ourselves and others.

Results of one study, “Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life,” published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Feb. 2003), indicates conscious recognition of ones blessings has emotional and interpersonal benefits. 

Positive thoughts can rewire the brain, and shift focus to things we are grateful for rather than those we worry or grumble about.

Composing and reciting gratitude affirmations and recording them in a gratitude journal is an effective way to create and acknowledge feel good vibes, and incorporate optimism and creativity into daily activities.

Best Ways to Inspire 

Gratitude 

with 

Affirmations

Schedule 15 minutes of gratitude journal writing time into our daily morning or nightly routine. Aim to compose and jot down at least 3 gratitude affirmations. Then repeat each aloud. 

A study published in Psychosomatic Medicine in 2016 where heart patient participants followed through on this simple self-care practice each day, indicates those who wrote daily in a gratitude journal  had less pain, reduced inflammation, and felt an increased sense of well-being.

Daily repetition of gratitude affirmations helps us hear and re-train our brain to accept gratitude affirmations as possibilities, and be motivated to pursue them.

"Being thankful is not always our natural state of existence. When we record and recite gratitude affirmations as an ongoing practice, akin to a type of strength training for the heart, miracles can happen." ~Nancy Andres

Please feel free to create your own gratitude affirmations or affirm ones I share below:

Gratitude Affirmations

 I am grateful I have a positive attitude. I view each experience, activity, or challenge as an opportunity for self-empowerment and personal growth.

💗

I am grateful I am part of an infinite Universe that wants the best for me.

💗

I am grateful for my education. I use my skills, talents, and abilities wisely and show my thankfulness by sharing my light with others.

💗

I am grateful for my family, friends, acquaintances, and even people I have yet to meet. Each one helps me practice unconditional love and relate to myself and others with compassion and generosity.

 💗

I am grateful and give thanks for all that I have. When I appreciate even the tiniest of things, I attract additional abundance.

💗

I am grateful for my mind, body, and spirit and treat them with the love, care, and tenderness they deserve.

💗

I am grateful for the natural world and respect and cherish planet earth and all her living creatures.  

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Identify an admirable quality in another human being, and compliment that person for it. 

An attitude of gratitude helps us recognize grace in people, places, and things. It helps us open our hearts to the moment, improve our health and relationships, and sleep better at night. For more ideas about joyful living read Budget friendly activities to inspire joy.

Reach out via phone, email, text, or in person to express caring for a loved one. Write a snail mail thank you note and spell out what specific thing or things that person exemplifies and why it is appreciated.

Take steps to use color energy to draw more gratitude into life. 

Give a small gift, send a card or flowers, or do something kind for someone you are thankful for. These are healthy ways to express gratitude. 

Whenever we give freely without expecting reciprocation, it brings freedom and abundance to all.

Life offers many moments to give and receive gratitude. When a kind word or praise comes our way, it's life-affirming to take it in and give thanks. 

Whenever we reach out to others to say we're grateful for the help they provide or recognize a job well done, we expand our circle of gratitude. 💖

Next time you hold back from openly expressing  your gratitude or hesitate before accepting positive feedback from others, recite a gratitude affirmation.

Choose to receive the blessings of gratitude and spread the love. 

What are some of your favorite ways to inspire and show gratitude? 

What are some of your favorite ways to be thanked? 

Share questions, ideas, and comments in the section below. 

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Which gratitude affirmations above do you relate to and why do you think that is so?

Thanks for the visit. If you like what you see, please share on social media, and remember I am grateful to you!

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Easy Strategies to Use Colors to Draw Gratitude into Your Life

November is an ideal time to demonstrate ways colors can enhance gratitude, especially since we in the U.S. celebrate Thanksgiving this month.

Updated 10/10/2021

What is GRATITUDE? The definition I like best is that it’s a human quality of being thankful, including readiness to show appreciation and gentleness with ourselves and others.

Several studies indicate that gratitude is a mighty key that unlocks the gates of health, happiness, and leads to increased satisfaction in personal relationships. 

Results of “Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life,” that appeared in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Feb. 2003) suggests that conscious recognition of ones blessings has emotional and interpersonal benefits. 

Another study conducted by Adam Grant, et al., "A Little Thanks Goes a Long Way: Explaining Why Gratitude Expressions Motivate Prosocial Behavior," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (June 2010) indicates when one feels or thinks their efforts to help other people is valued by the receiver, it creates a sense of well-being in the doer. 

In other words, small expressions of gratitude can motivate prosocial behaviors by leading helpers to feel socially valued.

As I count my blessings, I recall many ways colors have helped me experience greater joy, laughter, peace, ease, health, and love, not only at Thanksgiving, but each day of the year.

Family, Friends, Community, and Nature are Things I'm Thankful For

 

The color strategies I share below are simple to implement, and effective when used consistently. Please give yourself a few weeks' time to experience the change. Discover how easy it is to let colors help you more fully tap into the goodness in your life.

Choose to include those colors that resonate with you, and select them for your wardrobe, home décor, and work environment. Learn How Wearing Your Colors Can Help You Feel Great About Yourself.

Exercise in colorful red warm up gear to get your heart pumping and metabolism jumping. This color helps you connect to the excitement of knowing that you’re fortunate to be able to move.

Stretch and think of the color green. It encourages optimism and encourages you to inhale fresh oxygen and ideas. 

Green energy helps you view situations with a new perspective. Green is the color of regeneration and growth. Be happy and feel grateful that your cells are continually rebirthing themselves.

Orange is the color of many essential fruits and vegetables. Remember to include them in your eating plan for vibrant health. See more about Why We Need to Eat Orange Fruits and Veggies Daily.

Health experts agree that eating a wide variety of colorful fruits and veggies helps energize and nourish you. Learn details at 4 Key Reasons to Eat a Variety of Colorful Produce.

Yellow is a happy, mood lifting hue. It’s the color of a joyful spirit. It's naturally associated with the sun, and its life giving, sustaining energies. 

Display yellow flowers in your home or wear a yellow cap or scarf; these are easy ways to incorporate more yellow into your life. Yellow energy may help you feel greater appreciation and enthusiasm for the present moment.

Blue is a calming, spacious color. It is a symbol of sea and sky. Here's Tips for Using Blue and the Throat Chakra to Eliminate Pain. 

Consider visualizing my blue family favorites, Aqua and Aquamarine. These green-blue colors promote a smooth flow of communication. Let them create a sense of expansiveness and tranquility in you. 

Envision aqua and aquamarine, when you’re seated around the Thanksgiving table. These colors encourage serenity and calm. If you need additional color tips read Relax with Aquamarine and Aqua.

Research from the Psychology Department at UC Davis Emmons Lab suggests that gratitude heals, energizes, and transforms lives. That's why it's important to schedule time weekly or daily to write in a gratitude journal. 

To amp up journal writings’ health promoting benefits, use colored pens and markers to record your feelings and thoughts about the gifts in your daily life. If you’re not willing to commit to writing a colorful gratitude list, at least devote time, night or day, to do a mental gratitude inventory.

For example, certain colors warm and open my heart. I frequently write with Pink, Coral, Blue, Green, and Purple to help me envision gratitude for the gifts of sight, hearing, taste, touch, spirituality, and my love of nature and people in my life.

When I journal with colors, it helps slow my racing mind, as I transfer jumbled thoughts onto paper. Journal writing is a safe place to examine and rid myself of dark thoughts and cherish moments of joy. Journal writing increases self-awareness and brings insights about my thoughts and actions.

“How often do you reserve time to engage in a creative endeavor like a crafts project or journal writing? I attest that each time I cook, write, draw, study something new, or do things in a creative way, my gratitude multiplies and my optimism soars.” Nancy Andres

Play, daydream, and let your imagination transport you to a calm place, where you can imagine walking in a green field, or listening to a babbling brook. Better yet, get outdoors to be in nature and feel refreshed and energized. 

Notice how fast your feelings of gratitude expand. Then, get in touch with your state of mind as you visualize your favorite color, appreciate the wonder of watching the sunrise or sunset, laugh with friends and family, relish reading a good book, jump in a stack of leaves, or have a ball as you wade through a puddle of water. 

I'm Grateful for the Public Library, One of My Favorite Places to Visit

Give yourself permission to be more childlike and beat a drum, dance, or sing. Take a moment to breathe deeply and feel the love and gratitude all around and in you.

An attitude of gratitude is fundamental to wellness. Let colors smooth the way for you to improve your health, relationships, and sense of well-being. What color or colors are gratitude colors for you?

My personal experience and research conducted since 1997, when I became a Health and Lifestyle Writer, shows color vibrations bypass human reasoning and work at the cellular level. 

Colors have a subtle way of attracting gratitude into our body, mind, and spirit.

When you put together a list of what you’re grateful for, it swings your vibrational frequency into a higher state. Whenever your focus on gratitude, you identify what is already abundant in your life and you become even more thankful.

“I have made an effort to incorporate more colors into my gratitude practice. This simple action heightens my sense of thankfulness and delight.” Nancy Andres

On a personal note, someone I lost contact with several years ago, came back into my life. I’m kicking up my heels and filled with joy. I envision the color pink, soft coral, and green, as I reflect about this gift, and I’m excited to be discovering this person anew.

I'm grateful for the People in My Life!

I've also learned to appreciate people who challenge my patience, or stir up my peace of mind. I grow wiser as I figure out how to be more direct and kind as I own my power, respect people and their right to be themselves, and detach with love.

What are things or people you’re grateful for?

Do you journal? If you do, which colors enrich the process of naming and/or writing about what you’re grateful for? Please let me know.

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