Thanksgiving is here!
While I’m sure most everyone is busy prepping for a big Thanksgiving meal or doing last minute grocery shopping, Thanksgiving is more than just about the meal, it’s about being thankful. It can be hard to remember to be grateful on your worst days, and even easier to be grateful when celebrating a holiday with the word ‘Thanks’ in it. The holiday is literally reminding us to be thankful. But outside of the holiday season, it’s important to remember to be thankful for small things as well.
Bonus! Research suggests that being thankful is a serious health booster. A Time magazine report from 2015 stated that there were 5 key benefits that thankful people
experienced:
- Increase heart health.
- Increase shuteye
- Keeps you more optimistic
- Makes it easier to make friends
- Helps improve your physical health
While I don’t know have accurate some of that research is, being thankful and appreciative for the things and people you have can help to produce more positive emotions. And who wouldn’t want to have more positive and happy feelings in your life?
So in an effort to be more thankful, not just on Thanksgiving but in my daily life as well, here are a few of main things I’m thankful for in 2018:
I’m thankful for…
- Walking. If you read my blog post, ‘Why I Decided to Run a Half Marathon’ (read it here), you’ll know that I have some serious back and shoulder problems. Even though not everyday is amazing (prime example: my shoulder is throbbing as I’m writing this) I’m still extremely thankful to be able to walk and have the strength to participate in half marathons, even if I have walk sometimes.
- Having a job that I’m good at, even if everyday isn’t stress free.
- My wonderful family and the beautiful people in my life who are supportive, goofy, and loving.
- Having the opportunities to travel to the places I do.
- Most importantly, I’m thankful for the no active cancer report my dad received a two months ago. Three years ago the doctors gave him 6 months to live, and showed them. I’m extremely grateful to get to spend a few more years with his seriously goofy self. And I’m extra thankful that no matter how ugly and difficult treatment was for him, he never stopped having a positive attitude and never once stopped making ‘dad’ jokes.
So what are you thankful this year for?
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey