Give Gratitude A Try

Thanksgiving is a great time to practice gratitude. We hear quite a bit to "Give thanks for all the good in our lives." But, have you ever given gratitude for everything you don't like? It's an interesting thought.

The struggles we experience make us miserable. That misery can go on for a long time. But does it help to wallow? I came across an interesting article by one of my faves, Melody Beattie, that said "Give Gratitude a Try." She suggests being grateful even for our struggles.

This week think about something that you've experienced lately that has given you a hard time. Have you been miserable about it and has that helped? Instead, give gratitude for it. Force it, fake it. Do whatever you have to.

I have to admit that I am a work in progress at this one, it is such a strange concept. There are times when unpleasant things happen and I do think yes this happened, but did that happen to prevent something even worse from happening? Who knows?

Perspective can be an incredible thing. Maybe by practicing gratitude for the bumps in the road we can learn how powerful gratitude actually is. Are you willing to give it a try?