Gratitude is an emotion. It's how you feel when you're thankful for something. Think right now about something that you're thankful for. It can be small like the socks on your feet or it can be larger like the roof over your head, your job, your family or your life. Gratitude is also an awareness or recognition. When you express or feel gratitude, you're acknowledging that there is good in your life, in you, in the world and all around you. With the way things are in the world right now, we can all use acknowledge of something good! Feeling grateful changes how you feel inside. It is an easy way to reduce stress in your life. It's easy to let the negative thoughts, words, situations, events, and actions in the world take over your heart and mind. Many in society seem to focus on the negative; we know the media does. It's on the news, in magazines and newspapers, and it may be the general tone of the conversations you encounter during the day. Yet, the simple emotion and expression of gratitude diminishes all of that negativity in a powerful way. Over the past ten to twenty years, many disciplines have conducted studies on the impact of gratitude. What they've found is nothing short of amazing. People who practice gratitude have found: - They're happier. It increases feelings of optimism, joy, and satisfaction. - Have less anxiety and depression. - It's good for your health. Studies have shown that a gratitude practice strengthens the immune system, lowers blood pressure, and reduces symptoms of illness. - Get more sleep. - Recover more quickly from challenges and even from traumatic events. - Have stronger relationships. - Stronger connections. People feel more connected to their community. Gratitude changes your perspective on the life that you've been given. When you have gratitude in your life you: - Feel less victimized by others or by life. Blaming no longer exists. Rather than look at what you lost or what you don't have, you're able to re-frame situations and move forward focusing on what you can do and what you have. - Have a more open heart. Gratitude helps you become more compassionate and empathetic. You'll be able to connect with people even if you don't think you have much in common with them. It's a more rewarding way to live. - Glass half-full approach. With gratitude you'll be able to recognize and appreciate what you have rather than what you don't. As you begin to become aware of what is good and positive in your life, what is good and positive will grow. - Attract more gratitude and happiness. It's often found that people attract experiences and people based on what they expect. If you focus on and expect good things to happen, more good may show up. The bottom line is that people who practice gratitude reportedly have a better quality of life. However, this is one of those things in life that you have to experience for yourself before you will be able to fully believe it and before you'll embrace it into your life. We help you do this with our coloring pages and pages to write in our updated journal for 2017.
About the Author: I grew up in Central Minnesota, where my parents owned and operated a fishing resort. Once out of high school I tried a couple of semesters of college, only to quit halfway through the Spring term; I decided at that time that college wasn't for me. Then I decided to follow my father's previous occupation as an auto mechanic. I graduated from a two-year of vocational training course and worked as a mechanic for five years. While in vocational training, I decided to join the National Guard where I eventually ended up working full-time for 32 years. So how does all of this relate to writing? In one of my leadership schools, the instructor, who was an English teacher at a juvenile detention center, presented writing to me in a whole new way - a way that started to develop my interest in working with words. I eventually went back to college on the GI Bill while I was working and earned my Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. Taking a class or two per semester at night and on weekends took me seven years to complete my degree. Fast forward about 40 years and I now have published over 100 books on Amazon for Kindle, CreateSpace and other publishing platforms. Besides my own writing, I also ghostwrite ebooks, books, reports, articles, blogs and do Kindle conversions for clients on a variety of topics. Today my wife and I are retired from our careers and live in Gold Canyon, AZ. I now write as a retirement business where you'll find me happily sitting in my office typing away on my laptop as I work on my next book or ghostwriting project . . . that is if we are not traveling on a cruise ship - our new-found mode of travel.