What If You Wrote One Thank You Each Day?

Thanks Giving.

Fact: It is celebrated as a national holiday in nine countries around the world.

I personally think it should be celebrated all over the world because the truth is; we all have something to be grateful for.

From waking up in the morning to having clothes on our back never mind that they are not designer the fact that we even have them in the first place should be something to be grateful for.

We often take the normal things that we have for granted. We are so used to having them that we forget that they are gifted to us.

Take life for instance. It has been said time and again that life is a gift. Most of us underestimate the truth of this statement.

Unless you somehow gave birth to yourself or engineered your existence on this earth then you will agree with me that life is indeed a gift.

Before I continue let me just say that I got the idea for this post from my pastor one Sunday when he gave a sermon on the attitude of gratitude.

I do not remember the last time I sat in church and actually paid attention from the beginning to the end of a sermon. This particular one had been the first in a while.

It was a simple sermon, short and straight to the point. He had one message and he brought it home. A child could have easily grasped what was being taught.

I remember going home that day and deciding that my whole week would be dedicated to giving thanks. I started with very basic things, from my family, to the meals I had, the clothes on my back, the roof over my head and having a bed to lie on.

These are the little things that I take for granted every single day forgetting that there are so many people out there who do not have some of these things. Heck some don’t even have any of these things.

For instance, there are so many people on this planet that cannot explain how they came to being. They neither have families nor do they have proof that they ever did. Some lost their families to accidents and such; some were disowned while others had to leave their families for one reason or the other.

I have seen so many videos of people in my country dying of hunger, I have met people, children even sleeping out in the cold because they do not have place to call home.

I know you have had a child walk up to you and tell you to give him/her money for food or just the left over fries you were eating.

How many times have you been asked to donate some of your old clothes or shoes to an orphanage simply because these children are not able to afford new clothes?

And these are just the basics.

The Attitude of Gratitude is more than being able to say thanks. That is just the beginning. The attitude of gratitude in my opinion is about having positive mindset.

It is about finding something to be grateful for even when you are at your lowest. It is about being able to see the good in even the ‘worst’ of people and appreciating that.

Like I mentioned, this was going to be a short post mostly because these are the things that were at the top of my head and also because I was not reading anything on the same at the time I wrote this.

I however sourced out a few books on the attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving. You guys might want to check them out.

1. Grateful Leadership: Using the Power of Acknowledgment to Engage All Your People and Achieve Superior Results by Judy W. Umlas

She wrote an article on the ‘Workingwoman’ Magazine entitled ‘How not To Talk To A Pregnant Businesswoman’ and it was a hit.
“I have also witnessed the power of acknowledgements- How it changes lives, moods and self-perception of both the giver and the recipient virtually every time it is practiced.” She simply talks about the importance acknowledging what others do for you never mind how small it is.

2. Choosing Gratitude: Nancy Leigh De Moss

In her book, Nancy reminds us about the verses in the Bible that talk about Gratitude. Romans chapter 1 talks about how a nation was brought down for being thankless, Ephesians and  1 Thessalonians remind us to always give thanks to God the father for everything and so many more.
You see the thing is, it is not only the Bible that talks about gratitude. I am almost 100% sure that other religious books speak of the same.
Nancy is a quadriplegic so she has to have things done for her and with that she has programmed herself to always be grateful.

If she is able to have an attitude of gratitude in her state then why can’t you?

3. The Secret Gratitude Book: Rhonda Byrne

This one is one of those books that will keep you hooked from the beginning to the end. From the way it is presented to the way it is written and don’t even get me started on the message.
The part I like most from what I’ve read so far is the part about the law of attraction. John C. Maxwell talks about it in The 21 Irrefutable laws of power and so does Rhonda Byrne.
“Gratitude attracts like energy of gratitude to it, so as you are feeling grateful you are powerfully bringing like forces of energy to you…”

4. 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life – John Kralic

Just because I found this one really touching.  Very many people go through what this man went through but very few can summon the strength and discipline to do what he did. Negativity always brews negative results but being positive does the exact opposite.

He stopped focusing on the negativity in his life and started being positive and he did this in a very simple way, just writing thank you notes to people, for 365 days!
A simple gesture goes along way.

5. Gratitude: Oliver Sacks

“My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved. I have been given much and I have given something in return. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.”–Oliver Sacks
Can you honestly say the same thing? Can you stand and affirm that yours is a feeling of gratitude and that that is how you live your life?
There are so many more books written about this subject and this just goes to show how important and powerful gratitude is. I am working towards adopting an attitude of gratitude and you should too.
Whether you will write 365 thank you notes or just simply start saying thank you to anyone who does even the slightest bit of good to you, do it.
Be grateful!