5 Tips to Grow an Attitude of Gratitude

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, I am wondering if it is possible to keep the spirit of Thanksgiving going. Thanksgiving is such a special time of year. Families and friends get together, enjoy each other, eat great food and usually create some pretty awesome memories. It is usually a chance to count your blessings (and not your calories) and a chance to be thankful for all you have. I wanted to share some tips on how you can keep the 'Attitude of Gratitude' going even though Thanksgiving is over.

1. Schedule Time
This isn't silly. If taking time to share gratitude and to be grateful is new to you, it will take some time for it to become a habit. So until then, you need to schedule it in. I recommend right before you go to sleep or first thing in the morning. Take 30 seconds to be grateful for just one thing. Big, small, skinny or tall. Put a reminder in your phone or post a note on your mirror in the bathroom, so you see it when you brush your teeth until it becomes a habit and you no longer need to remind yourself.
2. Share your gratitude with others
Think about all the people you just spent Thanksgiving with (or maybe wish you had). Do they know how important they are to you? This doesn't have to be cheesy. In fact, please make sure you are being sincere. There is nothing worse then insincere gratitude. Sometimes a simple 'thank you' is all you need and can go a long way. Creating this positive culture with your friends and family and even co-workers will help to strengthen and deepen your relationships.
3. Become a Yogi Gangster. Say what?
YOGI GANGSTER ; Noun: [yoh-gee- gang-ster]; a person who practices yoga and incorporates his/her spiritual journey into a busy city life. Yogi gangsters are true yogi’s at their center core -but with a kick of bad-ass in them. They love deeply and help balance and ease society when mixed in with the fast pace city living.
Maybe this is you already. If not, do yoga. Aside from the already well known benefits (flexibility, increases strength, improves posture, decreases pain, improves joint flexibility, detoxifies etc) yoga has been associated with quieting the mind, refresh the body and enable overall peace and happiness, relieving stress and sharpening concentration. Yoga is a great way to help clear your mind, which makes room for...you guessed it! Gratitude.
4. Smile
Cuz when your smiling, the whole world smiles with you. Well, maybe not the whole world, but at least the person you smile at. Smiles are contagious, free, make you look younger and actually relieve stress. Even if you are on the phone with someone, if you smile your smile comes though the phone in your voice. I promise. No I am not a genius, but you will be a gratitude genius when you start throwing down some wicked smiles.
5. Write it down
When it is written down, it becomes real. This is a piece of advice I was given years ago and I have never forgotten it. Whether it is a goal or a small gratitude. Everything becomes more real when you write it down. Keep a journal or a an ongoing note in your smartphone. Pick one thing every day (or even every other day) and try writing down one thing you are grateful for throughout an entire month. Check out what a glorious list of things you have created. Gorgeous.
Try one or more of these tips to keep your attitude of gratitude continuing on and make a point of giving thanks every day.
Smiles.
Tara