Tis the Season for Gratitude:
By Debbie Potts
As a trainer and health coach, I am always talking about how not to gain weight during the holiday season. The usual advice of avoiding the urge to over-eat, over-consume sugar, skip sleep, and over-stress is repeated on a regular basis. In fact, beginning November 24th thru December 1st, my studio hosts a Calorie Crushing Contest to keep health top of mind. Lets face it, we all need a little extra help this time of year. But for this article and for my clients, I want to remind us of something we have access to every day that inspires health. And that is gratitude.
Over the years, my meaning of the holiday season has shifted. Where it could be seen as a marathon of gift giving, holiday parties, and dazzling displays, it’s also a time to reflect on what we are thankful for. Instead of identifying the wealth of our life by how much money we spend on gifts, what about mining the riches we already have by focusing on gratitude.
First, lets look at the definition of gratitude. Here is what google had to say:
Gratitude: The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
The Benefits of Gratitude
“Gratitude is an emotion expressing appreciation for what one has—as opposed to, for example, a consumer-driven emphasis on what one wants. Studies show that we can deliberately cultivate gratitude, and can increase our well-being and happiness by doing so. In addition, gratefulness—and especially expression of it to others—is associated with increased energy, optimism, and empathy.” https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/gratitude
What Is Gratitude?
“Robert Emmons writes, “It’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we’ve received.” In the second part of gratitude, he explains, “we recognize that the sources of this goodness are outside of ourselves. … We acknowledge that other people—or even higher powers, if you’re of a spiritual mindset—gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives.” http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/gratitude/definition
The key to happiness is gratitude and gratitude is about being thankful for what you have right now. Today. Too many of us are looking outside of ourselves to cultivate happiness when, in reality, it’s an inside job. To create more happiness, acknowledge what is going well and take the time to celebrate them. When we do this, when we focus on the gifts we already have, we bring more happiness to ourselves and others. It’s been said before, what we focus on expands. It couldn’t be truer with happiness and positivity. The art of gratitude is a great doorway in.
Here is your first step: Take a moment right now to make a list of five things that are going well for you in your life right now. What did you write or say?
Next step: Homework for you. Start to do this by yourself or with a loved one for the next 40 days.
Daily Gratitude Session. Take 3-5 minutes to give thanks. Say them to yourself or spouse or write it down in a journal or even on your phone notes. Do this in the morning or evening. Better yet, start AND end the day with gratitude. Commit to yourself and the practice for 40 days. You will be amazed by the amount of happiness and joy that can rise to the surface when you are intentional on seeing the everyday miracles in life.
So, if you want more happiness in your life, try this “exercise”. You will feel more energetic when you wake up and sleep more soundly at night and your health will improve as well!
This is the season for gratitude. Lets make the season last 365 days!
Happy Holidays!
Debbie Potts
NASM CPT, MET, USAT & CHEK HLC
Fitness Forward Studio
118 105th Ave NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
Learn how to become a fat burning machine!
