Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow we celebrate Thanksgiving here in the US.  It’s a time to slow down, reflect and give thanks for our blessings throughout the year.  Often it’s a time of gathering with family and friends to enjoy a meal together.

You may be wondering why I’m explaining this? 

Well, I was remembering when I lived in Australia my friends had me teach them what the holiday is about because they don’t have Thanksgiving as a holiday there. I remember being so excited to share a bit of my culture with them. It was also a time I realized the importance of reflection and gratitude in my personal life.

At that stage in my life I lived pretty fast paced. I was always on the go, looking ahead for the next thing to be involved in. That wasn’t a bad thing, but I realize I didn’t often slow down to reflect.  

“An unreflected experience is a lost experience.”

-Socrates 

This is a quote I learned while in Australia and boy does it ring true for me.  Whether my experiences are ones of failure or success, if I don’t take time to reflect I don’t learn and grow from the experience and often I forget the experience.

It is also my tendency to only remember the negative aspects of experiences. This is something I continuously have to work against. 

I know I’m not alone in this, as research has shown negative events stimulate more activity in the emotion-processing sections of the brain potentially as a way to protect us from future negative events. Which means, we are all more likely to remember specific details linked to these negative experiences.

So how can we combat having so many of our memories be negative experiences?  How do we remember more of the positive times too?

We must intentionally create time to express gratitude and reflect on the present moments of life.

“Live with gratitude. The more thankful you are, the more present you become.”

-Unknown

I've seen studies that say it takes anywhere from 3 to 7 positive experiences to out way 1 negative experience.  That being said, it is crucial that we slow down enough to reflect on things we appreciate, to see the positives of life, and remember what we’re grateful for.

I encourage you to pause right now and write down 1 - 3 things you are grateful for from today or even this week. May I also challenge you to create a new habit each evening to reflect on 1 positive experience from your day and together we can watch our outlook on life change.

Today I am grateful for You!!

I want to thank you for staying connected with me here in this space. Connection and community are of great value to me and I’m so very grateful to have you as part of my life.

With you and for you,