Gratitude Bumps the Holiday Blues

I Learned to be Grateful During Struggles

November is the month that we are encouraged to express thanksgiving and gratitude for what we have. Giving thanks is pretty hard to do when your life is F*, I mean B* up. I have lived through some pretty rough times when anything that could go wrong did go wrong. It was over a period of several years and a series of life events that I learned the power of gratitude.

I listened to motivational speakers and religious pundits expound on being grateful through your struggles. Well, while in the struggle, gratitude was the last thing that I wanted to express. I was angry, hurt and scared. I could easily show and tell that to anyone who would listen. Only because I was embarrassed about my family’s situation, I kept those feelings to myself.

The challenge was to feel grateful and not just say that I was grateful. For example, I would try the light switch and be thankful that the lights had not been turned off. I would check the phone for a dial tone and be thankful that the phone had not been turned off. I would say a prayerful “thank you” when the car started.

My Challenge

The challenge for me, especially during the holiday season, was to feel grateful. The series of events that caused us to be in dire financial straits also caused my husband and me to re-prioritize our attitudes towards life. We shifted our approach to our family by putting our family first in all actions and decisions. Careers would no longer rule our actions or decisions. I also made my mission “to be the best mommy I could be.”

I realized that it wasn’t the things that money bought that made me feel alive. I felt alive when I experienced life without fear. This included experiencing the love of my husband, children, family and friends. Once I realized and accepted this reality, I experienced a shift. I felt grateful whenever I saw our daughters smile. I felt grateful when we laughed at the dinner table. I felt grateful knowing that although the lights might be off when I got home, our family would be together and work through it all together.

Every day I woke up feeling grateful for the connections in my life.

Your Challenge

Your challenges for the week are in your inbox in The Half Note, the newsletter for “hardworking professionals who want to be happy.” I am doing the challenges as well and will post my progress on Instagram at Happyin30 and on our Happyin30 Facebook page. I encourage you to do the same and share with our community.

Would you like to join the challenge? Subscribe to the Half Note

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