King Arthur had a lot to be grateful for, didn't he? Born of noble blood, his parents sent him to live a pauper's life to save his own and, when the time was right, he pulled his sword, Excalibur, from the stone and became King. All during his reign he appreciated his life, his friends, and the gifts he was given. When he was betrayed by what he held as sacred, he discarded his grateful attitude (along with Excalibur) and his Kingdom went into the "crapper" (that's a technical term). His subjects would murmur, "The King without a sword, the Kingdom without a King." Such is the way for all of us when we discard our swords of gratitude - "YOU without an attitude of gratitude, your life without a purpose." Being thankful for all the blessings in your life will not only make you happier, it will make you a better person to be around and research shows that it will help you live longer as well! To help cultivate an "attitude of gratitude" and keep your sword close, try these simple strategies:.
Keep a Gratitude Journal
When you wake up or right before you go to bed (or both), take a few minutes to jot down the things you are thankful for that day - big or small, every little bit of concentrated effort in focus on the positive will do marvelous things for your disposition. Even the darkest cloud can have a silver lining if you look deep enough.
Pass it Forward
Do something nice for another and expect NOTHING in return (especially if you are having a particularly difficult day-it will lift your spirits). My wife enjoys cruising through the coffee shop drive-through twice a week on her way to work. Occasionally, she will purchase the coffee for the person in the car behind her. This not only surprises the receiver of the free coffee, but the cashier, too.
Convert
There are two types of people - carriers and converters. Carriers carry every negative thing that happens to them around like a disease and try to pass it along to you. If their day is going really bad, they want yours to be just as bad. The carrier isn't happy unless you can truly understand his misery and that can't happen unless you are as miserable as he is. To maintain your attitude of gratitude, you need to surround yourself with converters. Converters take the bad and make it good. It makes no difference if they woke up to four flat tires, explosive diarrhea, or an eviction notice; a converter has a smile on his face and tries to lighten the load of those around them. Surround yourself with converters and work to be a converter yourself - then watch the atmosphere around you change!
Maintaining your thankful attitude isn't always easy because, let's face it, there are days that each of us wants to scream, "do over!" If it were only that easy! But those days can go much smoother if your attitude sword is sharp, clean, and on your side. To keep it that way and feeling like a King (or Queen) every day, try to work the strategies I suggested into your daily routine - the more you practice the easier it will be to wield the sword of gratitude.
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