‘Tis the season to be thankful! I know 2020 has been a rough year, and it can often be hard to find the silver linings when there’s been so much chaos, sadness, and stress. But I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I honestly believe we CHOOSE our happiness. We can’t always choose what happens to us or the struggles life may throw our way. But what we ARE in control of is how we respond to those situations. Mindset is key, guys, in every aspect of our lives.
If you see that glass as half empty, then it is. If you believe you can’t do something, then you’re absolutely right. This Thanksgiving and holiday season, I want to challenge you to try something for me. I want you to practice gratitude, but not just because it’s “that time of year.” I want you to practice gratitude in a way that carries over past the holidays and spills into your every day life. Why? Because I’m going to share a little secret with you. Being grateful, in everything we do, can reap huge benefits not just in our overall mood, but in helping us reach our goals.
5 Reasons Gratitude Is Important to your Goals (Especially Weight Loss!)
1. Lower stress: When we make the time to stop and express gratitude toward ourselves, others, and the things around us that bring us joy, it automatically starts to have an impact on our mood. When we’re in a better mood, our stress levels actually decrease, and you all know what can happen when you ARE stressed: You’re more likely to mindlessly snack, grab comfort foods, or skip workouts and the things that keep you healthy.
2. Better decision making: Practicing gratitude is an art, and I’m not saying it comes easily. But it WILL get easier the more you do it. When you make a conscious effort to look at things through rose colored glasses and appreciate your blessings, you’ll start to notice a big difference between how you feel and how you act when you’re feeling grateful and when you’re feeling stressed. Just like with anything, when you make one healthy decision, you’re more likely to continue making healthy decisions throughout your day. I recommend starting each day with a grateful heart and repeating out loud some of the things you’re grateful for.
3. More appreciation for what your body can do: Not every workout is going to be amazing, and guys, I’m living proof. I have been struggling to get my butt to the gym lately on a consistent basis. But instead of beating myself up about it, or beating myself down for maybe not lifting as heavy, I’m choosing to celebrate that fact that I showed up, and I’m practicing gratitude in those moments instead of feeling like I could have done better. And you know what? It’s in those moments of celebration that we develop positive habits of self-talk and internal motivation, and it pushes us to be that much more likely to continue showing up day in and day out.
4. More motivation: When we stick to this pattern of appreciating our selves, our efforts, and those around us, and when we start to feel less stressed and more uplifted every single day, we’re going to feel motivated. This means we’re much more likely to continue setting more goals to help us continue down the path of self-improvement. It’s easy to feel excited about something when you’re motivated, right? Half the battle of getting to that point is to just appreciate how hard you’ve worked and all the things you’re capable of achieving.
5. Improved Sleep: If none of these reasons have motivated you yet, let sleep be the one that cinches the deal! When our mood is improved and we’re feeling confident and good about the actions we’re taking every day, our sleep will automatically start to fall into place (as long as you’re putting down those phones before bed, guys!).
There you have it. Gratitude is more than just saying you’re thankful for something. It’s about showing up every single day, making a conscious effort to choose happiness over despair, and seeing the silver lining in your playbooks. 😉 AND being grateful can have some pretty big domino effects when it comes to other aspects of your life too. So, I want to know: What’s something you’re grateful for today?
xo,
Related reading:
Thanksgiving Crafts for the Family: Gratitude Jar for a Grateful Heart
Giving Thanks: Top Fitness Gadgets I’m Grateful For
Powell Pack Workout | Deck of Cards: Thanksgiving Edition
Our 12 Month Transformation, Month Eleven: Gratitude
4 Responses
I love your blog and I love watching your family. My oldest daughter Brooke was suppose to get married in April and had to change it to September 27. Her fiance passed away September 19. And as he’s passing at the hospital she told us they were 16 weeks pregnant and they were gonna surprise us at the wedding. I pray for my daughter everyday. Ahe amazes me on how strong she is at such a young age! Thank you! Diane Young
I am grateful for my families health, hugging them a little tighter today ??
I’m grateful that you told me about your blog on YouTube. Because today is my first day here. And I was diagnosed with cancer this afternoon. Boy! Did I need to read this! Talk about Divine intervention! I’m going to be fine! Simple surgery in a few weeks and it’ll all be over. In the meantime, I’m extremely grateful that I’ve worked out and eaten healthy all these years. Because I’m not anywhere close to being done with all the things I wanna experience in this lifetime. And if I hadn’t been doing that, I might’ve been planning my funeral now instead of a trip to Hawaii. I seriously have so much to be grateful for! This might take me a while. 🙂
Hi Kim: Thank you so much for your post, and we’re so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. We’re so grateful that surgery will take care of things, and we wish you ALL the best!