Everybody goes through seasons of life. Some seasons are great, and some are difficult. Through it all, however, we get to decide how we react. It’s always our choice.
Do we persevere through our challenges? Do we choose gratitude? Do we choose happiness?
Some of the most admired people in the world had to endure tremendous hardship for a season of their life, or, in some cases, the majority of their adult life.
- Nelson Mandela served 27 years in prison. Imagine the mental battle of 27 years in prison, and the choices he had to make in order to persevere. Was it hard at times? You bet. But he used the time to develop his mind and character.
- Martin Luther King was arrested 26 times, and that only scratches the surface of the challenges he and many others had to endure in the fight for equality.
- Mahatma Ghandi was sentenced to six years in prison after organizing a non-violent protest that turned violent. Ghandi was horrified by the violence, yet served his sentence and continued to inspire his people and his movement.
- Hellen Keller learned to appreciate so much of life, and accomplish more than most, despite not being able to see or hear from the age of two.
- Lance Armstrong launched the Livestrong movement after battling cancer.
- Walt Disney endured failure time after time early in his career before finally achieving breakthrough.
The list can go on and on. And you might ask, what does this have to do with gratitude?
A lot.
As we face the challenges that life can bring our way, we need to make a choice about how we’re going to react. If we aren’t able to keep hope, accept what is, and experience gratitude, it’s hard to move forward.
We can’t always know what the current season of life is going to provide for us later on.
I encourage you to find Gratitude no matter where you are on your life’s journey.
The gratitude jar is a stunningly simple exercise that can have profound effects on your wellbeing and outlook. It only requires a few ingredients: a jar (a box can also work); a ribbon, stickers, glitter, or whatever else you like to decorate the jar; paper and a pen or pencil for writing your gratitude notes; and gratitude!
Step 1: Find a jar or box.
Step 2: Decorate the jar however you wish. You can tie a ribbon around the jar’s neck, put stickers on the sides, use clear glue and glitter to make it sparkle, paint it, keep it simple, or do whatever else you can think of to make it a pleasing sight.
Step 3: This is the most important step, which will be repeated every day. Think of at least three things throughout your day that you are grateful for. It can be something as benign as a coffee at your favorite place, or as grand as the love of your significant other or dear friend. Do this every day, write down what you are grateful for on little slips of paper and fill the jar.
Over time, you will find that you have a jar full of a myriad of reasons to be thankful for what you have and enjoy the life you are living. It also will cultivate a practice of expressing thanks.
If you are ever feeling especially down and need a quick pick-me-up, take a few notes out of the jar to remind yourself of who, and what, is good in your life. You will find once you get back in the energy of gratitude it’s hard to stay down.
