Thanksgiving

At the risk of sounding trite, my topic of the day is thanksgiving. No, that's not supposed to be capitalized. We all know about the holiday, I'm talking about thanksgiving the verb.

The way we feel everyday is a habit. Do you wake up joyful or crabby? Why? It's not that you're broke, it's not the endless chores associated with toddlers, it's not your job. These things do contribute to your happiness, but only to a certain degree. Obviously, it's hard to be happy if you're living in a box and it's snowing and you haven't eaten in three days. But as long as your basic needs are met, how you feel is a choice. Feeling crabby and angry is a bad habit, just like smoking. And just like smoking, it's really, really hard to stop. But just like smoking, it will eventually kill you. Stress is a leading killer in our society, so no, I am not just being dramatic!

And how do we choose how we feel? I think a wonderful exercise involves gratitude. Everytime you find yourself getting down about something, just take a minute and be grateful. Are you incredibly frustrated because your son drew on the wall with a marker? Breathe. Take a minute and give some thanks that you have such a wonderful son, that he's artistic and energetic. One in 110 children is autistic. Be grateful that's not him. Are you depressed because your paycheck is spent less than a day after you get it and yet you still need new tires? Give a little thanks that you aren't one of the nearly 15% of Americans living below the poverty line. That's like 18k a year, people! We don't need to get into specifics, but we have a lot more than that and I still can't seem to keep our budget on track!

Now this doesn't mean don't try and improve the other areas in your life. Look for the better job, try for the raise! But if you can't be happy now, chances are you won't be happy then, either.