{"id":5314,"date":"2013-11-28T08:16:32","date_gmt":"2013-11-28T13:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/ourladyofweightloss\/?p=5314"},"modified":"2013-11-28T08:16:32","modified_gmt":"2013-11-28T13:16:32","slug":"gratitude-thanksgiving-side-dish-or-main-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ourladyofweightloss\/2013\/11\/gratitude-thanksgiving-side-dish-or-main-event.html","title":{"rendered":"Gratitude:  Thanksgiving Side Dish or Main Event?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4990\" alt=\"gratitude\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/100\/2013\/07\/gratitude-300x224.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" \/>Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Chanukah, Happy Thanksgiviukkah one and all!!!\u00a0 As Thanksgiving is about giving thanks and expressing gratitude, I thought I&#8217;d reprint a crowd favorite on the benefits of gratitude!<\/p>\n<p>Read, ingest, and think gratitude!<\/p>\n<p><strong>THE HAPPY, HEALTHY and SLIMMING BENEFITS OF GRATITUDE<\/strong><br \/>\nIt is our habit, our way of being, to quickly get accustomed to pleasant circumstances and the positive feelings that accompany those happy happenings.\u00a0 Us human beings\u2013you and me, yup all of us\u2013are wired to seek newness, freshness, novelty.<\/p>\n<p>Think about it.\u00a0 Are we not always on the hunt for change, something better?\u00a0 Do we not get excited about and celebrate new developments in our life, from mental change states (like drippy to energized) to buying a new, shiny car or new home or how about a new outfit that\u2019s slimmin\u2019 and trimmin\u2019?<\/p>\n<p>Truth be told, the enjoyment, happiness, and that great surge or energy that occurs when we buy new clothes, jewelry, land a new job, or get a huge pay raise that allows us to upgrade to a new home; when we move from suffering from an awful cold (or other illness of greater magnitude) to health; even when we lose weight (oh, yes, think about it; if you stayed thrilled, you would not \u201cfind it again\u201d after \u201closing it\u201d); wears off.<\/p>\n<p>Are you with me?\u00a0 Feeling the existential \u201cblah\u201d that follows the \u201cyay?\u201d\u00a0 Seeking the next \u201chigh?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you want to be permanently happy (and I don\u2019t mean happy idiot), then you need have to, MUST practice GRATITUDE.<\/p>\n<p>I so rarely tell people what to do!\u00a0 True that I suggest, I lead them\/coach them to a place of action. But in this case, I\u2019m stepping over that line and telling you that IF you want to be HAPPY, then you MUST Practice GRATITUDE.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Benefits of Practicing Gratitude<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p>1.\u00a0 <strong>APPRECIATE BEING ALIVE.<\/strong>\u00a0 When we practice gratitude, we are less likely to take Being Alive for granted.\u00a0 Right now, I do hope you are having an epiphany, an a-HA moment.\u00a0 Most of the time, most of us are taking Being Alive for granted.<\/p>\n<p>2.\u00a0 <strong>NOT DEPRESSED.<\/strong>\u00a0 Being not depressed is not the same as being happy, nevertheless, practicing gratitude reduces the frequency and duration of depression.\u00a0 People who practice gratitude are less likely to experience envy, covetousness, and bitterness.\u00a0 People who practice gratitude are less likely to focus on what they do not have!<\/p>\n<p>3.\u00a0 <strong>OPEN.<\/strong>\u00a0 When we are feeling grateful, we are open to feeling more joyful, engaged, and carefree, creating a space for mysterious and synchronistic happenings.<\/p>\n<p>4.\u00a0 <strong>RESILIENT.\u00a0<\/strong> People who practice gratitude bounce back more quickly from the inevitable losses and suffering that comes with being human.\u00a0 Those who practice gratitude have created the habit of focusing on what is working in life, as opposed to what is not working; focusing on what they have, as opposed to what they do not have; focusing on what they can do, not on what they cannot do.<\/p>\n<p>5.\u00a0 <strong>OVERFLOWING with SELF-WORTH.<\/strong>\u00a0 Low self-esteem is nothing more than a cognitive falsification of what is.\u00a0 When we practice gratitude, our perspective is far less fuzzy, hazy, imprecise, inaccurate\u2014just plain wrong!\u00a0 Chew on that again, please.\u00a0 Low self-esteem is nothing more than\u2014if you will\u2014misshapen thinking.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing \u201cwrong\u201d with you, me \/ us!\u00a0 You are free to feel good about yourself.<\/p>\n<p>6.\u00a0 <strong>COUNT THE BLESSINGS.<\/strong>\u00a0 When we practice gratitude, we are creating the best habit of all:\u00a0 Habits of Happiness. We acknowledge and are thankful for all that which defines us and makes up our reality.<\/p>\n<p>For more happiness, holiday fun and kooky genius, join <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ourladyofweightloss.com\" target=\"_blank\">Our Lady of Weight Loss<\/a>\u2018s Club:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/30757154492\/\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook\/A Kick in the Tush Club<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>Spread the word\u2013NOT the icing,<\/p>\n<p>Janice Taylor<br \/>\nwise * fun * utterly useful<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"NYU LOGO\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/100\/2013\/11\/NYU-LOGO-150x150.jpg\" width=\"85\" height=\"85\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-<br \/>\nFor the best life, wellness and weight loss wisdom, visit Janice:<br \/>\n<strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ourladyofweightloss.com\" target=\"_blank\">Our Lady of Weight Loss<br \/>\n<\/a><\/em><\/strong>sign up for the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/maildogmanager.com\/surveys\/OurLadyofWeightLoss\/optin1.html\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Kick in the Tush Club<\/em><\/a> e-letter<br \/>\njoin and chat: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/30757154492\/\" target=\"_blank\">Kick in the Tush Club\/Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Chanukah, Happy Thanksgiviukkah one and all!!!\u00a0 As Thanksgiving is about giving thanks and expressing gratitude, I thought I&#8217;d reprint a crowd favorite on the benefits of gratitude! Read, ingest, and think gratitude! THE HAPPY, HEALTHY and SLIMMING BENEFITS OF GRATITUDE It is our habit, our way of being, to quickly get accustomed&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2794,4,1881,2793,1832,2,70,82,1397,213,3,60,978,1488,1,176],"tags":[3863,2809,3820,671,3818,3826,3827,3834,3825,3353,3354,3837],"class_list":["post-5314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-feed-your-soul","category-happiness","category-happiness-coach","category-happiness-tips-2","category-health-tips","category-inspiration","category-janice-taylor","category-kick-in-the-tush-club","category-life-coach-2","category-mental-health","category-motivation","category-our-lady-of-weight-loss","category-the-happiness-diet","category-the-holiday-diet","category-weight-loss","category-weight-loss-coach-2","tag-balanced-life","tag-best-weight-loss-tips","tag-happiness","tag-how-to-lose-weight","tag-inspiration","tag-janice-taylor","tag-kick-in-the-tush-club","tag-mental-health","tag-our-lady-of-weight-loss","tag-thanksgiving-gratitude","tag-the-benefits-of-gratitude","tag-weight-loss-motivation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Gratitude: Thanksgiving Side Dish or Main Event? - Our Lady of Weight Loss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ourladyofweightloss\/2013\/11\/gratitude-thanksgiving-side-dish-or-main-event.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gratitude: Thanksgiving Side Dish or Main Event? - Our Lady of Weight Loss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Chanukah, Happy Thanksgiviukkah one and all!!!\u00a0 As Thanksgiving is about giving thanks and expressing gratitude, I thought I&#8217;d reprint a crowd favorite on the benefits of gratitude! 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