The #1 indicator of happiness



The weather outside is turning colder and the winter blues can set in. I personally am not a big fan of the cold weather. The holidays are coming ready or not, and this too can put a lot of stress on us. Thanksgiving is upon us and its a great time to set our mindset for the upcoming season. I love the theme of this holiday, because giving thanks and being grateful are a key component to happiness.
If we really stop and think about all the things we are truly grateful for, we will realize that what we have is enough. Even the small little things that we typically take for granted. Instead of a life focused on what we don’t have, keeping up with the Jones’ (or Stein’s), and comparing our lives to everyone else (Facebook junkie), we can learn to focus and appreciate what we do have, not what we think we need.

“If we are not grateful with what we already have, what makes us think we will be happy with more?”

Most of you reading this truly have enough. We are in a free country (thinking about this more and more lately) without constant threats. We live in a beautiful area, have wonderful kids (for the most part :), and have good food to put on the table (hopefully organic and grass fed 🙂 Let’s focus on what we do have and be thankful for that! Your kids will model this behavior and you will also cultivate an attitude of gratitude with them too! I always ask my son (the one that is not a full grown teenager yet) what he is grateful for. Even if the answer is fantasy football, he is learning to appreciate what he has!

Thanksgiving is also a great chance to be mindful! Cook and eat mindfully. Slow down and savor every bite, (this will also help with overeating). Enjoy your family and listen to them mindfully by giving them your full attention. Appreciate that you are all together even if there is some tension or discourse. Take yourself out of the stress mode and into the appreciation mode by taking a minute to look around and see the abundance that you have in your life. Lastly, send some loving kindness out to the world. There are so many others not as fortunate as us who need our good wishes, and don’t have as much to be grateful for.

Wishing you a healthy and happy Thanksgiving!