Life Coaching Articles: Practicing Thankfulness with 6 Easy Questions

Being that there are only just over a couple dozen hours left in 2012, I felt it appropriate to write today’s life coaching article about thankfulness. I think we all have a lot to be thankful for and many people to thank for the goodness we have in our lives. Our lives may not be perfect, maybe we should be thankful for that too. I guess it has to do with each of our perceptions. Well, moving on, the definitio
I’ll use for thankfulness, is the important choice to recognize what we have, and appreciate its source. To practice thankfulness, I have put together 6 questions to help us identify the perceptions we have of thankfulness in our lives.

1. On an average day or week, how often are you consciously thankful for what you have? How do you do to show it?

2. How often, in any given day, do you say the words, “Thank you,” to someone else – no matter who it is? a) Very often, b) Now and then, or c) Almost never. Why?

3. Is there anything that you are genuinely thankful for, but have put off saying “thank you” to someone?

4. Do you typically “count your blessings” each day before you go to sleep at night? Why or Why Not?

5. If it were your last day on earth, and you had the time and the place to list everything that you are thankful for, what kinds of things would you write on your list?

6. If you could, starting now, do something new or different to show your thankfulness in a better way, what would you do?

These six questions should help you get a good picture of how you are currently practicing being thankful.

How Can We Practice Thankfulness?

To practice thankfulness, there are a few easy actions we can begin take. We can practice by saying “thank you,” every chance we get! For big things and small things, no matter where we are or who we’re with. Practice saying “thank you.” We can also make a list of everyone who we should thank, that we haven’t thanked recently – and then start thanking them. E-mail works. Phone calls work. Letters and “Thank You” cards still work. And saying “thank you” in person works too.

What if when we do that, people start to worry about us or wonder what’s going on with us? I would simply tell them, “I was just thinking about you, and you I wanted to say, Thank You!”

Final Thoughts

In past years, and especially this year, I know I have more happenings to be thankful for tha
I can remember. Living in New Jersey and going through that hurricane left me very thankful to not have been that severely impacted. I think that if some of my property was damaged, at least my home was not. If my home had been, then at least I am still alive. We all have to be thankful for at least that – to be alive and have the opportunity to live the best way we can.

Thanks to all of you, and have a Happy New Year!