Attitude of Gratitude?

When I heard about the North Carolina man who recently won $100,000 off a scratch-off ticket two weeks after winning $5,000 off of a different scratch-off ticket, I couldn’t help but wonder what it must have felt like to win so big, to hit two jackpots so close together.

I began to imagine what I’d do if I won a jackpot like that, or even a bigger one.

First, I would be responsible and generous, paying off debt and giving in love and with love. Then, I would have some fun.

I began to let my mind wander into the details of such fun spending when I got distracted by my cat jumping up on the sofa with me. He brought me back to the moment I was actually in, to the very comfortable sofa I was sitting on in the really amazing house that I live in with my miracle of a son.

And I couldn’t help but think, “Jackpot!”

While I was busy spending my imaginary fortune, I was completely overlooking the richness that surrounds me every day.

It’s easy enough to do. I sometimes get caught up thinking about what I don’t have rather than what I do have, taking for granted and not consciously appreciating all the good that makes up my life.

In the past, when I noticed my thoughts taking such a turn, I would “count my blessings” or start a gratitude list, and soon I would begin to feel…bored.

Yeah, not at all what I was going for.

For whatever reason, those practices just don’t work for me. I’ve had to find other ways to express my gratitude, and thinking “Jackpot!” was something that felt fun to try—and it was.

At first, I only thought “Jackpot!” when something amazing happened—when the sunset was especially beautiful, when I got an unexpected check in the mail, when a friend I hadn’t heard from in a long time reached out.

The feeling of gratitude began to become a habit, though, and soon I was thinking “Jackpot!” for the everyday good that I had never celebrated before—a full tank of gas, a dishwasher that worked when I turned it on, a person smiling back at me in the parking lot.

As I thought “Jackpot!” more and more often, the feeling of gratitude grew, and I began to see and feel the harmony of the universe in a new way.

It became easy to appreciate everything and everyone in my life because I’d begun to realize that simply being alive is like hitting the jackpot and that everything beyond that is a bonus.

Research consistently shows that feeling and expressing gratitude is associated with greater happiness, improved health, and more positive emotions (https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier).

I have found this to be true, and I encourage you this week to run your own experiment to see how feeling and expressing gratitude can positively affect you.

Whether it’s a gratitude list, writing thank you letters to people you appreciate, or thinking or saying “Jackpot!,” find a way that works for you to unlock the power of gratitude.