Thanksgiving: Count Your Blessings, Not Your Calories!
Are you dreading the Holiday season due to the amount of stress you’ll feel, whether it be in regards to money, family, or the colder weather? Whatever your stressors are, take a look at this short but meaningful message!
This Thanksgiving, I urge you to try to put things into perspective a little bit. The Holidays can bring a lot of people joy and warmth, but it can also bring a lot of people feelings of melancholy, nostalgia, depression, and stress. Regardless of what you’re feeling, however, there is never a bad time for expressing gratitude. Being thankful for what you have can help not only yourself, but it also has positive effects on other people around you. Whether you’re acting grateful, radiating positive vibes to those around you, or actually extending a “thank you” to loved ones, friends and even a stranger for a small deed, it truly goes a long way.
Expressing gratefulness also diminishes feelings of sadness and anger. Keeping a gratitude journal that you can wake up to every morning is another good way to remind yourself that life isn’t so bad. When you feel moments of sadness and anger (which is perfectly normal), you should allow yourself to recognize those feelings as it is more harmful to yourself to avoid them, but then allow yourself to move on. Remind yourself that everyone fights their own battles, and your battles are not any harder than your neighbor’s.
In light of the Holidays, enjoy yourself, your family, your family, and ultimately the fact that you get to experience yet another Thanksgiving. Tell your loved ones how much they mean to you or get out and volunteer to help someone who can do nothing for you in return; I can guarantee your stress will slowly diminish as feelings of gratefulness take over.
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” – Thornton Wilder