How to be Thankful in Practice

You may have noticed that Thanksgiving is this week.  We are all going to be encouraged to think of things we are thankful for.  But here’s is something to think about: if you are one of those fortunate enough to be having a Thanksgiving dinner of any type on Thursday, and you have the time and energy to be able to sit and think about things that you are thankful for, then you are already doing better than 5/6ths of humanity.  That being said, it seems a bit superficial to make a list of things you are thankful for.  In fact, no one gives a shit what you are thankful for.  

Instead of that empty little exercise in ego-stroking, I challenge you to make a Just for Today list.  A Just for Today list is a list of things you will do just for today (clever, huh?).  No long term commitment, no habits, no subscription fees.  Just.  For.  Today.  The idea is to list things you can do that will show your thankfulness and gratitude through your daily actions.  Enough with the greeting-card platitudes; we need action already!  So, make a list, but make your JFT’s actionable and concrete.  It’s not enough to say you are going to be more thankful.  You need to list a specific action on how you are going to show that thankfulness. 

So, without further adieu, here is my Just for Today list:

• Just for today I will smile more often.
• Just for today I will let people merge in front of me in traffic with no grumbles.
• Just for today I will spend one less hour surfing the Internet and put that time to use reading, writing or meditating.
• Just for today I will eat a healthy breakfast
• Just for today I will skip the caffeine.
• Just for today I will speak with kindness to my coworkers and my family.
• Just for today I will improve my posture in my office chair.
• Just for today I will exercise at least 20 minutes.
• Just for today I will make my bed and straighten my house up before I leave for work.
• Just for today I will quietly do something for someone else without expectation or request.
• Just for today I will listen more and talk less.
• Just for today I will lighten up on the profanities.
• Just for today I will not knowingly read anything I know will upset me.
• Just for today I will go to bed (all electronics off, head on pillow) at least 8 hours before the time my alarm is set for tomorrow morning.

Once you get in the flow, it is easy to think off things to add.  Also, while it may be intimidating to think that you would never be able to do all of the things on your list, that’s the beauty inherent in the system.  I am a notorious slacker or, as my  mother would say, an unmotivated loser, so I prefer a scatter-shot approach.  Maybe I will do all of these things just for today, maybe I won’t.  I know that the more I list the more likely it is that at least some of these items will get done.  It’s a 100% win in my book.

As you go through the week, review your JFT list.  Do it each morning when you roll out of bed.  Add and subtract things if you want.  Just remember to keep the items concrete and pointed toward living a slower, more gracious, more gratitude-filled life.

Okay, you’ve seen mine, now show me yours.  What’s on your Just for Today list?

Related posts:

1. Freeing Yourself One Tiny Step at a Time
2. Are You Lying to Yourself?
3. Embracing Exhaustion

Tagged as: gratitude, just for today