Exercising the Gratitude Muscle

Exercising the gratitude muscle is no different from jogging, running, or doing cardio.

Open your eyes to the positive things happening in your life. Photo by Sven Mieke on Unsplash.

I had read many articles motivating their readers to give thanks daily, but it wasn’t until July 2019 that I began doing so. It’s not rocket science or anything. All you need to start exercising the gratitude muscle is pen and paper. I like to do it first thing in the morning when the house is really quiet and the world is still yawning. No two days are alike. Some days I’ll sit at the table for 10 minutes, some days I’ll sit for two. Sometimes I’ll fill 2 pages with stuff I’m grateful for, while other times I’ll just write 1 or 2 lines.  

The best thing about exercising your gratitude muscle is that you’ll open your eyes to all the good things happening around you, including the ones that you think of as bad, but are blessings in disguise. It’ll also help you realize how important are the “little” things, like friends and family, and how fleeting are the “important” things, such as work and earthly possessions.

If it helps, below you’ll find a list of some of the things I’ve given thanks for:

·         Thank you for this day, filled with endless possibilities.

·         Thank you for my health and the health of my family.

·         Thank you for my wife.

·         Thank you for my children.

·         Thank you for my parents' well-being.

·         Thank you for my relatives' well-being.

·         Thank you for my daughter stopping by to share a piece of the cake she baked.

·         Thank you for the phone call I got from a friend I had lost contact with.

·         Thank you because I can tie my shoelaces.

·         Thank you because I can drive everywhere, day or night.

·         Thank you for that flat tire that kept me from running into an accident.

·         Thank you because I’m always willing to learn new things.

·         Thank you for the phone conversations with my mom.

·         Thank you for all the messages I get on my birthday.

·         Thank you because a friend of mine overcame an illness or a financial rough patch.

·         Thank you for my friends' well-being.

·         Thank you for my nice sense of humor.

·         Thank you for the rain.

·         Thank you for the sun.

·         Thank you for my neighbors.

·         Thank you for allowing me to share, whatever little I have, with the less fortunate.

·         Thank you because I watch what I eat.

·         Thank you because my kidneys work like a charm.

·         Thank you for a most productive day.

·         Thank you for the respect I treat others with.

·         Thank you because I get to share the gift of laughter with friends and family, every day.

Good luck with exercising your gratitude muscle! ☼

Alex Guerrero is an aspiring content creator who lives in Lawrence, KS. He’s very vocal in his displeasure over pineapple pizza. Chocolate, on the other hand, makes everything better!