Do You Have an Attitude of Gratitude?

“Mind your attitude, young lady. If it’s not an attitude of gratitude it’ll trip you up every time.” - The Colonel

There’s an ancient Persian proverb that says, “I cursed the fact I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet.” I spend a lot of time talking about the importance of a positive attitude and how Dad made it imperative in our household. The reality is that a solid attitude has to be about more than just positivity. It also has to be heavily steeped in gratitude.

While there is a plethora of research on the physical, psychological, and emotional benefits of gratitude, I don’t believe Dad had read any of it. This is something The Colonel just knew instinctively. Being consistently grateful helps you enjoy the good moments in your life and gives you the strength to deal with the bad moments. It helps you build stronger relationships and maintain positivity in a negative situation. No one’s life is perfect. We all understand what a difficult year 2020 continues to be, and yet there is always something to be grateful for. Everyone has to deal with adversity, complaints, burdens, betrayals, and obstacles. Still, when we discipline ourselves to look through a lens of gratitude consistently, we are more able to see the flickers of goodness in our lives. Furthermore, focusing on gratitude allows us to recognize the large and small gifts we have been given by our parents, our friends, our neighbors, our employers, and our Creator. It helps us maintain a necessary humility.

When I was at a particularly dark moment in my life and aggressively rebuffing any attempts to paint a silver lining for me, The Colonel gave me an assignment. It had been many years since Dad had issued me an “order,” but some obedience habits never change. Dad’s task was to begin a gratitude journal. “Go get yourself a spiral notebook and, for the next month, every night before you go to bed, write down three things you’re grateful for. No dittos, kid. Each night has to be unique.” I will admit, initially it was a struggle, and I didn’t always manage three. There were some days during that first month that the best I could possibly write was, “At the end of this immeasurably horrific day, I am grateful that I’m still alive.” But being disciplined in carrying out Dad’s assignment (which I have continued off and on since) allowed me to see how very blessed I really was and begin to find the glimmers of hope in what I had previously perceived as a hopeless situation.

Finally, I believe an attitude of gratitude allows us the emotional space to give to others. Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, most commonly known as Mother Teresa, often talked about how grateful she was to the sick and dying in the slums of Calcutta. She said being grateful to those unfortunate people God had placed in her path allowed her to deepen her faith and give more to them than she ever thought possible.

What would happen in your world if you focused on being grateful? What if you accepted The Colonel's challenge to maintain a grateful journal? When we are thankful for what we have been given, we are more willing to give to others, and that is a path to significance.

Published originally in Colonels of Wisdom Vol 2 – A Daughters Reflection on Significance(Available Here)