I think the key to a happy life, is making the decision to be happy. Happiness is a choice. Positivity is a choice. I believe the key to both is gratitude, and being grateful is a choice as well. Some reading this may be thinking that being grateful is easier said than done. Initially, that certainly can be the case, but over time, and with practice, it becomes easier and easier until it is a natural thread woven in the tapestry of your life.
Some characteristics come natural, no doubt. While other characteristics, require a deliberate decision and persistent discipline. Much to the credit of my Mother and Father, I believe I have a positive attitude and an attitude of gratitude naturally within me, but I learned early on that I am happier and find it easier to be positive when I first focus on having gratitude. Here are a few tips I've implemented in my life that help me in this endeavor.
🙏Pray: Begin your day with prayer and end your day with prayer. Pray over your meals. Have a prayer in your heart throughout the day. Generally speaking, make the bulk of your prayers a recounting of the blessings you've received in your day and your life. Of course, there are times in your life wherein you spend your spiritual energy pleading with God for the things you need, but with regards to your regular daily correspondence with God, share with Him how grateful you are for all the wonderful things He's given you. E. Yoshihiko Kikuchi once counseled me to pray often, and if I ever find myself "not in the mood" to pray, pray anyways and begin by listing every possible blessing in my life. He promised me that if I did this, I would find myself filled with the spirit and desire to speak to Heavenly Father would be increased. I have practiced this ever since.
💯Count Your Blessings: This is paramount. I practice this in my daily life in several ways. First and foremost, since I was a youth of 18, I have been an avid journal writer. I ended every journal entry with a simple statement of something that I was thankful for. This caused me to end most days in thought of which of my many blessings I wanted to acknowledge and record that day. When you take the time to consider how you are blessed, you will find you are blessed more and more every day. Are you though? Does something magically change that brings you more blessings? No. The blessings were always there, but you've chosen to focus on them, making them your dominant thought.
🙈🙉🙊Discipline Your Thoughts: Mental mastery can be a difficult thing. The hardest part is recognizing the bad habit of negative thought or an attitude of ingratitude. Our mental frame of mind is always spiraling upwards or downwards; it rarely stands still, but is usually getting better or worse. If we can make it a habit to identify when we are ungrateful, negative or sitting on the pity pot, we can then stop ourselves with a simple inner conversation. Do not allow yourself to wallow in a miserable state of "woe is me", for it only gets worse. The moment you realize you might be slipping backwards, mentally stop yourself, turn yourself around and change your frame of mind.
💖Find happiness in what you have: Our world and society create a spirit of ungratefulness as we are bombarded with imagery and marketing that constantly tells us we are not good enough, we don't have enough, someone is better or someone has more. These messages and thoughts do not come from a loving Father in heaven, but rather from the natural man, which is the enemy of God. Rather than concerning yourself with what others may think or have, or comparing yourself to others, set your sights on personal goals that will bring those that are most important in your life. For me, for instance, I try to live my life so that I'm happy, my wife is happy, my Mother is happy and my Heavenly Father is happy with the choices I make. I know several people who seem to have it all...except true joy and happiness. A spirit of gratitude makes what you have, regardless of what you have, enough.
🍗Celebrate Thanksgiving: I love this time of year. Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year and not because of family, food or football. I love the spirit of gratefulness. I truly believe the more I express my gratitude to He who gives me everything, that He will reward that gratitude with more blessings bestowed upon me. What a wonderful concept to dedicate a whole day, a week or a month specifically to expressing our thanks! My family gets excited every November 1st as we bust out the Sharpie marker and take turns writing on our "Gratitude Pumpkin" those things we are grateful for. As we regularly express gratitude, it reinforces the positive habit that can carry on throughout the other 11 months of the year.
As you begin your journey to thankfulness, you will at times step backwards, but a quick recounting of the good in your life and a renewed effort to count your blessings, eliminate negative thoughts and seek prayerful support for your efforts, it will become easier. I'm sure we all know someone that seems to always be positive and lives their life with an attitude of gratitude. They certainly have hard times, experience trials or encounter set backs...they are not immune to these things, but they've made a choice to not let those trials, hard times or set backs deter them from a happy and grateful life. Surround yourself with those type of people and you will find it easier to be the same.
The prophet of my church, Russell M Nelson extended a challenge to the world to begin the journey towards a life of gratitude and happiness, and the key to this was simply to decide to be grateful and to share publicly that which you are grateful for. Listen to his message below and accept the challenge. He is a man of God and promises you great blessings as you do so. I know from my life that the habit of counting and sharing that which you are blessed with will result in increased blessings. I have been trying to avoid social media lately so I haven't participated in this challenge online, but I have renewed my commitment to continue this practice in my life and to teach my children to do so. I promise you this, if you can make thankfulness a focus in your life, you will be happier, you will have more and you will be a magnet of positivity and love.
