Just a simple one to start the new year:

So really, gratitude is really the secret. 

I was reading another article on neuroscience and happiness. One of the top things that they have found that profoundly impacts a person’s happiness? 

Gratitude.

Gratitude for the big, for the little, and everything else in between. 

This year I want to put a big focus on gratitude in my home.

I find my children are showing less and less gratitude and more and more entitlement. 

Sometimes it shocks me. 

Is it that hard to say thank you? Or text it? Or write a note? Provide a hug, a pat on the back, an acknowledgment of gratitude? A head tilt, eye blink, nose twitch? Something?!?

I used to spend a lot more time expressing gratitude more overtly in my house – especially  by leaving little notes, or big hugs, or words or texts. As the kids have gotten older, and pushed back and away, I have expressed less gratitude to them. 

But if I want to see more gratitude from them, I will have to pave the way by showing more gratitude to them and to others around me.

Hopefully it will rub off.

If not, then I know they read this so: yes, I’m talking directly to you. Have you really expressed gratitude for the abundance of blessings and help you have received not just from us, but from others, and from above? Do they/we know you are grateful not just because you think it in your head but because you have communicated it? 

And gratitude is not really for the people who receive it (although I always tell my kids when they are grateful, it makes people want to do more and give more and builds a stronger, happier relationship). Gratitude is for the person who gives it. Gratitude does bring joy and happiness, but it also brings humility, which in turn brings more joy, more happiness, and allows you to grow, develop and learn. A simple thank you really helps build your character.

How have you shown your gratitude today? 

Let’s spend the year focusing on how grateful we are for each other and for the blessings in our lives. Let’s try to show that gratitude on a regular basis.