Did you ever stub your toe?

I was talking to my Chiropractor this morning as I was finishing my treatment, and I asked him about his son—who is 13 months old. We talked about the joy children see in the world and how everything is new to them. 

He said that his son had learned to open drawers and he had put his toys in the bottom drawer. He went on to say that every time his son opened the drawer he expressed wonder and astonishment that his toys were still there, where he had put them. 

Children are excited about the world, and the are grateful for the small things that we take for granted. Here’s a novel thought…

Did you ever consider taking a few minutes each morning to express gratitude?

Two questions…

Why would you do that? And how could you find enough to be grateful for 365 days a year… especially in light of all the problems facing you?

The “why” is simple. It starts your day off on a positive note, gets you in a good frame of mind, sets the tone for the rest of your day… and it could help you live a whole lot longer and better.

Stub your toe and the pain is all you can think of at that moment, let alone being grateful for anything. The problem is, we face one toe stub after another, in any given day and become preoccupied with getting past each one. Some of the bigger ones repeat day-after-day-after-day. We’ve lost the ability to be grateful for the little things and to look at the positives surrounding us.

For example, when’s the last time you expressed gratitude for the breeze on your face on a hot summer day? How grateful are you to be alive? Then express it. Even when you stub a toe, how about being grateful for having a toe to stub? When a loved one irritates you, did you ever consider how fortunate you are to have a loved one in your life?

There are thousands of things to be grateful for, big and little. Be creative and you’ll find tens of thousands. I’m grateful as I type this letter to you that I have the convenience of a laptop and the Internet to communicate to you with… unimaginable just a short time ago.

I took refrigeration for granted until I just now thought about it. Once I did that, as I am writing, I now see 100 things in my home alone, including something as simple as a toothpick that trigger gratitude thoughts which I hadn’t considered before. Now I’m totally uplifted.

Try that exercise yourself, not just in your mornings, but throughout the day, wherever you are.

Tony Robbins says that most people act out of anger and fear… and there’s no room for either when you express gratitude. It strengthens the best of you and energises every cell in your body.

Make expressing gratitude a habit, and you’ll be amazed at the positive change in your life.