The Habit Of Gratitude And 100 Ways To Feel It
THE HABIT OF GRATITUDE AND 100 WAYS TO FEEL IT! (ISSUE 100)
By Diane Gold
The habit of gratitude can be an acquired taste. Some of us naturally feel love and happiness with each positive occurrence. We also may have the temperance to quell the urge for revenge in negative events. Others of us train ourselves to jump-start the love through various means, even though we get angry. And then there are most of us who can develop this habit through the study of philosophy, through the inspiration of a teacher, the appreciation for a second chance or the lessons that experience brings.
Whether it is innate from an early age or we work on its cultivation, isn’t is glorious to feel exuberant throughout the day from the power it gives? And for those of us who have no interest in gratitude; most of the time, it will show up when we least expect it, and we’ll wonder why we did not prioritize it.
Because this is the 100th Issue of WarriorsOfWeight.com, our main essay will be a little different. We have compiled a list of things that are worthy of gratitude that might inspire the idea in others. Before that, we have our action steps, so that we can get our gratitude engines fired up before reading. They are entertaining to do and useful.
ACTION STEPS TO GRATITUDE CULTIVATION
1) Squeeze the fists tightly, but keep the neck relaxed.
This builds power in the hands as the fist fill with blood.
2) Raise the fists in the air with elbows slightly bent, and say,
“Woo hoo!”
3X.
What this does is starts to vibrate the chest cavity so that we get the chi moving.
3) Jump up and down 5X.
This gets the heart and blood going and prepares the body.
4) Say a gigantic, voluminous
“Yes.”
You know how we like social proof, where we believe because we see others acting on that belief? This affirmative sound psychologically prepares us for positive thanks.
5) Read the list below and imagine yourself in the context of what is listed.
NOTE
This step is to be completed after reading the list, if you can wait. Steps 1 through 5 prime you to experience gratitude from the read. Step 6 will pop out of you. Here it is.
6) Make a list of 3, 5, 10, 25, 50 or 100 items for which you are grateful. As you have new experiences, know that many go on the list.
THE LIST
1) What about the joys of having children? This refers to biological ones or children you take/took care of.
2) What about the joy of taking care of your elders? Not only is it giving them solace, but, if we’re looking, there’s a lot to learn.
The task is difficult, yet it means we have had elders we can call ours.
3) What about the joy of taking care of a kitten, cat, puppy or dog? Their friendship is worthy of the time we take to care for them.
4) What about getting a phone call from a friend at the very time you needed one? It’s great to have a friend, and they mean a lot.
5) What about a friend’s offering the very thing you wished for without your having to ask? This happened to me when my close friend suggested my pets could stay with her while I traveled. If you’ve ever had a pet, you know how important it is to feel secure with the people who are taking care of them.
6) Did you ever have to go for a medical test that seemed like torture, and then it was over? That happened to me twice this week. Now, that’s gratitude.
7) How many of you have given birth? How about when the contractions are over and you’re finished? Of course, the birth is a magical experience, but the fact that the pain is over is pretty spectacular.
8) What about being at war and doing your duty and, subsequently, getting home safely? Others say that is huge, although I have not served in that way.
9) How about answering a question at school where everyone laughs at you? People point fingers for the rest of the day. And then you go into school the next day, and no one remembers the incident? That calls for gratitude.
10) What about when you start a new school in the middle of the year and don’t know anyone? And, for the first week, no one will sit with you? And then, someone invites you to sit together? That’s a good one, too.
11) What about if you become dizzy and can’t lift your head? It’s pretty horrible. And then it goes away? Since I spent a whole week feeling dizzy and nauseated a week ago, every day that I am not like that, I am consciously grateful.
I had a student who had chemotherapy and an MRI every two weeks. He used to share his gratitude that the chemo didn’t give him worse side effects. So, of course, it’s all about perspective. I was grateful he used the kung fu, tai chi and meditation I had taught him so that his MRIs were places to meditate during what is always very loud, unpleasant beeping, whirring, grinding metallic noise.
12) What about seeing your first lizard sunning on a rock on a normal day in the tropics? What a trip to see these animals in all shapes and sizes. Good to be part of it.
13) How about going to the beach and smelling that delicious salt smell? It is healing. wonderful and a big gift.
14) What about the first time you move your arms and legs in the water and they hold you up, meaning you are swimming? Not everyone gets this opportunity, so consider being grateful if you swim.
15) Here’s a good time to be grateful if you read. Yes, it is common, but it is a gift that not everyone has. A great way to show gratitude for this one is to teach one person to read.
There used to be a sign in the NYC subway that said,
“If you can read this, thank a teacher.”
16) What if you live in the smallest house on the block? And then you move to an even smaller apartment? Many have no shelter, so it’s great to be grateful for what you have.
17) What if someone in your life passes away? Although the experience can be paralyzing, you are lucky to have known this person and have her bring her influence or love to you.
18) What about rectifying your differences with someone who passes away? I am so grateful for becoming best friends with my ex-husband before he passed. This was a gift.
19) Did you ever write a song? It’s amazingly cool. Having the creativity and drive to do it is great. If it has words and music, some write the words first. Others write the music first. Others write instrumentals. I am so grateful for the songs I have created.
If you’ve never done it and want to do it, write a poem first. If you need help with the music, you can ask us, and we will help.
20) Ever go skiing? Gliding down a hill of white weather is totally enjoyable? Or what about rolling in the snow? It’s the gift of weather. Don’t forget it on your list.
21) What about wanting to go out with someone and then that someone asks you out? This little occurrence is a gift, and gratitude is in order.
22) This could be considered silly, but no feelings are silly, so here it is: being able to print my documents on thick enough paper where the paper felt creamy and looked good. I know this luxury deserves gratitude.
23) What about having running water? Now that I have an awareness of how many people go to the river or water location daily to get water for the house, I am super grateful. I also know that 783 million do not have access to clean water; many are bringing home contaminated water. I also know that, if we reduced our bottled water intake by 1/3, we could fund a project to fix the dirty water issue.
24) What about loving your toilet? It’s great that we have one. 2.5 billion of our world do not. I know it seems so far away to those of us who have always had one. But it is a big issue. Not having a toilet means lack of sanitation which means disease.
25) Being able to have wheatgrass juice in the morning is something for which I have gratitude. It is a gift that I can access it. I was also fortunate to receive a wheatgrass extractor from a friend. Big time gratitude.
26) Having pure organic vegetable juice is a big gift. You can feel the ingredients cleansing and nourishing like little workers inside the body. Gratitude for my juicer, twice as nice because it was given by a friend. gave me her juicer.
27) What about having a cellular phone? Very convenient, and the only option for some locations. Yes, everyone in certain locations has one, but think of it as a gift and conjure gratitude.
Did you know that more people have cell phones than toilets?
28) How about the way a food or drink calms the spirit from tension or anxiety? I’m remembering mouthwatering organic apple cider that hit the spot after one of those awful medical tests last week. It calmed my system but mostly my mind. It was like magic elixir to take away the psychological trauma from the sounds of a magnetic imaging machine.
29) What about the delight of going to a movie, the theater, a concert you said yes to because your friend wanted to go turning out to be unbelievably great? That’s a gift.
30) What about being recognized for doing what you love to do, such as playing the piano, writing, lecturing, developing solutions for people? That’s the way to live. Be grateful for it.
NOTE
The next 70 ways to feel gratitude will be part of my list. Please comment should you recognize any or want to share yours.
31) My own orchid blooming.
32) My children’s first step and word.
33) My cats’ coming home after I let them out alone for the first time in a new location.
34) Having body pain go away.
35) Not making too many mistakes when playing the piano recital.
36) The thrill of playing a piano for the first time and all the cool times after that.
37) Being able to forgive myself for an action where I made a bad choice that I can’t change.
39) Being able to talk about the bad choices I have made with friends who accept me anyway.
40) Doing free dance and 5Rhythms dance.
41) Knowing how to do and teach tai chi.
42) Having changed people’s lives through my work.
43) Having eaten some delicious fresh organic fruits.
44) Loving the seeds I eat daily.
45) Being loyal to others.
46) Being so lucky as to have people in this world that I love and love me.
47) Seeing pygmy marmosets at the Bronx Zoo exhibit.
48) Experiencing Hawaii and our friends with my grown up kids.
49) Doing tai chi to dj music and dancing at Ultra Music Festival.
50) Having a strong body.
51) Having a balanced approach to life.
52) Having not worn glasses for the first 46 years.
53) Remembering phone numbers without looking.
54) Having had a rich experience coming of age in New York City.
55) Living 1/2 a block from the door to undergraduate and graduate university.
56) Having had a super musical and understanding principal at one of the schools where I taught who allowed me to buy turntables and teach mixing.
57) Having easy access to computer technology.
58) Understanding how to make a few kinds of websites and use basic html. (Yes, I’m grateful since I love code.)
59) Having experienced lots of desserts of many flavors.
60) Having done turntable mixing with vinyl records. Yippee!
61) Having a great relationship with my kids.
62) Having respect for my kids and getting respect from them.
63) Living within 2 minutes of the ocean.
64) Being from New York.
65) Having had a strong and courageous mother.
66) Having had a loving father who taught me algebra, sports and small boat stuff.
67) Being proud to be my parents’ daughter.
68) Being happy to be gathering information on corporate customer service flaws.
69) Being thrilled to be compiling fitness books for different target markets.
70) Being thrilled to be offering one-minute exercises for habit change.
71) Being happy that someone invented an internet radio station based upon musical characteristics and that I can access it.
72) Being grateful that I can watch movies on a big screen, thanks to my kids. It really changes the perspective.
73) Having had piano lessons with Sanford and Norman.
74) Having the locational and financial opportunity to be vegan.
75) So grateful that I can minimize killing by being vegan.
76) Loving the food that I eat as a vegan.
77) Having listened to some of the greats in jazz every night during the 70s including Bill Evans, my hero, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett & the band, Chick Corea & Return To Forever.
78) Having the doorman of my NYU owned apartment find my cat who fell off the 4th floor terrace, alive, with only a broken leg.
79) Having a cohesive family unit as a child.
80) Having a loving uncle, like a second father, who came to visit every Sunday.
81) Having a special toy closet that my grandfather kept for me. He used to go to second hand shops and get second hand toys and games, all of which were a thrill to me since I never knew what would be in there.
82) Eating raspberries and blackberries from my grandmother’s bushes.
83) Having experienced the love of all the pets I have been fortunate enough to have had.
84) Having the ability to walk, talk, see, taste, sing, smell, hear.
85) Having a continuing true connection to my late ex.
86) Being so fortunate as to watch my children become adults and be on their paths in life.
87) Grateful to love music.
88) Being able to work without equipment.
89) Happy to have given up package vegan food for freshly made food.
90) Having shells of all sizes and shapes that have added beauty to my life. Of course, it is important to see that no animal is living in a shell before it is moved.
91) Being able to enjoy 80 degree weather on a regular basis.
92) Having ice skated in the little pond next to my elementary school.
93) Having breathed out in the winter and seen my breath.
94) Having jogged in the winter to have icicles form on my eyelashes.
95) Having had the same chipmunk come up on the deck for one whole season.
96) Feeling positive about my accomplishments.
97) Having the skills to change habits successfully using a simple systematic approach.
98) Having the skills to teach others how to change habits successfully using a simple systematic approach.
99) Feeling grateful for the time I have had so far.
100) Waking up one more day.
CONCLUSION
We hope this list will inspire thoughts that will help develop a personal list for which to be grateful.
ACTION STEP
Every day is a good day to look to find one more thing to add to the list.
The best of love and health in life. We are pleased to celebrate this anniversary because of you.
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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR
Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition and habit change.
She believes in gratitude. She says,
“It is a skill like any other. Sometimes, it’s more natural than at other times. But, everyone can learn to cultivate gratitude.
“Be patient, make your list and be glad for one thing today. That’s a great start. When you awaken tomorrow, there’ll be one more thing for which to be glad.”
I was thinking about the studies I read, the nutrition I study and have access to, the articles I write on how to lead a better life through no stress, better habits and good times. When all of a sudden, I realized that the techniques I write about are luxurious. Meaning able to be executed because of our luxury. I knew it was time to focus on some of those luxuries that we take for granted.
Almost 
There are so many different levels of having shelter. Some of us used to have a tin house that was washed away by a hurricane. Others of us have a small apartment. And others own several palatial homes in different parts of the world. Whatever we have, it is a gift. Especially if we can actually be comfortable in it.
Not to get gushy, but, the 1 thing the United States offers is a special array of freedoms. True, we have a little imbalance of power, from time to time, when it comes to the corporation vs. the individual. But, mostly, we have the largest vat of freedom in the world. Not to be taken lightly.
5) PEACE & FREEDOM ACTION STEP
