Thanksgiving Plans Derailed? Give Thanks Anyway (Your Mental Health Will Thank You) – Forbes

Like so many things about this year, Thanksgiving 2020 will stand apart.

And not in the ways wed like.

Giving Thanks is good for your mental health.

Between the pandemic, economic hardships and political turmoil, one doesnt have to be overly creative to justify a lack of thankfulness right now.

Yet this would miss the entire point of the Thanksgiving holiday. After all, if the Pilgrims had waited for life to be smooth and easy before holding their first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621, this rich American tradition wouldnt exist today.

Of course, this doesnt negate the legitimacy of any sadness you may be feeling if you therell be empty seats around your Thanksgiving table this year. Like all emotions, sadness has its place and serves a purpose. Yet dwelling on what is wrong or missing doesnt serve our emotional wellbeing. In fact, just the opposite.

In fact research shows that practicing gratitude actively being thankful for the blessings in our lives, regardless of the circumstances of our lives is not just a nice feel good thing to do but actually enhances our wellbeing and ameliorates against mental illness. A study at Berkeley found that people who regularly practice gratitude are mentally healthier, happier, and build an emotional bank account for the times when they have fewer blessings to count.

The more often we feel any emotion, the more space it occupies in our psyche. Over time, the emotions we repeatedly feel morph into a mood that filters all our perceptions of life. As Tony Robbins says, The quality of your life is where you live emotionally.

For better or worse. For richer or poorer. For happier or... not so much.

Its why, in these turbulent times, we must be all the more mindful about the stories we tell ourselves about our circumstances because our stories trigger and amplify our emotional state. For instance, if you tell yourself a story that life is conspiring against you, that youre a victim to some villainous force (or a cadre of them) then youll live in state of self-pity, blame, despair, bitterness or powerlessness. On the flip-side, if you tell yourself a story that youre blessed in countless ways (and then count those ways), that life is conspiring for you (even when you cant see how), and that the future is yours for the making, then youll fuel gratitude, aspiration and agency to proactively create that future.

"The more we practice gratitude, the more it bolsters our resilience to thrive even in the toughest ... [+] of times." Margie Warrell

Gratitude takes practice.

By shifting where you place your attention and telling yourself a new story you can process the negative emotions that naturally arise, making it tougher for them to set up permanent residence in your life. In the process you give a big booster shot to your psychological immune system, expanding your capacity to thrive amid lifes challenges.

Ultimately our happiness and mental wellbeing is not determined by the conditions of our lives but by the story we tell ourselves about them. So this Thanksgiving, be deliberate in the story you tell to yourself and others.

Tell a story that affirms your appreciation for the people around you, and how theyve supported you through these stormy times.

Tell a story that appreciates how youve grown this year; the skills youve learned, the strengths youve honed, and wisdom gained.

Lastly, tell a story that moves you toward the brave actions required to look back on this time with pride for how you became a blessing for others.

Has 2020 been a tough year? You bet. From evacuating Australias bushfires in January, my husband being hospitalized with Covid-19 in March and two of my kids getting the virus while living across the world from me over summer Ive had my share of tough days. Yet underneath its stream of hardships and heartaches has run a deeper current of blessings that can easily be taken for granted.

Gratitude takes nothing for granted.

It shines a spotlight on all that is good, amplifying its presence, and liberating our energy to meet lifes challenges with more grace and grit.

As challenging as this year has been, its reinforced the message of Youve Got This! - that adversity introduces us to the best of ourselves; unleashing our courage and a deeper sense of our own humanity that we might never have otherwise discovered. The catch? We must do our part; we must seek out and celebrate that undercurrent of blessings lifes storm waves often obscure.

So if youre feeling a little flat or fearful this Thanksgiving, I have a little exercise for you. Of course you don't have to do this but if you do, I promise youll be glad you did.

Here it is...

Write down a list of blessings - one for every candle on your last birthday cake then tell a story that puts them at center stage, reframing how youve been looking at life.

Bam. Thats it.

If this simple exercise makes you feel even a little lighter, try it again tomorrow. Your mental health will thank you. So too will the people whose names were on your list.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Akeynote speakerand author ofYouve Got This!, Margie Warrellis committed to helping leaders & organizations turn this crisis time into a catalyst for the highest good. Listen to her Live Brave Podcast here.

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Thanksgiving Plans Derailed? Give Thanks Anyway (Your Mental Health Will Thank You) - Forbes