On the most thankful day of the year, Thanksgiving Day (in the United States) how can we not talk about gratitude? Today we dive into the power of gratitude, how to be more grateful, gratitude questions to ask, and all things thankful.
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Show Notes: Gratitude Questions for 2023
Hey, hey friend! Welcome to Episode #153 of The Secrets of Supermom Show! If you are listening in real-time, today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States! Being the most thankful day of the year, how can we not talk a little bit about gratitude? Today we are some benefits of gratitude, how to start being more grateful if you are just getting started, how to go deeper if you already have a habit or gratitude practice, and some specific gratitude questions you can use today and every day!
The Benefits of Gratitude
Why should we practice gratitude? Does it give us a benefit? Does it make us feel better?
You always might have been told as a child to have an attitude of gratitude or be grateful for what you have. You might tell your kids to be grateful. But…why?
Research shows that feeling and showing gratitude improves your health, strengthens and deepens your relationships, and makes you happier. Do you ever notice how those thankful people in your life never seem to be sick?
As you train your brain to look for things that make you feel gratitude, you start to notice them more. When you look for gratitude, you are more likely to see the positive and the solution instead of the problems in your life. I mean, yes please, amiright.
How to be More Grateful Every Day
As gratitude and the research in positive psychology has exploded over the last decade, many people have started what we often call a “gratitude practice”. Much like a yoga practice where you must be consistent and continue the work to go deeper, gratitude must be practiced. You can’t just be thankful on Thanksgiving–though if you’re just getting started, Thanksgiving is as good a day as any to put this practice into place.
The practice of looking for things every day that make you feel grateful helps you get better at it and go deeper. You start to look for things that bring that feeling of appreciation, joy, and thankfulness. You start to find things you never noticed before. You start to go deeper in your relationships. You start to release grudges. You start to focus on positivity and solutions instead of problems and complaining.
If you don’t already have this practice in place, start today and add it to a routine you already have going (This is called habit stacking, and we talked about that all the way back in Episode #2). Maybe you think of one thing you are grateful for each day while you brush your teeth at night. Maybe you write down three things that you are grateful for in your planner each morning while you review your day. Maybe you share one thing with your family at dinner each night. In our family we call this best/worst where we share a win of the day and a struggle of the day.
By making your gratitude practice intentional, you get better at finding things to be grateful for. You practice. And I promise, if you are looking, there are so many things to be thankful for every day.
I know that some people will recommend writing down five or ten things you are grateful for. To be honest, I prefer just one. When I am writing down ten things, I tend to put the same things over and over. My kids. Jeremy. But when I choose just one, I am very intentional about choosing one very specific thing that I am grateful for over the last day. And if I want to add in more that day, I totally can. I also think adding one, quick thing to your habits is much easier than trying to go big and add ten.
Gratitude isn’t about big things. It doesn’t have to be your family or your partner or your health or your home. It can be small moments. It can be happy accidents. It can be the tiniest joy. You might be grateful that your client gave you a raving review. You might be grateful that your spouse winked at you from across the kitchen while making dinner. You might be grateful that your teenager gave you an unexpected hug. You might be grateful that you hit all the green lights on the way home. You might be grateful for the tiny flower-weed pushing through the crack in the sidewalk. Tiny moments are just as powerful as the big, amazing parts of your life.
Going Deeper with Gratitude
Do you already have a gratitude practice? If you are nodding along as you drive to your in-laws house with mashed potatoes in the backseat, yay for you! I want to share a few ways you can take it deeper if you already have the habit in place.
Write it Down
We know that research shows the act of writing things down involves a greater amount of cognitive activity than typing it out on a keyboard or just thinking it in general. This means that both more areas of the brain are activated and that they are activated more intensely. Y’all know that I love to nerd out on the research so I want to share just a little bit more about why writing things down is so powerful. Writing improves the encoding process. Encoding is the biological process by which the things we perceive travel to our brain’s hippocampus where they’re analyzed. Our brain then decides what remains in our long-term memory and what gets dumped (basically forgotten). If you want to maintain the power of gratitude, writing improves your memory of those things.
Get Super Specific About Your Gratitude
It is easy to start with, “I am grateful for my family” or “I am grateful for my home.” However, getting really specific about something that happened in the last 24 hours allows you to better embody the experience. You are thinking specifically about that distinct moment allowing you to return to that state of feeling increasing those neurotransmitters that made you feel good about that moment in the first place.
Share It
Once you are in the practice of identifying those moments and experiences that make you feel grateful, it’s time to start sharing them! Did you feel so grateful that your kiddo helped with dinner dishes? Tell them! Did you feel grateful that your bestie sent you a text to check in? Tell them! Did you feel grateful that your neighbor brought you dinner leftovers? Tell them!
Gratitude Questions to Ask Today and Each Day
Sometimes gratitude comes in a wave. You can think of 1,000 things, 1,000 moments to be grateful for. Life feels full. But sometimes, it is harder. You are frustrated. You wake up sad. You are irritated and can’t think of anything you like at all let alone want to be thankful for.
In honor of today being Thanksgiving in the US, here are some sample gratitude questions you can ask yourself–and your family, too–today and every day.
- Who is one person you are grateful to have in your life and why?
- Why is today better than yesterday?
- What is one thing you are glad you did this year?
- What food are you thankful exists?
- What place are you thankful to have visited?
- What trait about you are you most thankful to have?
- What is the tiniest thing you can think of that makes you feel grateful?
- What is the biggest thing you can think of that makes you feel grateful?
- What is one thing you use every day that you are grateful to have?
- What compliment are you thankful to have received this year?
My Message to YOU!
To wrap up today, I want to share with you just how grateful I am for YOU. Thank you for being here and listening in every week. And if today is your first episode, thank you for choosing this very podcast. Thank you for sharing the podcast with other supermoms in your life. Thank you for your questions, your feedback, your reviews and your honesty. Thank you for sharing your struggles and your wins and your goals with me. Thank you for being you. My biggest, most heartfelt thank you.
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About the Host: Lori Oberbroeckling
Lori Whitney Oberbroeckling is a mom of four, corporate leader, podcaster, productivity expert, and author of the book Secrets of Supermom: How Extraordinary Moms Succeed at Work and Home & How You Can Too!
She is passionate about helping parents who want fulfilling careers–or side hustles or passion projects–while also wanting to feel present and connected to their families.
