“It is not joy that makes you grateful. It is gratitude that makes you joyful.”
– David Steindl-Rast
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, conversations about gratitude become more frequent. It’s the theme of the season and one of my favorite things to focus on when our family gets together and takes a moment to pause.
What is Gratitude?
Gratitude is more than just being thankful; it’s about finding and acknowledging all the good things in your life and exploring ways to return the kindness to others. Sometimes, it’s obvious — like when you’re sitting at a table surrounded by loved ones and copious, delicious food – other times, finding something to be grateful for is more challenging.
I’d like to suggest that gratitude is a practice. While you might naturally feel very grateful at Thanksgiving dinner, that’s not the only time you should acknowledge your blessings or gratitude. Many suggest that gratitude is an essential habit for happiness and fulfillment. It helps us balance the drive for achievement with appreciation for our current favor, enabling us to enjoy genuine wealth and significance.
In other words, whether you have a little or a lot, your ability to appreciate what you have right now in your life makes it all worth it.
Cultivating Gratitude Beyond Thanksgiving
You may wonder how you can create this mindset if it doesn’t come naturally to you. Think of gratitude like a muscle: to increase your ability, you have to practice. Here are three ways to get started:
- Reflect regularly. Document three things a day that went well to cultivate gratitude and confidence.
- Focus on the present. Instead of thinking about what you had in the past that you were grateful for or what’s ahead, think about what you currently have. Don’t forget to gratefully receive the experience of right now, even as you reflect on the blessings of your past.
- Express your gratitude. Tell the people around you how you feel. It sounds simple, but often, these things go unsaid.
You can cultivate this practice through meditation, journaling, or taking a few moments on your commute or while folding laundry. Find a habit that feels natural for you and your situation.
We strive to cultivate wealth and gratitude at Concentus. One of my goals as a wealth advisor is to help my clients achieve a higher quality of life. Some of that comes from growing their portfolios, but a significant portion of that satisfaction comes from being grateful and happy with the blessings you have. My hope for you is that you can be grateful for your blessings this holiday season and immerse yourself in the moment, too.
About VALUABLES
Many financial advisors focus on communicating with clients to provide complex analysis of the investment markets and economies. However, we have learned that most clients are not particularly interested in this complex analysis. Most clients hire an advisor for their knowledge of the markets, not for their ability to explain that knowledge. Most want to know what time it is, not how to build a watch.
Experience has taught us that wealthy families care most about using their wealth as a means to a desirable end, which is to achieve a more satisfying, fulfilled and impactful life, and to fulfill their most important Life Values.
VALUABLES is a periodic article series focused on the concepts, systems, and habits which we have observed among families who have been successful in this quest to use their wealth as a tool to live a life of significance. The most successful families share a set of habits, systems, and insights which enable them to use their wealth as a tool to fulfill their Values and what is most important to them.
We named this article series VALUABLES, because it provides an exploration of those habits, systems, and insights. We hope it will help you to consider your assets and possessions which are most valuable to you, and how you can use your financial wealth to enhance and cultivate your true “Valuables”.
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