During the holidays we often think to be grateful for our loved ones and for how good our lives are but this practice should be continued throughout the year.

As one of my friends says, “The more I’m thankful, the more there is to be thankful for.” It’s incredible how our actions train our brain and our brain trains our actions. By verbalizing your gratitude regularly you will find that you’re actually much more aware of all the gifts that are available to you. You will start to look for them, be open to them coming, and be open to taking them in.

The ancient Rabbis had a saying that one should bless or give thanks 100 times a day. That’s a lot to start with, of course, but if they could find 100 things a day, surely we can find 3 or 5 or 10, right?

Make it a game with your kids – announce that you’re going to look for good things that are happening, wonderful surprises, or breathtaking beauty. You can go from a simple “Hey! Look at that!” to a more advanced “I’m so grateful that even though we’re snowed in, we still have electricity.”

Try this process in stages:

• Hey, look at that!
• That’s pretty / smells good / sounds nice
• That feels good
• I love when X happens. It makes me feel happy.
• Thank you!
• Thank you for being so thoughtful
• I am grateful that you’re my mom / dad / husband /wife / son / daughter

You can see that in the beginning you’re noticing things happening around you. As you progress you turn your focus inward, paying attention to, and expressing appreciation for, the wonderful gifts that your family brings to your life.

As you practice this on a regular basis, the general mood in your family home will lift. Guaranteed.