Gratitude is a Choice

Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment.

Henri Nouwen

Let go:

Are past emotional hurts and resentments weighing you down? Are they dominating your attention?

Start over:

Make a decision today to focus on what you can be grateful for.

Move forward:

Create a plan to sideline your thinking when you find yourself ruminating on past hurts and resentments. You could decide to open your hands as an act of releasing these thoughts and the hold they have on you. Maybe wear a rubber band on your wrist and snap it each time you start ruminating. (Don’t snap it in a way that will hurt! This is not an exercise to punish yourself.)

Be patient and kind to yourself. Learning new patterns is often a one-step-forward, two-steps-back process.

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Three steps to move forward with your life is based on encouragement from Susan Miller’s bestselling book, After the Boxes Are Unpacked. The book guides uprooted women through the process of letting go of the past, starting over with trust, and moving forward in faith.