The Gratitude Diaries

Challenges with Being Grateful

On days 7 to 10, I was doing fine with being grateful daily for the most part. I thanked God for our basic needs being met, and the ability to give to others. However, on days 11 to 12, something interesting happened. I turned into a negative Nancy! I was negative and complaining again from the time I woke up until the time I went back to bed. I don’t know what happened. It was as if I had turned into another person. I had a bad attitude about everything. Keep in mind; I had some days off to enjoy my holiday! My circumstances were fine. But suddenly, I had this challenge with being grateful, and aggravation was taking over. It was awful! I’ve realized something huge on this gratitude journey—I can’t let my feelings determine whether I will be grateful. To get back on my gratitude journey, I rested, meditated on scriptures, listened to sermons, and made sure I was taking care of myself, which included getting nutritious meals, and so forth. I also made sure I was balancing my days with fun activities I enjoy (and my daughter reminded me of this). For example, when we went out to see fireworks on the Fourth of July, I had to make the decision to enjoy the moment, rather than just rush through it to get to the next thing I had to do. This time, I actually stood and enjoyed the experience. I pushed back all urges to be ungrateful and negative. I resisted pessimist thoughts that tried to intrude upon my time with my daughter, and the enjoyment of my holiday.

Days 7-12

“I’m grateful that I’m learning that being grateful is not always easy. It doesn’t come naturally. It will sometimes be a battle. However, being grateful is a decision, not a feeling.”