My Favorite Way to Show Gratitude

Bravo to you!

Nice!! And not a problem!! 💜💜 love you too!

Good morning!!!! Thank you so much for your text!!! So happy!! Love you, my friend! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

How would you like to get messages like this on your phone on the regular?

I'm going to share with you a practice I started about a year ago that has blown my phone up with these messages and made life more meaningful.

I want to talk about my favorite way to show gratitude. This practice fills my phone with messages like the ones above. 

When you hear the words gratitude practice, your mind may go to writing in a journal or gathering around a Thanksgiving table. 

I practice differently.  I send a message of gratitude to someone.  It could be a friend, family member, coworker, etc.  I recognize them for having done something good.

Acknowledge them with detail. Check out the video above for an example. If you want a deeper dive into gratitude, I held a masterclass on the Gratitude Practice Tips that Really Work inside the Unbusy community.

Why do you gift?

We're in the month of November at the precipice of the holiday season and I want to talk a little bit about holidays. Thinking about gratitude, a good question to ask yourself is why do you gift in the first place?

One of my favorite gifts I've ever given was probably when I was in my 20s and didn't have a lot of money. This was a gift I created for my mom and it was basically a jar of joy. As my friends and family gathered for the holidays, I asked them to write down one message they wanted to share with mom. I wrapped it up and gave it to her. It was basically a jar full of joy. She opened that gift with tears in her eyes and it felt really good to give it. Just a few years back when she passed away, I found the messages because she kept that gift. Spend some time thinking about the gifts you give and why. It's a perfect opportunity to show gratitude. 

In my research for this video, I came across a study that showed that gifts are often better received when they are gifts you love. This is compared to the ones you think the recipient will like. Gifting something you love is like giving a part of yourself. It must make sense, of course. I'm not about to gift my favorite makeup palette to my husband.

One last thing I wanted to share about gratitude and gifting around the holidays is the idea of gifting experiences. Pack it up creatively and put it under the tree or give it a Hanukkah or whatever it is that you're celebrating. 

We gifted our kids a trip to Disneyland last year. It was a complete surprise. When they opened the box, some helium Mickey Mouse balloons came out, and they were filled with such joy. But it's a kind of a gift that keeps on giving because not only do you give the gift of them actually receiving an opening that packet but that needed to go and go on that trip. So they got to go and take that Disney vacation and have all the memories and the stories because you're really for life.

I hope this allows you to deepen your gratitude practice this November and take it throughout the holiday season.