Saturday, October 6, 2001

Being thankful

One of the first steps in turning a negative into a positive is finding something for which you can be thankful. For example, when someone criticizes you, the natural reaction is to get a little angry, resentful and defensive. But consider what would happen if you could, instead, genuinely say thank you. When you can find a way to say thank you for criticism, you can find something positive to learn from it.

Being truly thankful forces you to consider the positive possibilities, whatever the circumstance. Though the situation may be distressing, there is always a positive way to move forward from it. Yes, it is difficult to be thankful when you’re in pain, yet gratitude can begin to truly ease and extinguish that pain. When things are at their worst, is when you need most the strength of your blessings.

Be thankful, and draw strength from those blessings. Practice gratitude, even in the midst of despair, and it will open your eyes to the positive possibilities all around you.

— Ralph Marston

Boldly forward       Dealing with uncertainty

Copyright ©2001 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.