Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~ Melody Beattie

This quote is another way of saying that when life hands you lemons, be grateful you have them. Then go make lemonade!

It is interesting how many coaches, motivational speakers, historical personalities and the like include GRATITUDE in their lessons on life:

• Attitude of Gratitude ~ Brian Tracy
• When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.
  ~ Anthony Robbins
• Gratitude, Gifts and Gains ~ Christine Kane
• TGIF – Trust Gratitude Inspiration Friday ~ Brené Brown

My coach insists that I spend at least 5 minutes each night before bed listing 5 things I am grateful for – just 5.

Why do you think so much emphasis is placed on being grateful?

Brain Adams (author of “How to Succeed”) says that “Like attracts like. Whatever the conscious mind thinks and believes, the subconscious identically creates.”

If you focus on negative things then everything in your life will follow that thought process.

Why not start a habit where you concentrate on the positives in your life? When you create a gratitude practice, you will train your consciousness to be aware of things to be grateful for throughout the day. Then, you will find yourself focusing on the good and giving thanks for it.

Ever since I established this practice, my days have shifted in a profound way.

I imagine that I carry a container, and I look for blessings throughout the day to put into it. At the end of the day, I have a collection of thankful thoughts to pull from for my gratitude list.

When you become mindful of things you are grateful for, your heart and mind open to more and more of the same.

You can express gratitude for something as small as a flower that you passed along the way or a cloud that you stared at while waiting at a traffic light.

Your gratitude practice can include something as simple as being grateful that you ordered exactly what you had planned to order when you had an outing on P2. Or, that you didn’t take a bite of the cookies (or cookie dough!) that you made for your daughter’s kindergarten class when you were working on a pristine P3 day.

Gratitude is about perception. It’s a state of mind where you are open, receptive and conscious of everything in a moment.

For example, let’s say you went to social event and you binged.

Instead of beating yourself up, put yourself in the state of mind of gratitude. Then figure out what to do next time you attend a social event:

• OK, I need to pay more attention next time.
• I need to make a plan.
• I need to find out what is being served.
• I need to only have one glass of wine.
• I need to pack some nuts in case there is nothing to eat or a pouch of tuna or salmon in case everything has a sauce on it.

Being grateful is being open to the greater possibilities that exist in everything; no matter how chaotic, confusing, upsetting it may be in the moment.

Now, let me take a moment to be grateful for Dr. Simeons for providing the most miraculous form of weight loss I have ever witnessed. I am grateful that his work has enabled me to understand the nutritional needs of my body. I am also grateful that it has enabled me to help others figure out the nutritional needs of their bodies.

I am grateful for the Happily Thinner After Community because it is an informed, compassionate, willing and caring group who has a collective desire to be empowered to live in the body of their dreams.

I am grateful for the individuals I have coached privately and in Boot Camp, who have worked with me as my guinea pigs, who were anxious to work on the little nuances that make up their body chemistry, and were willing to share that information with me. All this has turned me into the Coach I am today.

I am grateful for the uniqueness that each person brings to the program. My research and learning never ends because as soon as I think I figured something out, someone has a little change that brings a new learning skill into the picture. I learn by working the change into the program.

One of my clients asked me recently if I had ever dreamed that HTA would evolve into what it is has become today. In all honesty, I have to admit that I am extremely grateful that it is even better than I had hoped. And it’s getting better all the time.

Thank YOU!