What’s YOUR “Giving Thanks” Percentage?
If there ever existed a loaded question, “What’s Your Giving Thanks Percentage?” would be right up there near the top. But the value in the question isn’t derived when someone else asks us. The greatest value the question has is when we ask it of ourselves. The big challenge that the question brings is that it might make us feel uncomfortable, so we cast it aside without consideration. Truth is, there’s never been a better time to ask ourselves that question and consider the powerful positive effect it can have on our life, our personality, and our overall joy and happiness.
How do we determine what our “Giving Thanks” Percentage really is? Well, you can start with asking yourself if you’re a glass half full type of person or glass half empty type of person. That mentality, or thought process, is a great indicator of how much joy you consistently experience in life if you’re completely honest with your answer. Recently, I’ve encountered several people referring to the fact that they’ve always thought of themselves as a “glass half full” type of person but have been overwhelmed with negativity coming at them from several different directions. This has led to them dwelling on all that is wrong with the world we currently live in.
It's difficult to imagine that anyone would want to wake up and begin their day ticked off at the world and the society we live in. Yet, that seems to be normal for a lot of people. They get up ready to do battle with opposing opinions at home, at work, and wherever their life leads them during the day. They have their points, and counterpoints, organized allowing them to crush the enemy, whomever they are. If we think of the water in our glass as representing joy, this glass half empty approach begins the day with an empty glass that only gets filled with gasoline rather than the alternative fuel called joy. Pause for just a moment and consider just how sad that is. Sorry, I didn’t mean to drain your glass. Let’s refill it with some joy.
The people we encounter that appear to always be joyful, content, happy, caring, compassionate, and loving would be classified as glass half full type of people. What exactly do these people have in common? It’s that they’re thankful for everything, yes, even the challenges that come along in their life. They seem to view every challenge, or bit of bad luck if you will, as an opportunity to learn, grow, and help others. In other words, it isn’t what’s happening to them nor what’s happening all around them, it’s how they process it all. And at the forefront of their processing is an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for everything…absolutely everything that occurs in their life. The lifestyle these people have chosen would have their “Giving Thanks” Percentage near 100%. Why in the world don’t we all adopt their seemingly simple life strategy? Here’s how you can…
There’s a video on the internet by one of my personal heroes, Zig Ziglar, where he takes on the challenge of a woman who hates her job. She seemingly hates everything about it including the people she works with. Zig asks if they pay her or if she volunteers. She responds that her company pays her well. He asks about benefits like vacation pay, 401K, sick and personal days, travel for training, and opportunities for advancement. She responds yes to all and ends up with 27 things she loves about her job. So, Zig has her write each of these things down on a piece of paper following a lead-in line: I love my job because… and asks her to begin each day in front of a mirror reciting all 27. The story ends up with them meeting up 3 months later with the woman informing Zig that everyone at worked has changed and now she loves her job. Wait…what…WHO changed? Exactly!
If you want your life to improve, having a high “Giving Thanks” Percentage offers the quickest path to get there. But not without action on your part. If you’re willing to sit down and list all the things you’re thankful for, listing each one after the lead-in line: I LOVE my life because… (the thing I’m thankful for)…and add a completion line that claims: and that brings me JOY, then your life will instantly improve. This new way to begin each day reading this list won’t stop you from experiencing challenges, sadness from loss, and possibly even tragedy, it will just help you navigate them better and provide the people you love the most an example they can model for their own life.
I feel compelled to share with you that I’ve noticed a consistency of the mentality of constantly giving thanks being utilized most efficiently and effectively by people that have strong faith with some type of religion. They’re the people that embrace the foundation of what their faith is built upon. It always seems to be at the very top of their list when they recite: I LOVE my life because… At the very least, it’s worthy of your consideration as you travel down the path of ever-increasing “Giving Thanks” Percentage. Thanks for reading this today! Hey…I Believe In YOU! GiddyUp!