There are many things to celebrate in the month of November, but to my way of thinking, the month of November is all about giving thanks.  Perhaps in this month it is easier to get caught up in the start of the holiday season and focus more on the list of those things that have to be done (making dinner for 30 or more of your “closest relatives”, cleaning the house to prepare for all that company, sending the invitations, planning the menu) instead of concentrating on how truly blessed your life is.  To help you change your focus this month, I would like to recommend that work to claim an “Attitude of Gratitude.”

“An attitude of gratitude?” you ask.  Where do I get that?  Well, you’re going to have to do a little work to achieve it, but it will be well worth the effort.  Have you ever heard that you can form a habit in just 30 short days?  That’s what the experts say.  And the habit we want to form is the attitude of gratitude.  That is becoming more grateful every day for the bounty that surrounds us.  Luckily for you, the month of November has 30 days, so in this upcoming month, by following the simple steps outlined below, I believe that you will be well on your way to claiming your “Attitude of Gratitude” by the end of the month.

Your first step is to get 30 index cards and some fun markers.  Next write one blessing in your life on each card.  These cards will come to be known as your “Blessing for the Day.”  Be sure to include five cards with current life challenges (one challenge for each week).  We want to include challenges because we want to get in the habit of looking for ways to make lemonade out of lemons.  Your job might be a challenge for you.  Perhaps you are presently unhappy in your job, but at least it is a job, and we want to focus on the positives of every thing we write down.

Each morning draw one “Blessing of the Day” card.  Read the item for which you are thankful and focus on it all day.  I recommend that you start with a prayer of thanksgiving centered on the day’s blessing.  Then continue to focus on your gratefulness of this blessing for the whole day.  When you find yourself getting upset or angry or frustrated or even bored in your day., simply think of that one blessing,  and see if you don’t feel a shift toward a more positive and uplifting attitude.  If you want, take the card with you in a pocket or in your briefcase, hang it in the kitchen or place it on the dashboard of your car.  Just keep that blessing close all day.  No matter what life has thrown at you in any given day, if you have focused on your blessings instead of your troubles, by the end of the day you will naturally feel more thankful.

Examples of blessings you might write down:  Your Daily Bread; Your Family; Your Friends.  Best of all these cards are reusable, so you can start them over in the next month, (although do remember that some months have 31 days and you may have to add a card next month.) And the possibilities are endless.  You could create a blessing jar; throw the cards in a draw one out each day.  Or you could plan out your month, picking really special things to be grateful for on difficult days, or challenges on weekend days when you have more time to focus on them.

You can also make this a family project, and work on one blessing each day as a family.  You could make this a project for a church group by working together as a group to decide the 30 things you will be grateful for in the following month.  Make an”Attitude of Gratitude” calendar, and write down the blessings for each day.  Then distribute a copy the calendar to the whole group and know that everyday, a group of people is together pouring their thanksgiving out into the universe.

After 30 days of giving thanks for the world around you, how could you not be a little closer to claiming your true “Attitude of Gratitude?”  How could you not be a little closer to spreading joy?  How could you not be a little closer to enjoying the most meaningful “Thanksgiving” Holiday that you have in many years?

There is so much that we have to be thankful for, even though sometimes we may really have to look hard to find those blessings and we should spend this month reveling in our gratefulness.