If you recall our last few posts, we had talked about the power of saying thank you through a lovely video from Laura Trice on Ted Talks.
We had also talked about the 7 rewards for being thankful in life . And today as #SayThanks trends on twitter, we thought, why not ask this question to ourselves – What are the things we are thankful for in life?
While I say this, I don’t want to sound too romantic and treat #SayThanks as a fad or a feel good factor. If you have read our posts earlier you very well know that we rarely care for that. We appreciate the feelings, the good or the bad. We don’t believe in saying that there are no problems, there are and there always will be. Life is never going to be a stroll in the park, there are going to be challenges.
But in a way it is simple right – you get what you focus on. You focus on the weeds – you will keep finding them more and more and if you focus on the solutions, you potentially end up finding a lot of them too. It is like buying a new car and spotting the same type or brand of car everywhere you go. It can be as simple and as cognitive as that.
Anyway! The hashtag #SayThanks reminds me of a talk by Tony Robbins where he mentions a conversation of his with John Templeton – one of the richest men, not just internally but also on the materialistic front too. But what struck me the most of the conversation was that when John Templeton says that the secret to his richness is just the plain simple gratitude. An honest simple gratitude.
Gratitude not just for the things which are working for us, but gratitude for the things that did not work for us, gratitude for the challenges and troubles we are faced with, gratitudes for the outcomes in life which has led us to the place we are today and made us who we are what we think, gratitude for every little challenge which makes us go beyond that and look at life in a better way, gratitude for the aspects that make us stronger through the challenges even though it feels like life really sucks at times. Well that also is the beauty of it sometimes isn’t it?
So, as we dedicate this post to #SayThanks, we ask you this one question –
What are you thankful for today?
I know most people have really good answers saying #SayThanks to god, #SayThanks to parents, #SayThanks opportunities and so on. All of these are very good answers. But I am really keen on knowing what you are really grateful for. What makes you feel so humble and proud at the same time that you feel like saying THANK YOU out loud and mean it right from the bottom of your heart. That aspect of your life which you wouldn’t trade for anything in this world.
That is the meaning of #SayThanks to us today.
So, as we end this post, I would like to ask you,
What are you thankful for?
Do join us for more such updates,
I’m thankful for my existence, my presence on this earth, for everything around me…. :-)
A lovely post, Vinay…
Thank you Maniparna :). And I am thankful for your comment here :). I think it is a great attitude to be thankful, it brings out such an amazing energy within us :)
I am thankful for the family i have been blessed with.
I am happy to hear that Indu. The family is a great source of inspiration and the wheel that drives us ahead. Blessed to have a wonderful family :)
Vinay , very difficult to pinpoint a few things – well not having any major issues in life itself is a big thing to be thankful for.
True Somali, there is so much to be thankful for, so many things that we have noticed and acknowledged and so many others which we miss out on. Gee life sure is a rich existence :)
well Vinay this list will give a tough competition to the one I have been making about ‘ what I am not Thankful for ‘ right ! Thank God , the other one is shorter :P
I’m a patient of Thalassemia Major. Because of this, I was not able to go to school after class seventh. But fortunately, I was able to stick with my education through correspondence courses and managed to become Post Graduate in English Literature and Applied Psychology. I’m thankful that I was able to study. Without this education, I would have had no future at all. It is my education that aides my dreams. And so I’m thankful to God for letting me study, also thankful to myself for not choosing the easier alternative of giving up on education.
I’m also thankful to internet and computer. I can’t imagine what I would have done without the power of internet. Today, I’m published author of two novels and have a technology blog. And in my journey of reaching here, besides the support of my family, it was my computer and internet that gave me biggest help. So I’m thankful that I live in an internet age. I don’t think I’d have been able to do half the things I’m doing now if it were not for the magic of internet.
I’m also thankful that God has given me a temperament that enables me to see the positive side of life and focus on finding solutions out of the problems. It is a great help when even through the darkest night you can think about the day ahead.
Thank you Jyoti for sharing your personal experience here. We really appreciate that. It is very inspiring to read this comment thread and the way you talk about, there is a constant touch of humility and gratitude all through which makes one smile as he/she reads it. Congratulations on making it with such beautiful accolades Jyoti. I read the reviews on your books and they are really nice. I would love to pick your books sometimes. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts here. It is truly inspirational :)