While getting my haircut Friday evening, I jokingly complained to my barber about how my hairline has slowly receded over the past 10 years. He chuckled a bit and then remarked, “Over the years I’ve lost good customers simply because there’s just no hair to cut. Be grateful you have hair.”

I smiled and nodded my head in agreement. “That’s good perspective”, I said. “I am happy and grateful I have hair.”

Over the weekend I’ve thought quite a bit about that conversation. All too often even the best of us will allow ourselves to feel loss and regret over the very things we really should be grateful about.

We all have either said or heard these phrases…
“Ugh, I hate this car!”
“Really! Another red light!!!”
“Hmph…another unproductive meeting!”
“Yuck!  Did you cook this?”

Harmless as these may seem…statements like this accentuate the negative and can slowly take our thoughts and emotions to an unconstructive place.  The trick to avoiding this and experiencing continual gratitude is to simply focus on all of the ‘haves’ in your life vs. the ‘have not’s’.

For example, the statements above should be…
“I am happy and grateful I have a car that can get me where I need to be.”
“I am thankful for traffic signals; otherwise my commute could be much worse.”
“I appreciate being a member of this team.  In the future, I will provide value by suggesting an agenda and volunteering to facilitate.
“I am happy and grateful I have food to eat and someone is willing to cook this food for me.” (In the future, I will suggest another recipe)

This may seem a bit over the top, but it’s necessary.  Changing your mind state to embody gratitude…can change your life.

Our 21^st century sage, Oprah Winfrey clearly summed this up when she said, “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more.  If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”

Today is a great day to embrace an ‘attitude of gratitude’!

With the year coming to a close and Thanksgiving just a few days away, this is a great week to start building a productive and bountiful new habit.

So tell me…what are you happy and grateful for?
Oh…and have a Happy Thanksgiving!