9 Ways to Extend a Spirit of Thanksgiving

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

I tried to find a way to describe it, but it was hard. Thankfully, my local Moroccan friends saw me struggle and helped me identify the right words for my national holiday.

“Feast of Thanks,” they said in Arabic. 

“Yes, that’s it!”

I went on to try to explain the story of the first Thanksgiving. They listened with curiosity as I told them about the Indians, the Pilgrims, the journey to America, the food, the prayers, the gratitude…

“In the United States, we celebrate the ‘Feast of Thanks’ on the fourth Thursday of November every year.”

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I chuckled out loud.

“One day a year?! That might sound crazy to you! In your country, your culture, and your language, you thank God constantly—throughout the day, throughout the week, throughout the month, throughout the year.”

As I reflected on my words, I wondered.

Why should we have this spirit of thanksgiving only one day a year? Shouldn’t our lives constantly, hourly, daily reflect thanksgiving and gratitude?

How can we extend our spirit of thanksgiving beyond the last Thursday of November? 

What if we made it a 365 days a year practice?

According to Mindful, a public benefit corporation providing content, training, courses, and conferences on mindfulness, “Building your capacity for gratitude isn’t difficult. It just takes practice. The more you can bring your attention to that which you feel grateful for, the more you’ll notice what to feel grateful for!”

Robert Emmons is a psychology professor and gratitude researcher at the University of California, Davis. He explains that there are two key components of practicing gratitude:

• We affirm the good things we’ve received.

• We acknowledge the role other people play in providing our lives with goodness. 

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Sounds simple enough. Let’s get started!

Here are 9 practical ways to grow an attitude of gratitude beyond American Turkey Day:

1. Use Grateful Language

Thankfulness and gratitude are quite the opposite of grumbling and complaining. It’s choosing to use positive language instead of negative language. What comes out of our mouths, what goes into our ears, what floats around our minds, what attitudes we choose . . . that’s what we begin to believe and feel. Try using words like “I’m grateful,” “I’m thankful,” “I appreciate,” and see how you feel! Also, look for positive, thankful people to hang around with. The thanksgiving spirit is contagious!

2. Express Thanks With Words

Just say “thank you”! Those are some of the first words that a parent teaches their child to say. These two little words are powerful. Make a list of 5 people who have helped or served you and or your family recently. Call them and tell them verbally how much you appreciate them and what they have done for you, or try to arrange a coffee date so that you can tell them in person. 

3. Keep a Gratitude Journal

Take time at least once a day, or perhaps even morning and evening, to count your blessings. Try doing the challenge of “1000 Gifts” with Ann Voscamp. Begin by writing down 1–2 things, and then see how long and how quickly your pen will continue counting gifts. 

4. Use Your Senses

Take a sensory walk! Try the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique to raise awareness of the present. Remember, it’s 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. Notice and name each one. Noticing what is around you helps you to see things, be present, and be grateful in turn for all the delightful sensory experiences that you can capture.

5. Use Visual Reminders

What are the people, places, or things that make you happy? What causes a spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude to rise up inside of you? Is it a picture of your children? Is it a beautiful sunset? Is it an object, perhaps a seashell, picked up from the beach during your last vacation? Is it a favorite food that you only find occasionally in North Africa? Whatever those things are, plant them around your house (physically or in pictures)—in your office, in the bathroom, on the refrigerator, in your car, etc. as visual reminders to be grateful and to say “thank you.”

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

6. Write Thank-You Cards

Try the good ‘ole “snail mail” technique. Buy a package of cute thank-you cards or make some simple ones yourself. Think of two people who have recently been kind to you and/or your family members. Take some time to reflect and remember what they have done. Try to recall how their actions made you feel and what it did for you and/or your family. Then, take a few minutes to write an old-fashioned thank-you card, or send a text or email. Don’t forget to buy stamps and mail your cards the same day!

7. Go Through the Motions

Just like we have to wake up and drink a cup of coffee to get our minds and bodies going, so it is with gratitude. Sometimes, we don’t feel thankful and grateful at all. Sometimes, we have to force ourselves to begin, and then the gratitude juices start to flow. Make yourself find and name three things for which you are grateful—even the small things—the smell of clean laundry, a rooftop where you can hang your laundry to dry, the sun and heat that air dries your laundry quickly. Notice what happens when you begin to name the small things for which you are thankful. Once you start going through the motions, you may not be able to stop! 

8. Intentionally Think of the Good and Fight the Negativity Bias

Our minds have a natural tendency to remember the hard parts of our story and to dwell on the challenges. That’s called a “negativity bias.” Since we are bent towards negativity, we will have to intentionally lean into the positive. Try to reflect, to notice, to watch what is good, perfect, pure, positive. 

9. Observe

Notice yourself. How often do you say “thank you”? Is it habitual? How do you feel, physically and emotionally, when you express thanks? Do a quick body scan to notice.  

Hopefully these 9 ideas will help you extend the spirit of thanksgiving this year.  

Don’t forget that gratitude has a wide range of benefits. Research shows that it can strengthen your immune system, improve sleep patterns, help you feel more optimistic and experience joy and pleasure, encourage you to be more helpful and generous, and help you feel less lonely and isolated.

Why wouldn’t we want to extend the spirit of thanksgiving past the month of November, and into December . . . January . . . February . . . March? 

Happy Thanksgiving–365 days of the year!