Why I'm Thankful Before I Receive

I love Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday. And it’s a great time to remind ourselves of all the things we’re grateful for… family, friends, our good health, delicious food, the abundance of love and laughter we have, and the great country we live in… There are many things that we can be grateful for.

But have you thought about being grateful before

you even receive any of those things?

You might be wondering how in the world would you do that. How can you be grateful for something that’s not even there? And why would you want to anyway?

Feeling gratitude before you receive what you want allows you to be open to receiving.

When you imagine how you’ll feel once you receive what you desire, and you actually feel gratitude for this future possibility - - well, you’re kind of tricking your brain. I like to call it positive brainwashing.

Your brain receives that information. You begin to change your own thoughts and beliefs toward abundance rather than scarcity. Then you act in ways that will attract what you want into your life.

I’ve seen many people successful in doing this, and I’ve done this many times myself (and yes, I’ve worried and stressed and done the opposite as well - so I know this stuff works!).

It’s actually pretty simple. It’s just a matter of believing in it, and doing it.

Start by imagining the kind of life you want. Maybe it’s more freedom and less stress. Perhaps it’s to have more good friends in your life? For some, it might be to achieve a career or financial goal, or get healthier, or feel happier.

Picture yourself there, smile, and feel gratitude for it.

Do this every evening before you go to bed, and every morning before you get up. Writing it is even more powerful!

Then start with some attainable goals and tasks to support your belief. For example, if I am focusing on health, I’m picturing myself feeling energized, flexible, and fit, and I’m so grateful for this. Every morning and evening, I’ll write “I am so grateful for being happy and healthy, being flexible and fit, with lots of positive energy.” I’ll feel the gratitude while I’m writing it. Then I’ll begin with some small steps towards it. I’ll stretch before I get out of bed. I’ll add one green drink a day, or something else that’s healthy to my diet. I’ll walk 10,000 steps. (By the way, I change it up to keep it fresh and new, because I get bored doing the same ‘ole thing.)

Before I started this ‘feeling gratitude before I receive’ routine, it always felt so forced, so difficult to complete the tasks I knew were important to my goals. I resented the healthy food. I groaned about the exercise. I didn’t want to stretch each morning. Now it just flows. There’s no resistance to it. And when you think about it, it’s pretty logical. We’re training our brains to accept our activities, rather than our brains working against us.

So whatever it is you desire, just think, you can have a much more enjoyable journey getting there if you feel gratitude before you receive it!

Happy Thanksgiving!