Hi everyone, Dr. Scott here again. Recently, I’ve been reflecting on gratitude. All the negative news about COVID infections can be disheartening and demoralizing. So, that’s why I try to have an attitude of gratitude — to take the focus off myself and my worries and appreciate the things around me.
One thing I’ve found very helpful is a meditation app called Ten Percent Happier. It’s a little pricey, but you can take advantage of the 30-day free trial. Under the sleep setting, there’s a nightly gratitude meditation by Jeff Warren. He asks you to reflect on your day step by step and think of all the things you’re grateful for along the way.
I like this process because it helps gratitude to become a nightly routine. It’s natural to dwell on the negative — our brains go there quickly and easily. Having a habit to counteract that tendency has been very valuable to me.
I’ve also begun keeping a gratitude journal. I make it a part of my morning routine as often as possible. Knowing I need to write in my journal gets me looking for other things to be grateful for during the day, and it helps me be self-aware and celebrate small wins.
I recently enjoyed a TED talk by David Steindl-Rast where he emphasizes that it’s not happiness that makes us grateful; gratefulness makes us happy. Every moment is a gift, and if we view it as valuable, we have an opportunity to seize it. But he doesn’t fall into the trap of thinking opportunity only knocks once — if you miss that particular moment, you likely have another moment a little later, and you can seize that one.
Though I’ve gotten much better at feeling grateful, I still need to work on expressing it. I’m reminded of William Arthur Ward’s quote, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” In that spirit, I’d like to thank all of you, my patients, my staff, as well as my wife Tala, my children Alecia and Nicholas, and my entire extended family. You are what keeps me enjoying every day.
When you concentrate on the good, I believe good things come your way. Though the world is scary, I hope you’ll join me on this journey to acknowledge and cherish the incredible gifts that are all around us. Again, many thanks! |
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