This week we are going to look at the concept of gratitude. Wondering what to write during this coronavirus pandemic led me to think about the concepts of positive psychology, one of which is the idea of being grateful. Years ago, a work friend informed me of positive psychology, which led me on a quest to understand what positive psychology entails. I came across an article in a psychology periodical around the time I began reading about positive psychology, which described how researchers studied 50+ countries and discovered how the poorest of those countries seemed to have the happiest of folks. How could this be? They wondered. Then, the researchers broke down what seemed to make those folks happy into categories. One of those categories is gratitude. Those folks were found to be grateful. One of my favorite actors is Henry Wrinkler. As a child of the 70s, I grew up watching Happy Days. One of the most popular characters--and one of my favorite, admittedly--was Arthur Fonzarelli, also known as "the Fonz." If you use IMDb to look up Henry Wrinkler, he has countless television and movie appearances. I can think of The Waterboy and Barry, to name two off the top of my head, not to mention being one of the executive producers of the current remake of MacGyver. When I have watched Henry Winkler interviewed in the last few years, he always seems to wear a permanent smile. When one late-night talk show host mentioned his happy appearance, Winkler stated, "I'm just thankful. I'm always thankful." Reading his bio on IMDb, he struggled with dyslexia through he successfully received a bachelor's degree and a Master's of Fine Arts from Yale (of all places!). Per his bio on IMDb, he suffered from low self-esteem since being a young boy. He also struggled to learn his lines on Happy Days due to his dyslexia, so he would ask for his script sooner and needed longer to memorize his lines he once stated. Oh sure! There is a LOT to worry about currently. I will not sugar-coat it. However, if we can go through a list of things we have to be thankful for, we can improve our thinking and our mood. Nate Larkin, the author of Samson and the Pirate Monks, stated in his book that focusing on the things he was grateful for helped him with stopping his sexual addiction; Nate is married and writes of his past struggles with compulsive sexual behavior. Therefore, I encourage you to make a list. Go ahead. Make one on your phone as you are finishing this blog. It can be simple. It does not have to be complicated or more than a couple of words--or even one word--per item to be thankful for. May I suggest you start with one or two and build each day with one or two more. Review the list at the end of your week...your month. May I suggest the following reasons to be grateful to begin: food, clothing, shelter, transportation. Stay Safe!
Wash Your Hands for 20 Seconds!
Stay 6 Feet Apart From Others!
Cough Into Your Arm or Elbow!