‘Tis the Season to Renew the Attitude of Gratitude
The countdown to the holiday season is in full swing. Our one hour delivery couriers are prepping to take on your last minute deliveries, both dry and temperature controlled, and the rest of our team is handling the warehousing and fulfillment orders, critical distance deliveries, and a variety of other logistics tasks that come our way on the day to day.
Before the real hustle and bustle begins, it might be high time to take a good look around you. What do you notice? Do you find yourself seeking out the positive, or dwelling on the negative?
If you just can’t shake that “glass half empty” mindset, it’s not really your fault. You can thank your distant ancestors. Back in the caveman days, keeping an eye out for the bad stuff was a survival mechanism. When Lucy the Cavewoman scanned the skyline on a perfectly sunny day, searching for signs of rain and storms, she was looking out for her life. The fact that the default to search for negativity has survived for this long means that it is essential to our survival. Or, at least, it was.
Nowadays, our search for the negative isn’t so much about “will we survive?”, but “how inconvenienced will we be?” The accident on your morning commute that could cause you a 30 minute delay might ruin your day, but it won’t affect your ability to live until quitting time. In 2018, we might need a little reprogramming from our “Lucy” days. There’s no better time to do that than right now, during this season of Thanksgiving.
Here are a few things to consider on your quest to renew your attitude of gratitude.
Be grateful for the process
Start by seeking out gratefulness for the little things. For example, as you get dressed in the morning, consider the hands that designed your garments, the talented folks who manufactured them, even the courier who deliveries the pallets of product to your favorite shopping mall. Other things to be thankful for? The farmer who planted the oats for your oatmeal breakfast, the boy who delivers your morning paper, and the pro who roasted your coffee beans to perfection.
Speak your gratefulness
What’s better than thinking great things? Saying them out loud to the people who deserve your thanks. This one is a two-fer. It makes you focus your attention on positive things, and it makes the other person feel good about themselves. They’re more likely to pass along that positivity, and you’ve set into motion a fabulous chain reaction.
Get a gratitude journal
Getting into a mindset of gratitude takes a concerted effort, and it can be easily lost if you don’t take the time to do it daily. Some experts suggest writing down your thoughts in a journal, or even in a document on your computer. Each day, find 10 things you’re grateful for and write them down. If you’re struggling one day, focus on some of your past moments of gratitude and see if you can find new ways to be thankful.
Bad things happen, and then move on
Just because you’re focusing on the positive more doesn’t mean bad things won’t occur. They will. But it’s how you move on from them that makes the difference. Ignoring the bad won’t make it go away. Facing it, accepting it, and then intentionally choosing to move beyond it is what will change your attitude.
We’ve come a long way from our Neanderthal days. For the most part, our daily survival doesn’t depend on our ability to find every dark cloud in the day. As we approach this wonderful season of giving thanks, consider changing your attitude to one of gratitude. Not only will you feel better, but research shows you’ll be healthier, too.
Here’s a great place to start: our Eagle Express couriers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your one hour delivery DFW needs, and any other T&L needs.