Reasons I’m Thankful this Holiday Season
By: Erica Martin
Tags: Health, Relationships, Thankfulness, Self, Gratitude

Gratitude

Reasons I’m Thankful this Holiday Season

And reasons why you should practice gratitude.

Photo by Guillaume de Germain on Unsplash

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and I’ve been thinking more and more about the reasons I’m thankful this holiday season. It’s important to remember the things you’re thankful for everyday of every year, of course, but I always think about it even more around Thanksgiving, and this year, with everything that’s been going on in the US and other countries, I’m thinking about it even more.

Why should we be thankful?

There are so many good reasons to practice gratitude. Here are just a few of them:

It helps you cope with stress better.

Helps improve your overall health and well-being.

Helps you develop stronger bonds and relationships with the people you care about.

Helps you feel more secure and self-assured.

Increases overall happiness and satisfaction.

Keeps you inspired and increases creativity.

So here are some of the things I’m thankful for — at least the ones I can think of right now:

First and foremost, I’m thankful I’ve been able to stay healthy this year. With coronavirus rates constantly changing, I’ve done everything I can to stay healthy. I’ve worn my mask out in public, and tried to social distance as much as possible. I’m thankful for my creativity. My interest in creative pursuits, like writing and various crafts, has helped me keep my sanity this year. I started learning to crochet at the beginning of this year, and I’ve done pretty well with it. I plan to continue crocheting, and keep adding new stitches as my skills improve. I love writing because it allows me to express my opinion about different topics and also get my thoughts down in paper about different things going on in my life through journaling. My writing has also helped me make a little extra money this year, through the Medium Partner program and some of the freelance websites I find work on. My writing skills aren’t always the best, but I do my best to write as clearly as possible. I’m thankful for my family. I haven’t gotten to see them this year because of the pandemic and also because of the busy schedules me and my husband keep with our work and responsibilities outside of work. I’m thankful for my husband. He’s been my rock, one of my sources of mental and emotional support during this crazy time. We don’t always get to see one another because of his travel schedule, but even when he’s away we talk all the time. I’m also thankful he was able to find a new job quickly after his other company laid him off because of the coronavirus. I’m thankful for my social media family. The people I connect with on social media have supported me as I work to accomplish my different goals. I’m thankful I have some time off for Thanksgiving. We had planned to go up to Michigan to see Kevin’s family. We changed our plans at the last minute and decided to stay home because Michigan’s governor was tightening up restrictions again for the holidays. We wouldn’t be able to go to any restaurants, and Kevin’s mother isn’t planning to cook, so we decided to get our own turkey and stuffing, and some vegetables and a delicious dessert to go with it. I’m thankful I’ve lost a few pounds this year. I’ve been struggling to lose weight the past few years. But I figured out that because I’m getting older, I can’t exercise as intensely as I used to be able to. Once I reduced the intensity of my workouts and worked on controlling my food intake, I started losing weight again. I’m down about 5 pounds so far.

Those are just a few of the reasons I can think of for why I’m thankful. I have so much more to be thankful for, but I can’t think of it all right now. I hope all my Medium family has a great, safe holiday.

What are you thankful for this holiday season?