An Attitude of Gratitude

President Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has counseled us that we must always have an attitude of gratitude.  When we take this to heart, suddenly a change for the better comes over us and we see everything and everyone around us in a very different and positive light.

The world is not perfect, far from and neither are any of us the live on it.  In marriage two imperfect people come together in order to create a marriage as close to perfection as possible. How can this be done?  It all starts with each person and their attitude toward each other.  Are we going to focus on not only our imperfections but our spouses as well?  Are we going to dwell on what we don’t have or what is missing in our lives?  Are we going to criticize each other and get easily frustrated?  Well, the choice is yours.  We can choose to do all these things and be absolutely miserable.  Or we can choose to love and have an attitude of gratitude! 

I love the quote “Choose your love.  Love your choice”.  Showing gratitude toward our spouse is one of the best ways to love them.  Think about what attracted you to him or her in the first place.  Didn’t you only see the positive qualities he/she possessed? 

So how do we implement an attitude of gratitude, especially when it comes to our marriages?  Gottman challenges us to focus on our tendency to be negative and change that by noticing all the little things in our lives and search for things to praise and utter words of thanks.  He states that this will help us overcome our negative feelings.  Along with this we should give at least one heartfelt praise to our husband each day for a week, then extend that to others in our family.  Notice their positive qualities, express appreciation and enjoy them.  The most important thing to do is to ignore their shortcomings. 

I am ready for this challenge and am looking forward to the change I will experience in my own heart.  Are you ready for the challenge?