Take a Thankful Walk

     
Motivational speaker and author Jon Gordon suggests taking a "thankful walk" in his book "The Positive Dog". Basically, what Gordon suggests is that when we start experiencing our own little pity party we need to stop and look at all we have to be thankful for in life. It's easy to get down on life when you set your mind on the challenges you are facing in your home, work, or other relationships, and when we set our mind on thinking about how rough we have it, then it compounds the circumstance in my opinion. It's safe to say we all have things that each of us would rather not have to be dealing with, and it also would be safe to assume that if we could wish away some of our problems we would be doing that, but how many of us are actually spending the majority of our time focusing on what we do have and being thankful for what we have?
     When I get up each day I spend time in devotion, meditation, and prayer during which I make an effort to give thanks for the little things that are really big things when you stop and put them in perspective. For example, I easily could wake up each morning and start complaining that I'm tired, I've got a packed day, my feet hurt, well you know where I'm going with this the list could go on and on! Try this when you get out of bed tomorrow, take a moment to think how fortunate you are to be able to get out of bed. Focus on that for a minute. What if you were paralyzed? What if you had no legs? Would that change your mindset on getting up out of bed and being able to walk to the bathroom, walk out the door, and walk down the street to the market or deli? Let's take it another direction. Instead of focusing our negative energy on having to go to work, or feeling like you are stuck in a job you hate, what would happen if we started thinking about how thankful we are that we have been given the intelligence and skill set we have to do the job we are doing? What would it be like if we were just thankful that we have a job that allows us to pay the bills we have, and to guarantee us the income we need to provide housing, food, and the clothes on our backs? Instead of focusing on what we don't have, how about giving some thanks for the fact that we live in a country where we have more opportunities and more avenues to pursue them then about 75% of the world? Think that might cause a little mind shift?
     For me, I believe Jon Gordon's "thankful walk" is all about perspective. When we set our minds on how bad we have it or how bad our circumstances are then we can quickly find ourselves in a state of despair and hopelessness. When we start convincing ourselves of how bad we have it, then it compounds the severity of the situation. "Nobody has it as bad as I do", and "Let me tell you about my own little crisis", become our life's theme and focus. I know bad things happen and I know you may have a tough situation that you have been dealing with, are dealing with currently, and possibly don't foresee a end to dealing with it ever, but could it be that the very thing you are dealing with is the door which is going to lead to the next chapter in your life? Well if you turn the perspective around to one of looking for the things you do have to be thankful for then I believe that mindset will lead you to the key to unlocking that door of opportunity that is just waiting on you to turn the key!
       To be thankful and to take that "thankful walk" requires a great deal of faith and trust. In
I Thessalonians 5:18 Paul tells us to " give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." That's easy to do when things are going our way, relationships are rosy, there's money left at the end of the month, doctor's report says "A OK", and the boss just patted you on the back and told you what a great job you are doing! Life is good and I want to thank God for all He has done for me! Sound familiar? Well what about when the dog just got in a fight and the vet bill is an unexpected $500.00, or the washing machine leaked the whole night and the floor is bowed up like a bridge? Wife is fussing, child has the flu, and your boss says they may be shutting down your branch next month? How do you take a "thankful walk" in any of those situations? Well you do just that. "I'm thankful I have a job that allows me to pay the vet bill and if our branch does shut down, I have been a faithful, hard worker with a strong work history so I will have a positive reference to take into a new job search if that happens. I'm thankful we have a professional, caring doctor that is fully capable of taking care of our child, and although my wife is fussing at me, I am thankful for our marriage and the stability it provides our child! Does that change the mindset of how we could be thinking in similar situations? 
     Life is tough. But guess what, nobody said it was going to be easy! Life shouldn't be too easy anyway. How would we learn to be thankful for the sunny days, if we didn't have the stormy days to compare them? Change your heart, change your mindset, and take a walk! 
Coach Carter