How are you getting to know your blogging friends, family, spouses and more? With this monthly link-up, Dan and I get to know each other better, plus my readers get to know more about us!
What are you thankful for this month?
Dan: I am thankful for a career that has allowed us to afford and take the time off to travel to Europe. I realize that I am very lucky to be able to travel and see the sights of the world. After being in a foreign country where I don’t speak the native language, I am also thankful for the people out there who can speak multiple languages!
Brita: Obviously our trip to Paris and London, but especially the opportunity to spend time with my cousins Stu and Beccy.
How do you practice gratitude all year, and not just for Thanksgiving?
Dan: I probably don’t practice gratitude as much as I should, and I think in general, the world could be more thankful. I do spend most of my time at work and I try to make those that I work with feel appreciated for the work that they do. Especially as a project manager, I can’t do anything alone. I rely on others to do a good job and to make me look good!
Brita: Most months I write a Thankful Thursday blog post! This reminds me to focus my gratitude on just a few things or people who enhance my life.
Who models gratitude in your life?
Dan: I wish I had a better answer for this than I do. I can’t really think of a specific individual that I associate with gratitude. I don’t think that’s because I don’t have any exemplary examples of gracious people in my life, but more a reflection that I don’t think I have any ungrateful people that I associate with.
Brita: My parents taught me gratitude by practicing it. My parents always thanked each other for their respective contributions to our family. Whoever cooked dinner received a genuine thank you. Whoever did the dishes received a genuine thank you. My mom always thanked my dad for meals when we dined out in restaurants, even after she started working full-time, even though “his” credit card was really their credit card.
Even as an adult, when I go home to visit my dad, he thanks me when I do the dishes or I help him with dinner. I thank him when he takes me out to lunch.
Why is gratitude important to you?
Dan: Unfortunately I have a bit of an expectation of thanks and gratitude throughout my life that I shouldn’t take for granted. I feel like because thanks are so common in my life, maybe I don’t appreciate the value of the basic, everyday thank yous as much as I should.
I feel like I should be more grateful than I am for our wonderful world. In a world of grand wonder built on the hard work and genius of others, how can we ever truly be grateful for all that we have? Since I never feel thankful enough, I try to be as thankful as possible in my life. I try not to dwell on the idea that I am still benefiting so much from others.
Brita: Gratitude plays two main parts in my life. One, it’s a natural extension of my love language, Words of Affirmation. I want people to know that I’m grateful to have them in my life. Thanking them for their impact on my life, big and small, is part of that.
Two, practicing gratitude helps me refocus my energy on appreciating what I do have instead of longing for what I don’t have.
December’s theme will be Self-Reflection. If you’d like to join Dan and me, the questions will be:
- How have you become a better person this year?
- What do you think about creative outlets? Do you have one, and if so, what is it?
- In a perfect world, what would be your top 5 priorities in life?
- What do you want to improve about your life in 2017?
Next month’s link-up will be after Christmas, on December 27th. This is the last Tuesday of the month.
How do you practice gratitude? Share your thoughts below!
