An Attitude of Gratitude by Burt Goldman

An Attitude of Gratitude by Burt Goldman

The guiding principle is gratitude – and our first step is to understand exactly what gratitude is. Obviously, if we feel gratitude it means we are grateful. We appreciate something or someone. However, this gratefulness and appreciation are most usually associated with a specific event or occurrence. A one-shot instance where someone gives us a gift, someone does something for us.

However, when we speak of an “attitude of gratitude” we don’t speak to an instance, a moment of gratitude. An attitude describes the way we think about something or someone most, or all, of the time.

Carl Jung backs that up. His definition of attitude includes the idea that our attitude affects both our emotions and behavior. He described attitude as a “readiness of the psyche to act or react in a certain way” – which also a very good description for prejudice.

An attitude of gratitude goes well beyond showing our appreciation of being thankful for some object, person, circumstance, or condition we happen to like. Perhaps most synonymous to an “attitude of gratitude” is the concept of unconditional love. When this understanding of attitude is attached to a state of gratitude it means we are predisposed to being thankful. We are oriented to appreciating life. We are prejudiced by the thought that life is something to be grateful for. We are unconditionally grateful.

Are you living an attitude of gratitude?

Burt Goldman