Building the Gratitude Muscle

As anyone who has spent time in a gym or has undertaken a fitness program knows, you don’t get noticeable results if you exercise once or twice. Even if you get a boost of energy from a single workout, it will likely be short-lived. If, on the other hand, you commit to a regular exercise program, you will notice over time you have become stronger and your endurance has improved. And you carry those benefits with you all day, even when you’re not exercising.

Practicing gratitude works much the same way. If you feel grateful for something in the moment, you will likely feel a rush of joy or carry a sense of lightness with you for a while afterward. But anything could pull you out of it. The next irritation or slight could rob you of the warm feeling of gratitude and quickly make it a memory. But if you’re grounded in gratitude, it flows through you like a steady undercurrent so the shifting fortunes of daily life won’t diminish your grateful feelings.

Consistency is key. If you practice gratitude regularly, if you keep a gratitude journal or use a gratitude app, and look for things for which to feel grateful, you are building a different kind of muscle. You’re building a muscle that will keep you in a state of gratitude even during your lower moments, even when there doesn’t seem to be much for which to feel especially thankful.

Welcoming the Season of Gratitude

As the holidays approach, you’ll probably find references to gratitude popping up everywhere. As you turn your attention to your blessings and the chances to share them with your dear ones and unknown others, you have the perfect opportunity to flex your gratitude muscle. You can be grateful for all you have to give. Grateful for the presence of God in your life. Grateful for grace, kindness, and love and the many ways they show up in your life.

Each time you feel grateful, you’re growing the gratitude muscle, growing more aware that there is always something to appreciate, even in circumstances that aren’t ideal. You will grow stronger in your ability to find God in everyone and everything and in that way lay claim to the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Being grateful is a spiritual superpower, an attitude that enhances every aspect of life. Building the gratitude muscle will give you a special kind of strength, one that will help you discover the world anew as the glorious, wondrous place it is.