November is National Gratitude Month. Two years ago, when My Cup of Cocoa began, I created a Gratitude Challenge. It is still one of my most popular posts. But I thought an updated version was in order for 2018. What is a gratitude challenge? It’s simply a list of questions to help you think about what you have to be grateful for in your life. And what better time to do that than during November and National Gratitude Month. The idea behind the gratitude challenge is simple. For each day in November, answer the question listed. You can answer question Read More
Tag: gratitude
Three Proven Ways To Improve Happiness
If you knew three proven ways to improve your happiness, would you do them? What if they were simple to do, but took a committed effort on your part? In researching what makes people happy, I’ve come across a lot of different ideas. There are three things, however, that almost everyone that studies happiness can agree on. Zig Ziglar called them the Three Gs. Meik Wiking includes the same ideas in various ways in his Little Book of Lykke. You can read more about my experiences with his work here and here. The Three Gs are Grow, Give, and have Read More
15 Books to Teach Kids About Gratitude
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I can really get behind a day of feasting, relaxing and visiting with family and friends, and remembering all the things we have to be thankful for. Gratitude is such an important factor in our lives. Practicing gratitude can relieve stress, lower blood pressure, create contentment, improve our relationships, and even further our career. And here we are, right in the middle of National Gratitude Month. Could there be a more appropriate time to teach our children about gratitude? Unfortunately, it often seems that Thanksgiving is overshadowed by the big commercial push of Read More
One is Silver and the Other, Gold
Remember the old sing-a-long “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, and the other, gold”? This time of year makes me think of old friends and new friends and this old song has been on my mind. I love my friends. My life would not be half as rich without them. An old friend of mine was visiting over the Thanksgiving holiday. She and her family live on the opposite side of the country. They spent a week here in sunny California and had Thanksgiving dinner with us. I hadn’t seen her in more than a year Read More