Gratitude may not be your first reaction when reflecting on 2020. It’s been an uncertain year, to say the least, and so many aspects of our daily lives look different now. We acknowledge your feelings and share those thoughts with you.
However, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we’d like to shift the focus this week to gratitude. In two separate studies conducted by the University of California, Davis and the University of Pennsylvania, participants who focused on gratitude experienced increased optimism and happiness, higher motivation to exercise, and fewer trips to doctors’ offices. Additional studies highlighted a correlation between gratitude and greater satisfaction in relationships (Harvard Medical School). In our ongoing quest for overall health, practicing gratitude adds a powerful tool to our arsenal.
Even if Thanksgiving looks different for you this year (anyone else sharing a meal over FaceTime?), we love the tradition of going around the table and verbalizing what we’re thankful for. Here are a few questions to guide your conversation, and feel free to ask them in any order:
1. What is the most valuable lesson you've learned this year?
2. How do you stay focused on gratitude throughout the year?
3. What family member or friend do you wish was with us at the table today?
4. What made you laugh the hardest this past year?
We hope these questions and their answers help usher you to a place of peace. Thank you for being our Avanti Pilates family. We are always thankful for you and wish you and your loved ones a very Happy Thanksgiving.
