Thankful – A Blog, A Magazine. It's JustsumInspiration!

photo credit above courtesy of bing

Have you ever met someone that no matter how good something was, they always found a reason to complain about it? Life has many ups and downs, curve balls, left hand swings, but just because life may have decided to put you in a bad situation, doesn’t mean that there aren’t little glimmers of light that shine through in which we should give thanks for.

There are countless situations in which we can find reasons to complain about such as our jobs, but there are many people whom can’t seem to catch a break in finding the good in it. We complain about the cars we drive, but there’s someone out there who has to walk or take public transit everywhere they go.

We complain about our kids, but there are people out there who would love to have one, but can’t. While there are many things we can complain about, there are also many things we should and can be thankful about as well.

Listed below are a couple of tips to help you become a little more thankful on any given day, no matter what situation or circumstance life has left on our doorstep.

Becoming A Thankful Person – Every..Single..Day

You should always be thankful for the life, health, and strength that you have and are given each day. This may be a minute thing, but when you look around at the people who aren’t so fortunate to have those things, it can make your day and your heart of gratitude that much more special. Every day above ground is truly a miracle; a miracle that everyone doesn’t have.

Being Thankful for Everything “YOU” Have

It’s easy to look at someone else’s situation and think that they have it so much better than us; we covet what they have thinking its better.

In reality, we’re all outsiders looking into someone else’s window. What we don’t see is how they too are struggling just like us, it might be a different struggle but we’re all in the same boat. While you’re looking into someone else’s window wishing for what they have, someone is looking through your window wishing they had what you got.

Being Thankful for Our Relationships

We should be thankful for our friendships as well as be grateful for our moms, dads, sisters and brothers no matter how close or distant you may be from them.

Family and friends are so important. Most times we don’t realize how blessed we are to have a family or loved ones in our corner until it’s too late and there are many people who wish that can have such relationships.

Being Thankful for Both small & BIG Things

We should give thanks in everything, even the small things. We should always be thankful, from the smallest things such as being able to eat what you want to the bigger things like receiving a promotion or getting the job of your dreams.

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Every day is a gift, and it’s a gift that should be cherished no matter the outcome, circumstance or situation that life may bring. Giving thanks is not meant for a particular day or season. Instead, it’s a lifestyle that we should aim to have every day of the year.

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of A Blog, A Magazine. It’s JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud, Inspire Often & Love Hard!

Well, Ya’ll – November is officially here – One more month until the end of the year and soon it’ll be 2018!!! Wow can you believe it? While this year has definitely been a roller-coaster ride of fun, emotional turmoils, second-guessing situations and myself and just trying to find “purpose” in the smallest of things, I’ve always kept a positive attitude in regards to the many “seen” and “unforeseen” blessings that God has bestowed upon me, my family, friends and even people I don’t know – I’m happy when good things happen for people and I take pleasure in seeing people smile. That smile bumps up a notch especially when I see children doing big things such as the post of little Sunshine Oelfke and how she took her allowance money to help an unfortunate friend, in which her donation ended up helping her whole class. I smile even wider when I see un-ordinary people doing extraordinary things for others, such as Franz Jacob; the barber who goes out of his way to cut his 6yr old autistic client’s hair.

So, what are you talking about Roshonda – you may ask? I’m talking about having an Attitude of Gratitude.

Why should we wait until November to be thankful, when there are so many positive stories around us that are happening each and everyday – stories that bring us hope, encouragement, inspiration and a grateful heart towards others. While I’m not naive’ to the many “negative” aspects that the news may bring – stories of hurt, pain, disappointment, heartache and disgust and yes, they all make me very sad, sometimes to the point of crying in which makes my mind wonder – “What’s the point of life?” But instead of focusing on the negative, I “choose” to focus on something so much greater and that’s the positive side of things – I can’t help what other people may or may not do, but I can and am responsible for my actions and the choices that I make in the process.

There are so many things to be thankful for and this month – I want to focus on us being thankful for the small things – it’s easy to look at negative things as they are so easy to find; but in order to have/live a happy fulfilled life – we have to fill ourselves with positive notes and “choose” to see things in a different light, a light that may not always be so easy to find. Every other day for the month of November, I am going to be sharing some “gratitude” statements with you. Each statement (which will be posted every Monday and Wednesday of this month) will be questions in which will help us see things in a different way, including ourselves – they’ll be questions where you may have to dig deep in order to answer them, but in the end – my hope is that you will feel more empowered and begin to see yourself and even your life differently and not just for the month of November – but for every month of the year.

In the midst of the the Q&A’s, I’ll also be posting a couple of blog posts on Thursday’s (except for the 23rd – Thanksgiving) that will give you tips on how to be happier and more thankful. So be on the lookout for those. I’ve had quite a few people in life to ask me “Why do you smile so much” I mean do you ever get sad?. I’ve even had some people that have tried to dull that smile on many occasions and almost succeeded but My answer to that question is always “OF COURSE, I’m Human!!” but the secret is:

My Faith.
I “choose” to allow what I let in and what I don’t.
I love the feeling of being positive and displaying a good attitude. (Makes the day go by quicker..lol)

We all have a choice, I just choose to see things differently than someone else looking at the exact same thing and that’s it. I hope you join me this month in answering the questions and hey, you might even want make you a gratitude jar and put in the things that you are grateful for, so when you’re having a bad day you can pull out something positive and reflect on it, it might seem cheesy but it’ll give you a new perspective on looking at your life and situation in a whole new way. Trust Me!

So, let’s get this month started shall we?