Gratitude | Shrink Yourself

Gratitude

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2008 | POSTED BY MICHELLE

I read a quote that said, “If I could only have one prayer it would be thank-you.” The importance of gratitude shouldn’t be underestimated. Many people adopt a gratitude practice. And what better time of year than Thanksgiving to do so.

For Emotional Eaters, Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season and can create a lot of anxiety. How will you face the holidays without overeating? How will you be strong in the face of all the food that surrounds you? How will you face the stress of family gatherings without the comfort of food? How will you face the pressure of the holidays in a failing economy without rewarding the people you love with pies and cookies since you might not be able to give them as many gifts? So many questions. So many concerns. But you can counterbalance the strain by shifting your focus.

People have told me that they came to view their pattern of overeating as a blessing instead of a curse. They actually said thank-you for their feelings of powerlessness over food. Why? Because the discomfort of overeating (the added weight, the guilt and frustration) led them on a path to Shrink Yourself, a path where they had to face themselves, their feelings and their real needs. On this journey they found it wasn’t just their weight that was suffering, it was their lives, their fulfillment and their relationships. As they improved these parts of their lives, they needed food less and less. But if it weren’t for food, they would never have gotten uncomfortable enough to go looking for a better way. Can you find some reason to say thank-you for the struggles you’ve had with food?

Challenge yourself this holiday season to cultivate a gratitude practice. It can be simple. You can just say three things each night that you’re grateful for. You can say it to yourself. Your spouse. Or you can write it in a journal. Kids love to participate in this. You can do it at the dinner table or before bedtime. In a time when it’s easy to see what we don’t have, it’s great to remember the things that we do. What can you be thankful for? Love? A home? Healthy children? Enough food? Friends? Laughter? Saying thank-you for both the struggles and the successes can give us hope.

I am grateful for all of you and for the hope you give me everyday with your courage, your tenacity and your compassion for one another. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

7 Comments In the order they were posted.

LinnyC said...

Thank you, Michelle. I am thankful for all I've learned at Shrink Yourself. I feel more alive and confident these days. When the down feelings hit they do not last as long. I am grateful.

Claudia said...

I am externally grateful to Shrink Yourself. After 37 years of abusing food I am now free from food addiction. I am calmer, confident, helathier and I wake each day bursting with energy and wonder at what the world has to offer me, the challenges and the pleasures. I am growing up, I am becoming an adult and most of all, I am becoming me.

Susan said...

I am delirious with joy that I found shrink yourself. I have tried lots of diets for more than 15 years but all failed. With the knowledge I have now, I laugh food in the face when it wants to play one of its tricks on me. I appreciate what shrink yourself is doing in my life now. I am thankful for the new lighter and energetic me.

said...

I am grateful for your information right here and right now. It showed up at the perfect time. Today I made a plan on how I am going to be sucessful at being free from this addiction. It's never about the food.

mary jane said...

A friend, counseling an alcholic, said, "you can quit drinking, but drinking's not your problem." We can diet, but food is not the problem. This program goes to the core of addiction and, by focusing on the underlying feelings and patterned responses, encourages true healing that will last.

Janny Murphy said...

After overeating for all of my 55 yrs., due to extreme emotional and physical abuse growing up, I have a little more faith, that I can do this. Sometimes the underlying problems are very painful to relive, but if it will free me from myself, and this self destruction, it's worth it.. To shrink yourself, thankyou and I am truly grateful I found you.

sabrina said...

I am still so far away from succeeding at weight loss but this web site and your newsletters make me feel like there may actually be some hope. Everyone here really gets it and that alone is such a relief. Thank you for this.