1. Act Grateful. 2. Be Grateful. (Making Gratitude a Verb Changes Everything)
Just being here now, in this amazing body and on this wild and wonderful planet, is reason enough to feel grateful. But let’s be real: It’s not always that easy. Jill Palmquist says you’ve gotta fake it ’til you make it. Here’s how.
CHANHASSEN, MN (November 2024)—It’s November, Thanksgiving is coming, and no one will shut up about gratitude. Most of us have good intentions: We know gratitude leads to a happier and more fulfilling life. And yet we repeatedly fall short. If you’re struggling to count your blessings in these tumultuous times, Jill Palmquist has a suggestion: Make gratitude a verb.
“Just as actions come before beliefs, acting grateful comes before feeling grateful,” says Palmquist, author of In This Lifetime (Wise Ink, September 2024, ISBN: 978-1-63489-689-4, $105.00). “If you want to feel grateful but can’t quite get there, do things that inspire gratitude. Act ‘as if’ and you might soon find yourself there.”
Shifting our mindset to awaken to and be grateful for everyday awe is the drumbeat of Palmquist’s stunning new coffee table book. In This Lifetime is filled with breathtaking photographs, thought-provoking essays, proverbs, parables, conversation starters, and distilled snippets of life wisdom. The words alone are mesmerizing. But the combination of inspired language and photographs brings the joy and wonder of the human experience into focus.
Okay, yes: There’s a strong pull to go the opposite direction and become bitter, disengaged, and cynical. Choosing gratitude keeps us focused on this moment, where we are alive, well, and embodied as physical beings who can think and change and grow. Acting in ways that fill us with thankfulness helps make the most of our reality.
Some tips for making gratitude a verb every day:
Just move. Admittedly, we don’t always feel like being physically active; therefore, we tend to miss out on the exhilarating endorphin high and the many other ways fitness impacts the amazing machines that are our bodies. There are only two things really required for movement, says Palmquist: 1. You just do it. 2. You continue to do it. The more you move your body, the more grateful you will feel for all the incredible things your body can do.
Go outside. See how an unexpected encounter with a single patch of sunlight can change your life. Don’t just think, I’m grateful for this sunny day and move on. Take it further. Engage with the day!!!! Walk in the sunshine and feel how it dances on your skin. Look for and see where the lighted pathway wants to lead you.
Choose to love over and over (and over). In one day, there are one thousand opportunities to be kind. We are far better equipped to feel, act on, and create gratitude when we choose the high-energy frequency of love. This means making loving choices in a world that sometimes makes us want to shut down or take the low road. Is it always easy? No. But this is a radical act of gratitude, because when you lean in toward kindness and connection, you are making the world a more open, safe, and loving place for everyone.
Allow yourself to experience awe. Moments of awe ground us in gratitude when life unfolds in ways we do not like. They remind us that maybe we are part of something far bigger than us that we don’t need to understand. Sit by a window and witness a storm roll in across the horizon. Attend a musical performance and immerse yourself in the sounds and vibrations. Sit outside at twilight and watch darkness descend over a lake of plate glass water.
Find your people. Make your friends. Love your tribe. Connecting with those we love amps up gratitude. You make the call; instigate a get-together to break bread (or clink some wine glasses). In the midst of the laugher, look around—all these people were once strangers. What a miracle!
Rest easy and often. Denying yourself much-needed rest makes it harder to connect to all the good in the world. Intentionally slow down. Cancel plans for things you don’t really want to do. Go to bed early (preferably in a beautifully made bed and cozy pajamas). Adequate sleep improves your mental health and makes the hidden miracles of this lifetime spring into focus. “Maybe they call it ‘beauty sleep’ because it refills your cup and reconnects you to the beauty of this life and everyone in it,” says Palmquist.
These are minor tweaks to the way you are already likely to be living, but they make a major impact on how you experience this awesome, unpredictable, shimmering, very temporary existence, says Palmquist.
“A mysterious clock started the moment you entered the world, and you really have no idea when it will stop,” she says. “Any time you’re feeling complacent, think about this clock. Allow it to create a tiny bit of urgency. We have no time to waste not being grateful.”
About the Author:
Jill Palmquist is Life Time vice president and chief storyteller and the author of In This Lifetime, a coffee table book that celebrates the beauty and reminds us of the brevity of the human experience. A graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Journalism, she worked as an agency copywriter. With the birth of her daughter, she took a leap to go freelance, working on a variety of fun brands for a variety of fun companies, including luxury leisure and lifestyle company Life Time.
While never pretending to understand the founder’s brilliant brain, she did understand his heart and realized her desire to help people see the magnificence of their lives was completely aligned with his. Both her love of the company and responsibilities grew, proving what they say is true: time flies when you’re having fun. (That baby girl is now 23 years old.) While happy with all the work she’s done for the company, it’s true fulfillment she feels in contributing to the brand’s recent transformation.
About the Book:
In This Lifetime (Wise Ink, September 2024, ISBN: 978-1-63489-689-4, $105.00) is available from Life Time, Inc.
About Life Time:
Life Time (NYSE: LTH) empowers people to live healthy, happy lives through its portfolio of more than 170 athletic country clubs across the United States and Canada. The health and wellness pioneer also delivers a range of healthy-way-of-life programs and information via its complimentary Life Time Digital app.
The company’s healthy living, healthy aging, healthy entertainment communities and ecosystem serve people 90 days to 90+ years old and is supported by a team of more than 45,000 dedicated professionals. In addition to delivering the best programs and experiences through its clubs, Life Time owns and produces nearly 30 of the most iconic athletic events in the country.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
