Thankfulness Can Change the Course of Your Life

When I am asked how I was able to go on with strength and positivity after I lost my arm, my answer repeatedly goes back to gratitude.

I felt thankful to be alive. I wasn’t mad at God, I trusted He was in control and had a better plan and would do what He always does…redeem. I look back and see so much goodness and beauty that has come from the loss of my arm.

I don’t think about what I don’t have, I am grateful for all I do have.

Thankfulness changed the course of my life!

Along with gratitude being a main theme in my life, it’s also a theme in my online course The Unstoppable Year. In my conversation with Nick Vujicic and Kate Merrick we talk about how incredibly powerful it is to have an attitude of gratitude and how being grateful can help you be more present in your life and overcome obstacles when they come your way.

Charles Swindoll has a memorable quote that helps capture the power of attitude in our lives:

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes.

Try to carry yourself with gratitude first and see the difference it can make. When you feel frustrated, disappointed, fearful, or simply whiny about something…STOP yourself in your tracks…and name something in the moment or situation that you are thankful for.

I like to wake up in the morning, and while still laying in my bed and deep breathing, to thank God for His goodness, for my family, and for what is in store for the day.

What are you thankful for? Say it out loud, write it down, share it with someone, or pray a prayer of gratitude for it.

Watch how choosing to focus on what you are thankful for can positively alter your mind, uplift your relationships, beautify the moment, and possibly even the actual obstacle you are facing.

Thanksgiving is a day we usually reflect on what we are grateful for. What about having the spirit of Thanksgiving every day? It’s possible! Let gratitude be your habit and focus on the daily. I hope you can ponder your life this season and the next, and find the beauty in the good and the hard times, remembering that thankfulness can change the course of your life.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


© Bethany Hamilton

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