Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day here in Canada—a day to reflect on the good things in life and feel grateful for our blessings. Thanksgiving is an excellent opportunity to dive into the concept of “3 levels of gratitude” that I serendipitously found in a book I’ve been reading this week.
Welcome to the 83rd edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a decluttering challenge for the week. In addition to 3 levels of gratitude, this week’s edition looks at greenwashing fines for Keurig, Earth’s vital signs report, and decluttering apps and software.
On my mind this week: Activating 3 levels of gratitude
Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday of the year for a couple of reasons. The timing of our holiday here in Canada is such that the fall colours usually provide a colourful backdrop for the celebrations. And a holiday that focuses on gratitude is a perfect foil to all the commercialism and chaos that has come to be associated with Christmas.
A few weeks ago, Yasmin Nguyen gave a talk on joy at the Retirement Coaches Association conference. His talk inspired me, and I wanted to learn more, so I bought a copy of Yasmin’s book The Game of Joy.
Joy activators
In the book, Yasmin introduces the concepts of “joy activators” and “joy blockers.” In the chapter on joy activators that I read this week, he points out that joy is always available inside us, like a light waiting to be turned on. Joy activators are things that flip the switch and turn on the light to activate joy in our lives. What a beautiful analogy!
The book includes quite a long list of joy activators, but gratitude is one of the “Big 5” activators that are universally effective. Expressing or receiving gratitude causes our brains to release serotonin and dopamine—neurotransmitters that we often refer to as the happy or “feel good” hormones.
Gratitude gives us the opportunity to shift from a mindset of scarcity and fear to one of abundance and appreciation.
Yasmin Nguyen, The Game of Joy
3 levels of gratitude
If you look at most gratitude lists (like the one I published last Thanksgiving), you’ll see things like family, pets, friends, health, career accomplishments, and material possessions. But The Game of Joy introduces a deeper concept of 3 levels of gratitude that was new to me.
- Gratitude 1.0 – Appreciation for yourself. This is so important, yet we often don’t take the time to appreciate ourselves. This level reminds us to celebrate our wins and accomplishments. Yasmin suggests a new spin on the gratitude jar. A “Kick Ass Jar” is a place to record our achievements.
- Gratitude 2.0 – Appreciation for another person. We might be grateful for the people in our lives, but how often do we tell them why? Writing personal notes of appreciation makes the recipient and the writer feel good. This works. When I came home from Ireland at the end of August, I wrote thank you notes to the family who welcomed us so warmly during our visit. Doing this let me relive the highlights of the trip, and I hope the notes brought a smile to those who received them.
- Gratitude 3.0 – Becoming the catalyst and facilitator of appreciation for a group. This one takes gratitude from an individual exercise to a group activity, so it’s a little trickier to implement. Think of a group that you are part of. It could be your family, your work team, a sports team, or community group. Now, consider how you can promote appreciation in that group. You could give out fun appreciation awards at a team gathering or meeting. Or just make a habit of freely complimenting people and encourage others to do the same. Even better, turn your social media feed into an appreciation feed by letting your friends know how much you appreciate them. That would be a pleasant change.
Gratitude is available every day!
Thanksgiving is a reminder to pause and express gratitude, but you don’t have to wait for Thanksgiving. It’s available to you every day.
If you feel you need a little extra joy in your life, check out Yasmin Nguyen’s The Game of Joy or his Joyful Living Project website. It’s positive and uplifting and I think you’ll enjoy it.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Three highlights of the week
Gratitude is about appreciating the big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:
- We’ve been taking advantage of the beautiful fall weather to get out for some walks and hikes. Last weekend we went to Elora Gorge. Then on Tuesday, we walked the Grand Trunk Trail along the banks of the Grand River in Cambridge.
- I completed the first assignment for the final course in the Plain Language Certificate I’ve been working on for the last four years. After this course, I just have the final project to do.
- On Thursday evening, we were treated to some spectacular views of the aurora borealis. I was away last time the northern lights were visible here in southern Ontario, so I was happy not to miss it this time around!
Things I learned this week
Life is all about learning. Between the Strategies in Audience Analysis course for the Plain Language certificate and fiddling with WordPress to get my retirement coaching site ready to go live, my other learning activities are falling behind. Here are a couple of things I learned this week:
Keurig fined for greenwashing
Years ago, I bought a Keurig—a decision I came to regret when I considered all the waste involved in the name of convenience.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has fined Keurig Dr Pepper $1.5 Million for overstating the recyclability of their single-use pods. The company’s claims that K-Cups are “recyclable in many communities across the U.S. and Canada” are false. The pods are made from a mixture of plastic, aluminum, and paper, meaning most recycling facilities can’t process them.
I still have my Keurig, but I don’t buy K-Cups anymore. I use reusable pods and paper filters instead.
(Source: Earth911)
Earth’s vital signs show a planet at risk
A new report on the Earth’s vital signs paints a grim picture. The report shows 25 out of 35 measures used to track climate risk are at record levels.
There is some good news, though. Amazon deforestation has slowed, and production of renewable energy has surged. Overall, though, global demand for energy is up, and we’re emitting more greenhouse gases than ever.
(Source: CBC News)
This week’s decluttering challenge – Software and apps
In 2024, I’ve been revisiting the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge I completed in 2021. This week’s challenge was cleaning up software and apps on my devices. In total, I removed 9 apps from my devices this time around. Find the details, along with my tips and learnings, in this week’s decluttering post.
Join the challenge! Visit this post to download your free checklists and jump right in with this week’s task.
I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.
Happy Thanksgiving! It’s certainly a time to reflect with gratitude on the abundance.
Thank you, Ab. I wish you a joy-filled Thanksgiving celebration.
The three level of gratitude are excellent ways to well-being!
Yes they are. Thank you for reading.