Author: Tony Trott
Because November, which is the month of Thanksgiving, is about to begin, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about gratitude and how it can lead to happiness. I am certainly no expert in positive psychology; however, I do know that they are correlated. We do aspire to the writing and teaching of Caroline Adams Miller, an expert in the area of positive psychology and author of a multitude of books on goal setting and one of our favorite books, “Getting Grit.” 
Whether it is a gratitude journal, reaching out to someone to say thank you, doing a good deed, or stopping negative thinking to realize what you do have, it is proven, documented, and data driven that gratitude enhances and leads to happiness.
Too many people these days are looking for the magic pill, the dream job, the ultimate vacation, the perfect partner, and anything else one may see on social media as the way to achieve happiness. While certainly all these things can contribute to happiness, they don’t always fulfill your purpose and bring you the joy you expect. In fact, you need to dig deep to realize that only you, not some external force, can find the key to happiness. Gratitude may be the way to unlock it.
I read something in Forbes magazine a few years ago by Tracy Brower, PhD, who said this might be because when we are searching for happiness, we tend to focus on things we don’t have, but when you are more grateful for the things you do have already, you tend to feel more satisfied and happier.
Regardless of the exact reasons it happens, it has been studied and proven that being thankful for things increases happiness. And 
November is a great time to be thankful. As we have done in the past, Happy on Wheels will be posting (on our Facebook page) something we are thankful for each day in November through Thanksgiving, and we invite you to do the same. And don’t stop being thankful at Thanksgiving, there is always something to be thankful for, and that will, in turn, increase happiness!
Yes, I’ve gotten a little knocked off my routine between traveling and observing the Jewish Holidays. But that is no excuse. Sitting and playing word games for two hours when there is much to be done is an obvious waste of precious time.
be more likely to get a very solid hit if you can make contact. When applied to life, you never know what’s going to happen from one day to the next. As individuals with disabilities, we have dealt with this more times than we wish. Additionally, like many people, health issues have impacted our loved ones in ways that we have never expected.
planning to check in any time soon, but it is nice to have things like that squared away and not leave a bunch of challenging tasks for our loved ones to deal with under difficult circumstances.
