Posted: September 3, 2010

Folks facing job instability or unemployment may find it difficult to focus on what's positive in their lives. Realistic concerns, even worry, about the futures of career and finances can dim the vision of an otherwise positive-minded person. What once looked like hefty offerings upon life's buffet of opportunity may now seem like slim pickings from the leftovers counter - a sickening sight for some, considering all the prep time they've invested. It's easy to feel thankful for abundance; not necessarily easy to feel thankful for its absence.

Those of us who live long enough will face major challenges in life. Paradoxically, one of the biggest can be to avoid focusing so much on the negative that it diminishes our ability to assess our blessings, innate strengths and that which would otherwise empower us. Failure to genuinely appreciate what we already have leaves us feeling empty, like we have nothing to give, like we don't deserve to receive and, therefore, perpetually empty.

It's at that fork in the road - or on the buffet table - that choice becomes less of a bonus and more of an obligation, or less like the gravy and more like the meat. Those who believe that gratitude is a feeling to which to react with an expression of gratitude may be destined for emotional malnutrition and spiritual atrophy in lean times, much like those who believe that hunger is a craving to which to react with the ingestion of a third slice of cheesecake may be destined for disappointment or a good cardiologist.

I believe that gratitude is a choice, not merely a feeling. It is a virtue to be honored with action, as are love, kindness and compassion - much like honoring our good health by choosing a bowl of salad over a bag of chips or a jog to the gym over a trip to the drive-through. In every case, we get what we choose. And then we feel its effects.

Choosing to focus on that for which we're grateful - on that which is good, or even simply workable - can positively impact our physical, mental and emotional experience just as the right choices of foods and activity do, according to Jim White, personal fitness trainer, dietician and the national spokesman for the American Dietetic Association. The same natural principles apply to body, mind and everyday experience. Nourishment sustains, activity produces and focus enhances.

White, owner of Jim White Fitness and Nutrition in Virginia Beach, said he and his staff see about 150 people weekly within his two studios. Many have lost jobs, fear unemployment and/or "are concerned about their finances at this time," he said.

"It's affecting them on a lot of levels," White said. "I see a little bit more depression, panic and anxiety, a little uncertainty and a lack of security. It affects a little bit of everything.

"I think focusing on what we don't have is the wrong way to look at things. It's causing poor health on all levels."

White considers gratitude an essential part of a balanced diet. He's noticing a shift in perspective within some clients, from focus on fear and loss to focus on an appreciation and respect for the basics that empower when set in motion.

"One thing I am seeing is that my clients want to take care of their health. They know it's important and exercise is a destresser for them.

"And I think now, with this economy the way it is, people are really coming closer together as people and as families and as loving others because they're kind of insecure, they're unstable. But focusing on what's really important, such as family, values, friends and love, those are the things that stand strong all the way through, rather than the extrinsic rewards of money and cars and all the riches we see that really aren't important in the grand scheme of things."

White attributes much of his personal and business success to his intentional focus on the positive and an authentic sense of gratitude.

"I'm a real spiritual person," he said. "Every night I thank God for everything that I've had in the past, everything that is present and everything that's planned to be given to me in the future.

"Even in my business I've had setbacks," he said. "There was a time when I almost lost everything I had. It makes you realize that things can change just like that. But having a positive attitude means knowing that if things do go bad that you're still standing strong and you can always rebuild whatever's lost.

"When we are weak we are strong," White said. "Some of the biggest growth I've received is from when negative things happen. I call it resilience, being able to bounce back from hard times. I always get stronger; it's always a learning lesson.

"As you mature, you realize what was happening at the moment. It seemed like a tragedy at the time, but once you realize how much it benefited you, you have gratitude toward that. Now I look at every obstacle as a privilege, as something to overcome."

Are White's most grateful-minded clients experiencing the same?

"No doubt," he said. "Focusing on what they do have, they're creating an environment within themselves that's positive. And all that comes with focusing on what they don't have - which is the stress, the anxiety, the poor health - starts to diminish and they grow more spiritually and more positive mentally within themselves.

"So by having gratitude and realizing the good things we have - and family, and friends and the love that's set in stone - is going to keep people motivated, keep people in a positive atmosphere," White said.

It's with that momentum and with the recognition of the value of what's good or what's workable, that people begin to recharge, redirect and renew their lives with intention.

Here's to your increasing strength and next phenomenal growth spurt. Dig in!

Nora Firestone is a Virginia Beach-based journalist and the founder of ThankingOfYou.com, a free Web-based forum for posting and receiving stories of gratitude to recognize, affirm and honor the people who've made a difference in our lives. She can be reached via e-mail at nfirestone@verizon.net. Visit www.ThankingOfYou.com for more information.