Accept Yourself and Let Go of the Pressure to Feel Always Grateful

This Thursday is Thanksgiving. A day for gratitude… but let’s be honest: it’s also often a long weekend filled with family, food, too many dishes, and maybe a little emotional turbulence. No matter where you are or who you’re with, this season is an invitation to slow down, pause, and practice a little self-witnessing—noticing yourself without judgment, without performance, without pretending.

Yes, choosing happiness in the present moment would be wonderful. But life doesn’t always deliver us a picture-perfect holiday card. Sometimes things don’t go your way. Plans fall apart. People trigger you. A setback hits right when you were hoping for peace. And guess what? It’s okay not to feel grateful every second.It’s okay to be sad, annoyed, tired, overwhelmed, joyful… or all of the above before noon.

Every feeling you have is welcomed. All of them deserve a seat at your Thanksgiving table. Some days or weeks, gratitude just doesn’t flow. And forcing it? Whew—that can actually make it worse. Gratitude cannot be squeezed out of you like frosting your cake from a piping bag. It doesn’t work under pressure.

The antidote?Let go of the expectation that you must walk around with a spiritual halo all the time. You’re a human—a wonderfully complex one—not a robot. Instead, give yourself permission to accept who you are and where you are right now. When you stop resisting your feelings, they soften. They dissolve. They move away. You stop being tangled in them and instead, become the gentle witness of them.

Gratitude is powerful, but it blooms naturally only after self-acceptance. Once you honor both your highest highs and lowest lows, gratefulness simply rises. Quietly. Authentically. From your heart.

So, ask yourself today: Can I sit with my thoughts and emotions, just noticing like clouds passing in the sky—not judging? Can I accept whatever shows up, even if gratitude isn’t one of them yet? If gratitude isn’t here today, no worries. Next hour, or even next day, you may notice a tiny spark of it returning. It always does when you give it space.

Here is your Thanksgiving Journal Prompt:

1. What part of yourself would you be willing to accept if you were brutally honest?

2. What would it look like to release it gently, without judgment?

3. What does your heart feel when you imagine letting go?

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!

Love,

Biriz

P.S: For more self-care and mindset shifts, please subscribe to monthly newsletter and download your FREE Mental Clarity Journal Prompt Guide.

©️2025 by Biriz McGuire