I am firmly convinced that the more grateful you are, the more opportunities you begin to see. Instead of seeing constraints, you see opportunities and instead of focusing on the things you wished were better, you see all the things that are already amazing. I do think there is something powerful in being grateful for the things you have, and actually living it out. Looking at life from a place of gratitude gives you a whole different perspective and often opens up doors you might have missed from a vantage point of ungratefulness.
How to Be Grateful
* Think Bigger – The world is much, much bigger than just yourself. Take a step back and realize it!
* Gain Context – Travel. Research. Learn. Look (or even better, experience) how other people live and realize how fortunate you are.
* Help Others – I would not be where I am today without the help of a lot of different people. Chances are neither would you. Pass it on.
* Make a list – Make a list of things you are grateful for. Look at it every day.
* Serve – You can volunteer on trips or on the weekend, but you can also serve other people on a day to day basis every time you interact.
Here’s what I have learned about starting a Gratitude practice:
1. – Commit: This is a spiritual practice that gains momentum over time and with practice.
2. – Begin: So do it. Sit down with pen and paper or at your computer and start, “I am grateful for…”
3. – Write it down.
4. – Feel it: Move into the feeling. Dance it. Sing it. Aspire to a fullness of heart, no matter what is going on around you.
5. – Choose a set time of day: You may want to do this when you first wake in the morning or late at night before you go to sleep.
6. – Practice present-moment gratitude: As you move through your day, pause now and then when you remember, and think as you do something “I am grateful.”
7. – Share the gratitude: Partner with someone. You will keep each other going and that sense of obligation to that person will give you the push you need to write your list on those days when it just seems too hard.
8. – Do not stop once you start to see results!
9. – Allow yourself to be human: Grumble if you must. Miss the odd day here and there. Write, “I am grateful I am writing my gratitude list” five times if you can think of nothing else.
May every little thing in your life be filled with beauty and may you feel wonder and gratitude for it.
Are you ready to start this process?
