Most people would say they want to be happy and be grateful for everything they have in their life, big, or small, and those things to come. Not everyone practices an attitude of gratitude or knows where to start. It might sound overwhelming or something that only internally optimistic people can do. However, even the most pessimistic person, can live with an attitude of gratitude if they really want to and do the small steps every day to achieve it.
What is Gratitude
According to Merriam Webster, The meaning of Gratitude is the state of being grateful: thankfulness. Which is a simple definition for something so very powerful. Gratitude is not only a positive emotion of being thankful and appreciative it is also better for your mental and physical health. An attitude of gratitude is feeling grateful for things in your life, whether a person or a thing and responding with wonderful warm fuzzy feelings of kindness and reciprocating back with generosity.
You know that being in a good mood can be contagious, just as being around someone who is always down and pessimistic can bring you down as well. An attitude of gratitude is a choice to be grateful and thankful throughout your day for pretty much everything you come in contact with. Choosing to see the glass half full, appreciating the small things in your life and day, being truly thankful for everything you have and even what you don’t have but want to have in the future, hello manifestation!
Think about it this way it is basically impossible to be unhappy and happy at the same time right? Sure at times, you may have conflicting emotions but to be both happy and unhappy at the same time is contradictory and unheard of. An attitude of gratitude is a choice and not taking anything that you are given, experienced, or shown throughout your days for granted. Choosing an attitude of gratitude is just that a choice, using your time and energy to focus on that which you are grateful and thankful for.
Read More: Raising Kids With an Attitude of Gratitude
How to Incorporate Gratitude in Your Daily Life
Incorporating gratitude in your daily life is simple, but does take a mindful approach to really make a difference. An attitude of gratitude is just that an attitude, it is not just pretending to be thankful for something occasionally but truly and wholeheartedly being grateful for everything you have and want in your life. This not only takes practice but living with an attitude of gratitude also means giving yourself grace when you are not quite there.
Start small, every morning when you wake up think of something you are already grateful for-from waking up to the sunrise, feeling well rested, the day ahead of you, your spouse laying next to you, or maybe just the fact you woke up. Do the same thing as you lay down to go to sleep. Review your day in your head and think about what you are grateful for and say out loud in your mind what you are grateful for. It can be one thing or ten things, if you only have one thing, that is okay!
One method to really build a life of living with an attitude of gratitude is to write what you are grateful for. Each day write down one thing that you are grateful for and continue this every single day, without repeating the same thing. Undoubtedly this will get challenging as you will need to come up with something new every day that you are grateful for. Then each day read at least five of your previous grateful items.
Get yourself a new notebook, and a pen you really enjoy writing, and start this today. You don’t have to do it right before bed, you can do it before you start your day at work, after you drop your kids off, or maybe first thing in the morning when you are all alone with your coffee and thoughts.
Read More: 7 Ways To Celebrate World Gratitude Day
Really Living With an Attitude of Gratitude
Even an otherwise “bad” day, month, or even a rough year, can be something that you are grateful for. Often when we stop to think about all of the “bad” things and think about what actually came out of those experiences we realize that we learned something, and grew emotionally, professionally, or personally. Just maybe we are grateful for the pain that we went through because without it you wouldn’t be where you are today. Often being uncomfortable forces us to grow whether we like it or not. Being able to have an attitude of gratitude even when the odds seem against you is really the way to learn how to be.
This doesn’t mean that you have to be grateful for the unfortunate things that happen in your life, it is choosing to focus on the beauty of a rainbow instead of the rain during a storm that is messing with your commute. Living with an attitude of gratitude is also a great thing to pass on and teach your children. At the dinner table or at bedtime everyone takes turns saying what they are grateful for.
Teaching children at a young age to live with an attitude of gratitude will not only make it easier for them to develop those habits at a young age it will also help them to have a more optimistic outlook on life. Even a simple “thank you” said out loud or in your minds-eye during the day is a very powerful affirmation.
Writing is one of the most powerful ways to express what you are grateful for. By writing it down you are not only saying it in your mind but you are using your body to express the words and put them down on paper. Which further solidifies what you are grateful for and living with an attitude of gratitude.
Read More: Social Etiquette: Why Teaching Children Manners Early Is Important
Similar to a diet, living with an attitude of gratitude isn’t a one-time thing or something that comes easy to everyone. This is especially true if it has been something that you know you will struggle with or frankly just don’t “believe in”. Gratitude doesn’t mean you have to walk around with a halo of rainbows and unicorns and think nothing bad happens. It is choosing to see the best in the great and even the slightly less great parts of your life and the life around you to make it the best you can. It is purposely taking time each day to focus on the gifts in your life that you are grateful for.
WANT TO READ MORE?
Check out 20 Positive Nightly Affirmations to Achieve Restful, Self-improving Sleep.
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