Gratitude is every soul’s nature. Whereas, fear, jealousy and scarcity are total opposite to our nature. What we did is quite injustice. We normalised all the unaligned feelings and made ‘Gratitude’ a tougher subject to deal with.
I have been there, struggled to find things to be grateful for. Whereas it was easier for me to say “Grass is greener on the other side.” But not anymore! I’m implementing some of these tips and seeing amazing results.
Why should you choose gratitude?
When you are grateful for what you have, firstly, you would feel good. You know why? Because you’re aligned with your soul’s nature.
And, when you’re focusing on good things in your life, you’ll end up owning more of them. Do you want more realistic reasons? Here!
It is scientifically proven that gratitude can have a great postive impact on many aspects of your life from relationships to health. And, wanna hear a surprising fact? Grateful people sleep better😱
What is the hardest part of being grateful?
When you’re neutral, you can easily come up with a big list of gratitude. But, when you have something running in the backend, say, you recently come across a social media – a place where everyone around you seems to have only fantastic things in life, the war begins.
- You can be grateful for my healthy body until you found someone in the gym with a good physique.
- The gratitude towards your lovely apartment will last till you come across someone’s farm house.
The comparison is the first challenge that you face against being grateful. It is no wrong that we have a hunger for more. But we should not let our hunger consume us.
We should feel grateful irrespective of with whom we compare ourselves. You should feel grateful for your apartment irrespective of comparing yourself with a homeless or with a farm house owner. It may not be as easy as it sounds. But give it some time and try out without discouraging yourself.
Ways to improve your gratitude Journey
Keep a reminder
We are living in an age, where we should keep a reminder to drink water. How come, can we remember about gratitude? So, ensure you have some kind of visual reminder to stay grateful. I used to write something (like Thankyou!) in my hand to remind me whenever I see it.
You can set a reminder in your mobile or your laptop. Even a sticky note would do the job. Check what works for you and keep using it.
Have a partner
It’s same as having a partner for workout. It’s basically for the accountability factor that one can have on the other. My husband and I follow this as a ritual. Once we are done with our long days, we list out the things that we are grateful for. And it helped a lot. Even when one feels low, the other’s energy can keep both up.
Find a partner who is in alignment with you and who loves these topics. Because, someone who pulls you down or make fun of these concepts would take you too away from this journey. So, choose your partner wisely.
Take ownership
What you are today, is the result of what you did yesterday. It is not someone’s fault for where you are now. So, admit it and take it lightly.
It is not the end. You still have time to make better tomorrows. When you’re taking ownership, you’ll start seeing your problems as challenges. You will somehow find a way to handle it. You’ll start seeing potential in yourself and gratitude then can easily be included in your daily routine.
Maintain journal
Maintaining a journal can ensure the consistency of your work. More than that, it helps in those days in which you don’t have the feeling of gratitude perhaps with a low mood. Looking back at the pages of your journal makes you think of showing gratitude for the smaller of smaller things.
Some of such looking backs in my journals has alist like these – a new plant in my garden, a movie, a doughnut. Sounds silly? Start maintaing your own journal and see what are there in your list. When you’re grateful for these small things, you’ll start enjoying your life more than ever before.
Socialize
Having routine life will soon become boring and that’s what waters complaining about. Socializing is the best way to escape from the routine life. Hang out with friends, do parties, join FB groups, and whatever sounds interesting to you. Let the complaints find no place in your life filled with positive and like-minded people.
Keep yourself occupied
Idle minds are the devil’s workshop. I know it might sound cliche but that’s so true. If you let your mind idle, it will wander everywhere, lead to comparison and eventually make you feel miserable. You cannot be grateful and miserable at the same time. Not only to practice gratitude but for any positive imapact in life, keep yourself busy in something or the other.
Start working on your hobby, play with your kid, write blogs, join any online coaching where you can find like-minded people, or enroll yourself in any retreat programs. There are plenty of options available to engage yourself in this age.
Assess your definition of success
We obviously find more things to be grateful for once we’ve accomplished our goals. But setting your goal and defining your success should not depend on external factors like peer pressure, social norms, etc.
You have to define your definition of Success and take baby steps towards it to make it happen. If you find it really hard to be grateful for the current situation, it’s tim for you to assess your definition of Success.
I love this one definition of success by Earl Nightingale.
“Success is defined as the progressive realization of a worthy goal” – Earl Nightingale
“You are successful at every moment you work towards making your dream a reality.”
Isn’t that appealing?
Meditate
With countless thoughts running in the head, one cannot find something to be grateful for. Slow down your pace and take a few moments of deep breaths. You will become more aware of your thoughts. Meditation is a simple yet efficient tool to instill gratitude in life. I cannot recommend it enough.
Do not expect Instant Gratification – I am one of this kind who loves Instant Gratification. But, life doesn’t work that way. Following the art of gratitude will not make you a success overnight. You need little patience and loads of perseverance to see the results.
Initially, you may not get the feeling of gratitude at all. But that’s okay. Keep going. Gradually, without even you realizing it, the transformation will happen. And, trust me, consistently practising gratitude can thrill you with miracles.
Be consistent
Be consistent. Practice gratitude even on days of success and failure. Do not stop just because you started noticing the results. As well as when you couldn’t see anything coming your way.
You may not see the growth of a sowed seed or the roots of a tall tree. Both need to be watered to stay strong. Same applies to your accomplished or yet to accomplish goals. Let the gratitude be the water that nourishes it’s growth.
Final Thoughts:
The only way to excel at the art of gratitude is to practice it without any fear or doubts in mind. Do not frustrate yourself to stay grateful all the time. Act as humans and grumble sometimes if you have to.
Do not rush yourself. You are in no hurry. Take time and go at your own pace and gradually gratitude will become habitual.
At last, the ultimate aim of anyone in life is to be happy and that’s what gratitude offers. Try it to feel the difference and spread happiness.
Now tell me what is the hardest part for you in practicing gratitude? Let me try if I can help you out.