Do you find that expressing gratitude is easy or is it hard for you? In these fast paced times that we live in, amongst all the noise and the confusion…it can be hard to take that time…and if you do, the benefits are immense.
The benefits that you can look forward to are benefits that most of us want…peace…happiness…love…a life that we dream of…and gratitude plays a big part in achieving all of those hopes and dreams.
Lacking Gratitude
Do you know someone who is always looking on the dark side of life…who never seems to be grateful for anything and indeed…seems to take the good things that happen for granted? That kind of attitude is a sense of entitlement.
You know the one I mean…the world owes it to me…just because…instead of an attitude of “I am so full of gratitude because….”. Often, that type of attitude can be outgrown, as life experiences happen and people learn. But for some people, it doesn’t always work out that way.
There once was a small child…a child who had been given everything in the world by doting parents…and one day…that little girl saw her brother get a toy that she wanted…and she screamed and screamed…she threw down the toy that her parents had so lovingly picked out for her…and tossed it out of an upper bedroom window onto the cobblestone streets…where the doll lay, dirty and scratched from the fall into the street…
Why is Gratitude Important?
Developing an “attitude of gratitude” changes the neural pathways in your brain. Imagine that your brain is like a vinyl record being played through a needle in an arm on a record player…every time that needle plays in that vinyl groove, it gets deeper and deeper …and the same thing happens with the thoughts in your brain…
What pathways are your thoughts creating in your mind? Tweet this!
So, your brain on gratitude is a different brain than someone who doesn’t practice gratitude. It is a happier brain, one that focuses on the Positive rather than the negative…because that is what happens…isn’t it?
3 Powerful Ways to Express Gratitude that Will Make All the Difference
- Writing gratitude. Keep a gratitude journal. Write in it every night before you go to bed…have a special book. I have a green bound journal, you know…one of those books that has the matching elastic, so that you don’t lose your place. I have a pen that I love (a gel pen…I love stationery stores, I can get lost for hours browsing in them). Just before you go to sleep, take a moment or two and think back on the day…and think of those things…those people…those events…that you are grateful for. It might even only be that today you drew breath…or that the sun came up…those are good things to be grateful for …and we all really have so much to be grateful for…if we only took the time to reflect on them…really…
- Feeling gratitude. After you have made that list…and for me, sometimes I set a goal of writing 5 things every night…and then I get started…and bam, before I know it…I am overcome with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for all the blessings that I have in my life…and then I write more than 5…and it can be done in a space of a few moments…and when you look at that list…and you bring up the images of all those things that you are SO grateful for…feel those feelings and make those feelings bigger…because you can…and it is such a good feeling…enjoy every second of it…that’s right…
- Speaking gratitude. Now, in our everyday lives, there are moments when we can speak gratitude and do it daily. Remember these words, they are important:
- Please
- Thank you
- You’re welcome
- I appreciate you
- I am grateful for…
They are important words and when you speak them…and you mean them…you will feel so much more gratitude. If you have a spiritual practice, use those words in your practice, when you pray or meditate…it makes a difference…
There are many reasons why you practice gratitude and these are the most important, in my opinion. You feel so much better about yourself and your life when you are feeling and being and speaking gratitude. When you feel better, you do better. That is a great cycle to be in.
When you have all of those positive feelings cruising around in your body and your brain, you can create what you want with so much more ease. You have more energy, you are more creative, your imagination is on fire and you are more at peace with yourself. So harness those feelings of gratitude to get the life of your dreams.
You love yourself more when you have gratitude flowing through your life and you love others, it just naturally follows.
And so that little girl came to her senses…and as she watched her father go down to that busy street…she realized…right then and there…that he loved her…and she was grateful for that and for that doll because it was just a toy, after all…and that made all the difference in the world…
“Drive your own life…you deserve to, don’t you?” Sherie Venner
Sherie
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Gratitude is such a gift! I don’t have a gratitude journal but I do write out 5 things every day in my journal that I am grateful for. That is how I start my day 🙂
What a great start to your day! Thanks for your comment, dear Anita!
Attitude makes a difference in so many areas of life. Gratitude is a gift to both the giver and the receiver. Thanks for sharing Sherie!
Beautifully said, Kim!
I love the “attitude of gratitude”! It’s a great way to live, not just to make sure you are recognizing your own blessings, but also to make sure others know you appreciate them. It can be so easy to take small things for granted, but I really make an effort to say thank you – even for the littlest things.
That is wonderful, Nisha!! : D
At least 3-4 nights a week, when I go to bed, I’ll grab my journal and write the date and ‘good stuff’. Then I will list at least 3 good things which happened that day. Gratitude is such a great way to fill my life! : )
Steve, way to go!!! Isn’t that such an awesome strategy? : D
Thanks for an excellent post Sherie! Gratitude is such an amazing tool to uplift us when we are feeling a wee bit in a funk or stuck in some way. I love to use positive words and even if I’m down – I will check in and do a “re-frame”. 🙂
Thank you, Moira,absolutely! I am grateful for your comment! : D
Great post Sherie! So true we need to focus more on the positive. Thank you.
We do! Thanks, Vicky!
Great post! I love the imagery of wearing down the grooves of a record. This sounds like a great way to switch tracks!
Thank you, Llison! I so appreciate your comment!
This is awesome; I think an attitude of gratitude lifts us up to higher levels in our own lives especially if we are thankful for the right reason; it has to come from the heart. Wouldn’t you say so??
I absolutely agree with you, Olga!! Totally, it has to come from the heart!
I try to speak gratitude everyday because I know how powerful it is to receive it.
It certainly is, Sara! : D
The “attitude of gratitude” shifts our internal energies (and chemistry), which in turn have the potential to shift outcomes. I like the way you defined the three powerful ways in which to express gratitude, and I absolutely love the vinyl record analogy!
Thank you, Eva! I love that analogy too…nothing like thoughts being compared to a record…some of us have records that are broken and only play in one groove, right? : D
Love this post Sherie! Having an “attitude of gratitude” as you mentioned really makes a positive difference. Thanks for sharing. You always brighten my day!
Awww….Sarah, thank you, you just brightened my day with your lovely comment! : D