Live a Life of Gratitude

Be Thankful

 
Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.

 Begin Your Day with Gratitude

Take 2-3 minutes each morning to give thanks, to whoever or whatever you’re grateful for. You don’t have to do anything, other than close your eyes and silently give thanks. This one act can make a huge difference.

Expressing Affirmations of Gratitude  

An Affirmation is "a positive short statement that you repeat to yourself to help you work toward a goal in a positive frame of mind" or on that "has been specifically worded for the purpose of reprogramming the subconscious mind with positive and spiritual thoughts."

You can get yourself to feel more grateful about life and to live with gratitude, by practicing some simple affirmations, like:

Today I am grateful for...

Give thanks for “negative” things in your life

There’s always two ways to look at something. Many times we think of something as negative — it’s stressful, harmful, sad, unfortunate, difficult. But that same thing can be looked at in a more positive way. Giving thanks for those things is a great way to remind yourself that there is good in just about everything. Problems can be seen as opportunities to grow, to be creative. See the prayer below for more on this.

Say thank you

 

When someone does something nice for you, however small, try to remember to say thank you. And really mean it.

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Why should the simple act of thinking about who and what I’m grateful for make such a big difference in my life?

Just a few reasons:

Because it reminds you of the positive things in your life

It makes you happy about the people in your life, whether they’re loved ones or just a stranger you met who was kind to you in some ways.

Because it turns bad things into good things

 Having problems at work? Be grateful you have work. Be grateful you have challenges, and that life isn’t boring. Be grateful that you can learn from these challenges. Be thankful they make you a stronger person. 

Because it reminds you of what’s important

It’s hard to complain about the little things when you give thanks that your children are alive and healthy. It’s hard to get stressed out over paying bills when you are grateful there is a roof over your head. 

Because it reminds you to thank others

I’ll talk about this more below, but the simple act of saying “thank you” to someone can make a big difference in that person’s life. Calling them, emailing them, stopping by to say thank you … just taking that minute out of your life to tell them why you are grateful toward them is important to them. People like being appreciated for who they are and what they do. It costs you little, but makes someone else happy. And making someone else happy will make you happy.

by Zenhabits

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Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.

It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,

and creates a vision for tomorrow.  

~Melody Beattie~

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THANK YOU FOR READING AND PRACTICING LIFE WITH GRATITUDE

~~ Monika D ~~