Gratitude is not something that came easy to me. I always say ‘thank you’ when receiving a birthday present, when a stranger holds a door open for me or when someone passes the salt. But being grateful for the things I have now? For things that are IN my life, it just never occurred to me. I feel like as humans we are always constantly looking towards the future often ignoring what is happening in the present and putting all our eggs (and happiness) in a future basket that is currently out of reach. We feel the need to work hard because in the future we’ll have everything we ever wanted — but in doing so, we miss out on our lives. This used to be the case for me.
Embrace Gratitude
Embracing gratitude in your life is one of the best things you can start doing to live a more joyful life right now. When you start noticing what you HAVE instead of what you LACK… your perspective on life sort of shifts into a more positive one. In fact, me and my husband have been trying to embrace gratitude and create a habit out of it. We usually end our days by listing out the things we are most grateful for that day and it gives us a sense of peace and joy. After a couple of weeks we started seeing a shift in our lives and the overall vibe we had not only towards each other, but to ourselves.
Your Fear Disappears
I think it was Tony Robbins who said… “When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears”. That could not be more true. Gratitude has a way to shift your mindset into embracing all the positive things in your life. Fear and self-doubt usually pop up when you are doing something out of your comfort zone, when you use imagination in the wrong (and evil) way by imagining all the things that could go wrong. If you stop and list out things that you are grateful for, you start seeing that you have magic in your life right now. Fear and gratitude cannot coexist… you cannot be angry when thinking of all the wonderful things in your life. Gratitude, simply put, is the antidote of fear.
You Live In The Moment
One of the best side effects of gratitude is that it sort of forces you to live in the now. Because when you are truly being grateful for what you have, your focus shifts to the present instead of daydreaming about the future. Goals and dreams are great, but you cannot put your life on hold and wait for that happily ever after to come. Gratitude brings you back to the present and opens your eyes to the magic that exists in your life right now. And I don’t know about you, but I love waking up every day feeling grateful for another chapter in my life.
Happiness Appears Instantly
Gratitude is your express ticket to joy! When you set out to list everything in your life that you are truly grateful for: your job, a significant other, your pet, friends, opportunities and even the roof over your head… you can’t help but smile. Just try it, I dare ya! Sometimes it can be as easy as… “Today I had chocolate cake and it was amazing!” You can be grateful for that. It doesn’t have to be big things, gratitude lives in even the smallest of moments. There is so much you can choose to acknowledge that will make you feel grateful for the life you lead you just have to be intentional about it. All you have to do is look for it and happiness won’t be far behind.
How to Adopt a Daily Gratitude Practice
If you are ready to start a daily gratitude practice (and you totally should!)… a simple way to do this is to just take 5 minutes before bed and journal. Try to list out 5 things that happened during your day that you are grateful for. Remember it can be little things or big things. It can simply be that you are breathing and living! The more you do it the easier it gets and slowly your life will begin to shift.
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Do you have a daily gratitude practice? What is your top tip to keep it up!?
