An attitude of gratitude? People often to think it will come
from having some great luck or fortune. Of course it could feel
great to win the lottery, and great friends, money, houses,
travel - these are all good things, but not enough by
themselves. The right frame of mind is necessary to fully enjoy
life. You need the attitude of gratitude.
Gratitude 101
Your life is better when you feel blessed, when you can look
around and say "Thank you, God," or "Thank you universe."
Whether or not you are religious, when you see life as a
wonderful gift, your experience is a richer one. Imagine going
through life like you're a child, and every morning is
Christmas.
Of course, it is easy to think that gratitude comes from having
what we want. We might imagine ourselves giving thanks if we had
money, a loving family, and maybe a house on the beach. But we
know there are ungrateful, unhappy people with these things. We
also know that there are poor people full of gratitude for what
little they have, so where does this feeling come from?
Creating Gratitude
An attitude of gratitude arises from how you look at things. It
is the natural feeling that comes when you recognize the real
value of the people and things in your life. Focus on the good
and you cannot help but have a better attitude and experience of
life. Gratitude, then, is something you can encourage, something
you can learn.
The first step is to stop and smell the roses. How can you be
thankful for something you don't notice or enjoy? By the way,
roses really do smell great.
The second step is to make this appreciative approach to roses
and life a habit. You don't need to ignore the ugliness in the
world. Just consciously choose to see the good and beautiful
things, until doing so becomes automatic.
One way to encourage this habit is to start writing down every
positive thing that happens to you, and all the things you like.
Continue this until you start automatically seeing the good
things in life. If you've ever bought a white car, and started
seeing white cars all over, you know how awareness and focus can
alter your perception of reality. In the same way, once you are
aware of the good, and start looking for it, you'll start to see
wonderful things all over.
Simple exercises like the one above train your mind with time.
When you are in the habit of "counting your blessings,"
gratitude, and a much richer experience of life is the natural
result. You will have an attitude of gratitude.
About the author:
Steve Gillman writes on many topics including brainpower, weight
loss, meditation, habits of mind, creative problem solving,
generating luck and anything related to self improvement. Learn
more and get FREE e-courses at
http://www.SelfImproveme
ntNow.com
