I believe that being grateful really forges the path to where I want to be and who I want to be. It creates the pathway to living a life of happiness and joy. And isn’t that something that we all want? To live a life that is full of joy and peace and love and happiness. I also think that gratitude is a choice. It’s something that we should practice, strive for, develop, and live by every single day of our lives. Because once you start looking at your life through the lens that is gratitude, you realize that real joy starts to unfold for you.
And it’s not that suddenly life doesn’t have challenges. There will always be challenges in life. But gratitude allows you to shift the focus from your problems to your joys. It helps you to appreciate the things you have rather than what you don’t have. Gratitude can change your life. It’s a powerful source of inspiration that you can tap into ANY TIME. Isn’t that a powerful feeling? You have at your fingertips what you need to bring joy to your life.
So, how do you practice gratitude? Because you DO need to practice it. It’s not like you’re going to snap your fingers and all of a sudden you’re grateful for everything in life. For me, I start every single day thanking God for giving me another day on this earth. For allowing me to wake up. I notice the good things around me because I intentionally look for them. I make sure that I truly absorb and savor the good that is in my life. I make a conscious effort to give thanks and to truly be grateful every single day.
There are many ways that you can incorporate gratitude into your life every day. Here are some simple ones:
Keep a gratitude journal that you add to every day.
Set an intention every day to tell someone that you love them or that you appreciate them.
Post quotes or images that remind you to be grateful.
Start each day by thinking of 3 things that you are grateful for.
End each day by thinking of 3 things that were good about the day.
Meditate.
Practice gratitude affirmations.
There are so many ways to incorporate gratitude into your life on a daily basis. The important thing is to find what works for you. And then make sure that you are intentional about practicing it every day.
My encouragement for you today is to start now. Today. Take a few minutes right now and write down 4 things that you are grateful for. It can be as simple as “I’m grateful that I’m breathing”. Because the truth is that sometimes finding gratitude can be hard. You may find it difficult to come up with 4 things that you’re grateful for right now. But I promise you, if you start practicing gratefulness, if you start making gratitude a part of your every-day routine, you will soon find that your list is long. And you’ll find that your life is rich and full and overflowing with blessing.