Gratitude can change your life. It’s just that simple. Becoming grateful has the potential to change every aspect of who you are as an individual and what you get out of life. Becoming grateful means being aware every good thing in your life. Once you have that level of gratitude, you’ll find it difficult to be selfish. Because you’ll be able to see how much you have and how full your life really is.
Becoming Grateful
The first step to becoming grateful is to acknowledge all of the good that you have in your life. Many things we have we’ve become blind to. Even something so big as being alive can get lost while going about your everyday activities. Isn’t it wonderful to be alive? To be able to spend time with loved ones and to have experiences? Isn’t it great to wake up in the morning? Yet, it’s common to wake up angry, so preoccupied by a to-do list that you miss the fact that you’re here another day.
Sometimes, all it takes is a reminder to find your gratitude. A simple exercise to accomplish this is to really take an inventory of your life. Imagine if you woke up tomorrow and had nothing or no one and you were completely alone. What things or people would you want to regain first? Warm clothes? A friend to help you through? Your job? Think about grateful you’d be as you began to regain your life – and hold onto that feeling. You’ve had those things all along, but likely never took the time to be grateful for all of it.
Remaining Grateful
Once you’ve found gratitude, how is it kept? The same way you keep any skill that is important to you – practice. One of the best ways to practice gratitude is to keep a journal, writing down all of the things you were grateful for that day. You can also write letters of gratitude to individuals who’ve helped you throughout your journey. Other options including not complaining about anything for a period of time or writing down all of the things and people you wouldn’t want to lose.
Once you have your own gratitude, you’ll find that your outlook on life has changed. In addition to seeing the good in your own life, you’ll also want to help others. It’s difficult to be selfish when you’re aware of everything you have to be grateful for.
