Gratitude
How different the world would be if we all woke up every day with a perfect life. A body we love in perfect health. More money than we could ever need. All of our personal relationships healthy, loving, and supportive. A fulfilling career. No worries in sight.
But life isn’t perfect. It’s actually pretty far from perfect for myself and most people. For most people there is always going to be some kind of struggle. The struggle can vary from person to person - it could be to keep the bills paid or get your weight under control or a wounded relationship with your spouse or any number of other things. But chances are, life will not be without struggle.
So how do you create joy despite the struggle? You have to change your perspective. If you get caught up dwelling on your struggle, focusing on how unfair life is, letting yourself be victimized by your circumstances, you will never be able to find true joy in life. Instead, you have to start focusing on what you DO have. You have to be grateful for the blessings that are present in your life, no matter how big or small. Oprah Winfrey once said “Being grateful all the time isn’t easy. But it’s when you least feel thankful that you are most in need of what gratitude can give you: perspective. Gratitude can transform any situation. It alters your vibration, moving you from negative energy to positive. It’s the quickest, easiest, most powerful way to effect change in your life - this I know for sure.”
She’s right on all accounts. It’s NOT always easy to focus on gratitude, especially in the beginning of your life transformation. It’s not always easy to rise up from the weight of all of the things that have been holding you down. It’s easy to be angry and defensive. It’s easy to let those things that hold you down influence the way you treat others. It’s easy to be envious of others. What you have to understand though is that the people out there truly happy with their lives don’t have any less struggle than you. The struggle may be DIFFERENT than yours (let’s face it, Oprah and I probably have very different struggles), but no life is without struggle.
Happy people have a different perspective. We focus on all of the good things in our lives. We feel gratitude for all of life’s blessings - even on, and especially on, the bad days. A few years ago a young man ran a red light and totaled my car. It was very scary and caused me physical pain, financial burden, and really interrupted my life for awhile. But even in the moments immediately after the wreck, I remember standing there in the middle of the street, staring at our mangled cars, and being filled with a sense of gratitude that no one was killed. I felt gratitude knowing the young man and his friends were okay, that I was okay. Because no matter how bad that night was, it could’ve been a lot worse.
This is the energy I carry into all aspects of my life and what I encourage you to try to do as well. Your circumstances are not always going to be ideal. You might encounter little problems day to day or you might find you have to take on significant, heartbreaking struggle for awhile. But really try to focus on the positive. Express gratitude for the people in your life and the strength within yourself to weather the struggle. Express gratitude for the other aspects of your life that are not burdened by struggle at the moment. If you can do this, you undoubtedly will be better prepared to handle the challenges. You will see that those temporary struggles do not and will not define you. They won’t be the end of the world. They will simply be, as my dad would say, a little speed bump on the road of life.
Here’s my challenge for you today. Write down five things you are grateful for. Post them on the fridge or at your desk or on the bathroom mirror and spend time each day acknowledging them. Feeling and expressing gratitude for them. When faced with a new challenge, try to find a reason to be thankful. Let me know how it goes.
As always, thank you for sharing a part of your life with me and for allowing me to share a part of mine with you. I’m truly grateful.
But life isn’t perfect. It’s actually pretty far from perfect for myself and most people. For most people there is always going to be some kind of struggle. The struggle can vary from person to person - it could be to keep the bills paid or get your weight under control or a wounded relationship with your spouse or any number of other things. But chances are, life will not be without struggle.
So how do you create joy despite the struggle? You have to change your perspective. If you get caught up dwelling on your struggle, focusing on how unfair life is, letting yourself be victimized by your circumstances, you will never be able to find true joy in life. Instead, you have to start focusing on what you DO have. You have to be grateful for the blessings that are present in your life, no matter how big or small. Oprah Winfrey once said “Being grateful all the time isn’t easy. But it’s when you least feel thankful that you are most in need of what gratitude can give you: perspective. Gratitude can transform any situation. It alters your vibration, moving you from negative energy to positive. It’s the quickest, easiest, most powerful way to effect change in your life - this I know for sure.”
She’s right on all accounts. It’s NOT always easy to focus on gratitude, especially in the beginning of your life transformation. It’s not always easy to rise up from the weight of all of the things that have been holding you down. It’s easy to be angry and defensive. It’s easy to let those things that hold you down influence the way you treat others. It’s easy to be envious of others. What you have to understand though is that the people out there truly happy with their lives don’t have any less struggle than you. The struggle may be DIFFERENT than yours (let’s face it, Oprah and I probably have very different struggles), but no life is without struggle.
Happy people have a different perspective. We focus on all of the good things in our lives. We feel gratitude for all of life’s blessings - even on, and especially on, the bad days. A few years ago a young man ran a red light and totaled my car. It was very scary and caused me physical pain, financial burden, and really interrupted my life for awhile. But even in the moments immediately after the wreck, I remember standing there in the middle of the street, staring at our mangled cars, and being filled with a sense of gratitude that no one was killed. I felt gratitude knowing the young man and his friends were okay, that I was okay. Because no matter how bad that night was, it could’ve been a lot worse.
This is the energy I carry into all aspects of my life and what I encourage you to try to do as well. Your circumstances are not always going to be ideal. You might encounter little problems day to day or you might find you have to take on significant, heartbreaking struggle for awhile. But really try to focus on the positive. Express gratitude for the people in your life and the strength within yourself to weather the struggle. Express gratitude for the other aspects of your life that are not burdened by struggle at the moment. If you can do this, you undoubtedly will be better prepared to handle the challenges. You will see that those temporary struggles do not and will not define you. They won’t be the end of the world. They will simply be, as my dad would say, a little speed bump on the road of life.
Here’s my challenge for you today. Write down five things you are grateful for. Post them on the fridge or at your desk or on the bathroom mirror and spend time each day acknowledging them. Feeling and expressing gratitude for them. When faced with a new challenge, try to find a reason to be thankful. Let me know how it goes.
As always, thank you for sharing a part of your life with me and for allowing me to share a part of mine with you. I’m truly grateful.
Dear Jen your gratitude blog is so on point. Your positive outlook on life is very refreshing. We need to remember that our life could be so much worse and the each day is filled with hope and many blessings. For many years when I would tuck Dustin in at night, we would say a prayer and name 3 things we were grateful for and some days the list went on far beyond 3 things...it’s time to do it again ��❤️����
ReplyDeleteOh, I love that nightly routine of prayer and gratitude. That’s really beautiful and a practice I think many people would benefit from. Thank you for sharing that! And for the kind words. Your constant support means so much to me. ❤️
DeleteYou have provided valuable data for us. It is great and informative for everyone. Keep posting always about Negative Energy Removal From Business. I am very thankful to you.
ReplyDelete