How did the previous week go with learning to live in acceptance? What did you discover about yourself? If you missed it, don’t forget to catch up on last week’s blog where I shared the first of the four essentials to attracting and creating more happiness – acceptance.
The second essential I want to discuss is Gratitude.
Ah, being grateful. There is always, always something to be grateful for. I’m a big advocate for practicing gratitude daily, but it is most important to practice gratitude when it is the hardest. When you are neck deep in the mud – when life’s lemons just keep being thrown at you.
Why?
Because these are the true tests. This is when showing gratitude can help turn these situations around.
Everybody is the same in that we all have our struggles. No one’s struggle is greater than someone else’s. It’s how we choose to handle them that makes us different. Yes, I said choose, because handling it is a choice. I know from experience. And let me tell you something else, when you’re sitting in your mud puddle and you say, “I’m trying to be happy but I can’t.” Keep pushing. Keep practicing gratitude daily.
The reason it’s a “practice” is because the more you practice, the better you get at it. When we are retraining our mind to shift from one perspective to another, we need to practice daily to break old habits and create new ones. This is work.
Now, you may be thinking, “How do you practice gratitude when you’re not where you want to be or you’re going through a hard time?” Good question. Start by making a list of everything you are grateful for big, small, material and non-material items. Just write down everything you have. This is how you see that you are okay. That there is always something to be grateful for.
Putting it into Practice
3 Ways to Practice Gratitude Daily
- Quick morning ritual. Set aside 5 minutes for fulfillment every single morning. Write down things you’re grateful for in a journal or say them out loud once you awake in bed.
- Look for opportunities when triggered. Whether it’s waiting patiently for coffee to brew or stuck in traffic, notice where your thoughts go and immediately begin thinking of five things you’re grateful for and why. Don’t forget to breathe.
- Before Bed Ritual. You may have heard of the “Gratitude Jar”. Each night write down one thing you’re grateful for from that day and put it in a jar. At the end of each month, open the jar and reflect.
Let’s face it, no one wakes up with rainbows and butterflies shinning out their bum, lifting them from their bed, arms open wide every day. No one. Doing our daily work to focusing on acceptance and gratitude is what separates the happy people from the unhappy people. The more you are thankful, the more you attract things to be thankful for.
This week, along with continuing to practice acceptance, implement the practice of gratitude. Each day give the exercises a try and please share with me how you’re doing by commenting below, contacting me, or posting on Instagram using hashtag #evolveintoawesomeness.
Next week I’ll share essential three, how getting outside of yourself can naturally breed happiness.