Use Gratitude to Create a Bounty of Positive Change in Your Life
Consistent gratitude is one of the most powerful tools that you can use to propel yourself into a brighter tomorrow. Gratitude isn’t a magical shortcut, though. It doesn’t necessarily create any changes outside of yourself. What it can do, however, is open you up to other opportunities.
As you become aware of the multitude of blessings already present in your life, you may begin to focus on abundance more and more. This can set you on a path to a mental state rich in optimism.
This transformation takes place as you begin to express genuine gratitude to others, and start feeling gratitude for everything in your life that brings you joy.
Become Receptive to Abundance
A great way to increase your awareness of the abundance you already have is to start a gratitude journal. You don’t have to wait for something great to come into your life to appreciate it. Instead, just open your notebook once a day and take a few minutes to write down everything you’re thankful for.
You can feel grateful for anything, big or small. On days when you think you have absolutely nothing to be appreciative for, you can prime the pump by taking stock of the little things. For instance, take note of the air you’re breathing or the food in your pantry.
Once you realize that there are so many things to be grateful for, you’ll find that you can think of more and more blessings in your life.
After several weeks of journaling in this way, you may find that you’re spontaneously running into “good luck.”
Some New Age gurus will tell you that your new found luck is due to “positive vibrations.” Instead, it probably has more to do with training your brain to spot opportunities. You’ve convinced your subconscious that you’re positively swimming in abundance. And why not? You deserve it!
Gratitude is a Tool
Gratitude can put you on the path to becoming a stronger person. Use gratitude proactively to arm yourself against negativity and tough times. Focus on what you do have as opposed to what you don’t have.
A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology entitled “Counting Blessings versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-being in Daily Life” found that those who maintained a grateful attitude experienced greater physical and psychological well-being.
The study claims that daily gratitude increases self-esteem. It also reduces materialism, envy, and self-centered tendencies. Gratitude can also help you to form more meaningful relationships and generate social capital. People who consistently express gratitude are trusted more than those who don’t.
Still other studies suggest that as you cultivate gratitude, you’re more likely to grow in response to stress, instead of shrink.
By keeping the things you’re thankful for in your mind, you can reduce stress. When you deal with stressors more pro-actively, others will notice your new-found confidence.
All of these effects combine to create new opportunities in your life that you wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. So go ahead: start a gratitude journal, and let the stress melt off. Open yourself up to the possibility of abundance. You’ll be glad you did!
Good thoughts.
We can change our automatic responses just by noting more and being more grateful. It’s a great idea to journal. I have a hard time sticking with it, but I’ve noticed an improvement in my thoughts when I have journaled
Thanks!
Laurie
Ridge Haven Homestead
you got it, Laurie! By changing our automatic responses we can change our perspectives and thus be more grateful. It has been studied that when we are in a state of gratitude, one’s self-esteem increases and stress also decreases. Also studies have shown that just by being more grateful our happiness levels increase too.
I think I am a positive person and a grateful one, too. But I have trouble doing a journal. I can do it once in awhile for a few days at a stretch. But I always strive to be positive in all of my posts. That’s my aim anyways.
Nobody says that you have to keep a journal! If you are doing well without, then move on and enjoy your day!
I’m usually positive about everything but if there is something that I see negative, I always mention something positive first on the subject. Excellent list.
Two-Thumbs up!
Paul, I am so with you on these principles and practices. When I catch myself (infrequently) holding a negative thought, I quickly reverse it and then increase the strength of positivity of my new upbeat thought. I practice different ways to make my point, until I can’t improve it any more. 🙂
it is important to acknowledge the negative thought, and then (as you stated) replace it with a positive one!
I journal daily and part of that exercise is identifying 5 things I am grateful for from that day.Some days it’s hard to limit it to 5 and some days I have to dig for them but I don’t stop writing until I get them. I agree with your sudden “luck” thought. You do actually turn on your reticular activating system (RAS) which is your brain’s filtering system for what you notice. It helps you notice what’s going well and filter out the not so good stuff. The more you do that exercise the better your RAS becomes at finding the good stuff. Thanks for the post Paul. We can all use the reminder from time to time.
Reminder is my middle name! (Well, not really, but I felt like I needed to say that!) LOL.
Consistent gratitude is something most people forget about.Trying to be grateful for each little thing,every time changes out life in innumerable ways.Very powerful post.Gratitude is a blessing in my life.
I think that expressing gratitude, Dr. Amrita, is a skill like playing a sport or a musical instrument. The more you practice it, the better you get at it!