Being Grateful

Studies have shown that happy people are grateful people. How often do you pause to appreciate what you have in life? When I was young, I took things and people for granted. After all, I was young and I didn't know what life could be like on the other side.

As I became a teen I was faced with the loss of several good friends due to car and motorcycle accidents. Later my mother passed away from cancer. I vowed to never take people for granted again. But as time rolled on I would get caught up with the busyness of life and again, take people for granted.

Sometimes it’s easy to feel bad because you're going through a tough time in life. However, remember no matter how bad your situation may seem, there are tens of thousands of things to be grateful for in life.

So how can you actually practice gratitude on a regular basis? Here are a few tips that have helped me.

Relax. It's hard to cultivate a sense of gratitude when you're angry, frustrated, or anxious. If these are issues that you struggle with, it's important to resolve them, as they're formidable barriers to thankfulness. For me, I have to put myself in a place away from all the activities and practice putting my mind on other things that lead to peace.

Live in the Moment. If you're too busy dwelling on the past or thinking about the future, you won't be able to fully notice how fantastic things are right now. Plus, thinking about the past and future opens the door to comparison, which is the only way you can perceive something as not good enough. What you have now is all that exists, and comparing that to something that doesn't exist anymore (or yet) is an easy way to foster dissatisfaction and torture yourself. Like the old saying goes "Past is History, Future is a Mystery and Today is Gift and hence it is called the Present". Enjoy today, this moment and don't postpone your enjoyment.

Cherish any kind of lightheartedness in your life. Things like laughter, affection, and playfulness are fleeting. Once a relationship has degraded so that those things don't spontaneously occur anymore, it's very hard to get them back. You might know that from experience. So treat those moments with care (especially with kids, who are at the peak of lightheartedness). Don't be the person who takes life too seriously, who doesn't have time to have fun, or who has no sense of humor. Again, that does not come easy for me but I have to practice this with purpose.

Can you think of some things or people you are grateful for? I'd love to hear from you.
Take some time each day to shift your focus, you'll be a happier person because of it.