How To Be Grateful For What You Have — Not Always Easy To Do

The other day I was reflecting on all that has transpired in my life, both good and bad, over the span of my lifetime. Of course, “good and bad” are merely labels we give to our experiences, but in any event, I came up with a few realizations that led me to write this article about how to be grateful for what you have.

It is no mystery at all that where we put our focus and attention we will get results along those lines, even if we don’t want those results. It should make us stop and think a bit about how we can better manage our thought process so that we actually experience what we most desire.

Gratitude is Key

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.

— Melody Beattie —

There are so many benefits to ourselves and others when we embrace a grateful attitude toward life. It is so very easy to take stuff for granted because it is there. But what if it wasn’t?

We are on this planet for a brief period of time in the overall scheme of things, and by increasing our awareness we are able to not only recognize all the good that we possess right this very moment, but we are able to live a much fuller and meaningful life as well.

We all desire happiness and a degree of comfort in our everyday lives. But what we desire even more is to recognize that our life purpose is to live a life of purpose.

There is so much we can do right this moment to fulfill our purpose, and gratitude is the key to unlock the door to our magnificence. We hold the key in our hands and do not even realize it.

Getting back to living our purpose and its importance so that we don’t look back years later and have many regrets, I would like to share something written by George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright, polemicist, critic, and political activist:

“This is the true joy of life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can…..

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” to me. It is a sort of splendid torch, which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.” — George Bernard Shaw –

I think that pretty much sums it up. Let’s now delve into the essence of this article in terms of practical ways to be grateful when we are not used to taking the time to do so. Like anything else, it is just a matter of developing a habit, but this habit will pay tremendous dividends not only in peace of mind and fuller life but in actually allowing things to fall into place that matches up with our heartfelt burning desires.

How to be Grateful For What You Have Even When Things are Chaotic

This gratitude issue is not just for when things are going smoothly in our lives. We must learn to slow down enough to appreciate all the wonderful things that are occurring. It is even more important when things are whacked out a bit, and we are even questioning our very own sanity and why we are even here.

We soon learn that it is just as important to be grateful for all of our experiences because the very chaos we may be experiencing provides us with the challenges we need for personal growth and strength of character. These are invaluable assets in our “Confidence Toolbelt”. We are learning to live self-directed lives, instead of being bounced around by fate or outside distractions and influences.

The “gratitude habit” will become our dear friend who will introduce us to our core values and strengths. Being grateful for our challenges adds a new dimension to our being, and eliminates any procrastination in fulfilling our promises that we make to ourselves and others.

Life at this point takes on a most desirable flow, as prior resistance to getting stuff done just dissolves or melts away. When we take the time to “pause and reflect”, and make this time a daily habit, it will not be long before we look forward to those moments when we consciously review all we have to be grateful for now as well into the future.

Being grateful for stuff, both tangible and intangible, that has not as yet arrived, is an excellent way to position ourselves to receive those gifts and achieve our goals. There is so much power in a grateful heart, mind, and soul.

A few simple steps…

Let’s keep this process nice and simple. Our habits are formed when our thoughts and feelings are aligned so that what we believe is strong enough to create the decision to change. That change will result in the choices we make and the actions we take. Before not too long we see evidence of this in the results we get.

So here’s an easy way to get started with our “gratitude habit”:

1) Realize you have enough right now because you ARE enough (let this sink in a bit)

2) Realize all problems and challenges are gifts whose benefits you will reap down the line

3) Create a daily journal not only documenting all for which you are grateful but also document your true feelings, fears, doubts, uncertainties, as well as joy (be authentic and honest with yourself)

4) Be the Silent Observer (actually mentally step aside and watch yourself from a third party standpoint experience any resistance to this process as you daily carry it out — this is an invaluable tool to your personal growth and will lead to an awakening that cannot be stated or expressed, only experienced)

5) Write out a statement in your journal that you “Promise” to do this exercise every day, and below the statement write “I always keep my promises”, and then sign it. Read that statement daily out loud. Also, if you are willing to do so, look yourself straight in the eye in a mirror and say, “I love you [“your name”] out loud.

Gratitude — A Gift that Keeps On Giving — How To Be Grateful For What You Have

It is so important to be grateful for all that we have and all that is on its way to us. In that way, we are inspired to release our fears and resistance to living the life we truly desire. We do not let anything stand in our way because we embrace and learn to love uncertainty and make it our friend.

When we do this we have truly learned to be ourSelf.

Through consistency and repetition of this gratitude practice, a whole new blueprint or paradigm will be created within you that will fuel all your efforts. It becomes a “natural process” to succeed. Happiness is our gift to ourselves through gratitude.

For those who desire further help in creating a new blueprint check out my article on Taking theNext Step and Getting Stuff Done.

Always keep in mind that gratitude is a cause and not an effect. When we put gratitude into action on a daily basis, we trigger something in the Universal Mind and Substance that ignites our creative potential. In other words, we set up a vibration that resonates very well with all the goodness in life. No need to get more technical than that.

I look forward that all take this to Heart, and allow your greatness to emerge as a result of being grateful for all that is currently in your lives, as well as all that is on its way to you both tangible and intangible. This one simple habit can transform not only your lives but have a tremendous impact on the lives of others.

In Peace and Love within the Light of your Brilliance,

Joseph William

P.S. For those who would like to express their talents for which they are grateful in a meaningful way in the online world, this is My #1 Recommendation.