The Attitude of Gratitude

“It is impossible to feel grateful and depressed in the same moment.” - Naomi Williams You may not like what I’m about to share with you here, but after years of suffering from feeling “down,” “sad,” and “depressed” I can guarantee that what I’m about to tell you is true. If you’re feeling sad right now it’s because you’re deleting all the things you could focus on that would make you feel good. I know, it sounds way too simple. And guess what? That’s part of the beauty of this “secret.” It IS simple. If you truly want to be consistently happy, you must begin building the habit of identifying what’s “right” in your life, as an alte ative to focusing on what’s “wrong.” One way to do this is to develop an appreciation of what you already have in your life, instead of what you lack. Constantly thinking about what you don’t have diminishes the value of what you do have! As a replacement for comparing yourself to others who appear to have more than you, why not spend some time thinking about those who have less than you? Learning to make these “downward” comparisons, more often than you make “upward” comparisons, will naturally help you to feel happier with your life and more grateful for the things you do have. Your happiness depends less on getting “stuff,” and more on your attitude towards what you already have. It’s often challenging to learn and remember, but when all is said and done life is not about acquiring “things.” Sure, things can make life more comfortable and enjoyable, but keep in mind the old adage, “you can’t take it with you.” Making the most of what we do have will eventually bring us more of the things we don’t have, especially happiness. A simple way to implement this concept in your own life is to write down or think about three to five things each day that you're grateful for. They can be anything from the simplest moment to something quite significant. You may find this exercise a bit challenging at first, especially if you’re in the habit of always looking for and focusing on the negative. Don’t give up. Stay with it, even if you only come up with one or two things when you begin, that’s okay. The more you look for things to be grateful for, the more things to be grateful for you’ll find, and the more you do this, the easier it becomes. Over time you’ll discover that focusing on being grateful is a simple and powerful way to shift your thinking from “lack” to “abundance” and from “negative” to “positive.” This in turn will naturally lead you to experience the feelings of happiness more intensely, as well as more often.