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People who are more prone to anxiety, depression, anger, greed, over-ambition, stress, over-thinking and restlessness obsess over the things and situations that are not working out in their favor. By doing this, they fill their mind with negative, unproductive and useless thoughts.
Expressing gratitude is a very simple methodology that you can practice to think positively, to focus on the present, to develop an optimistic approach, become less judgmental, to attract more prosperity, and to feel more content and peaceful.
Gratitude makes you find happiness and fulfillment in your current situation in life because happiness gets created inside you when you make yourself realize the abundance and comforts around you.
Expressing gratitude helps you appreciate your ‘now’. Gratitude shifts your focus from controlling and complaining to accepting and loving the present.
In our daily lives, we do complain about a lot of things and when we do it very frequently, it becomes a habit. When we complain we reinforce the problem in our mind and giving it attention makes it go deeper in our mind. Complaining gets us nowhere. Life isn’t an exam where everyone gets evaluated on the basis of their problems and complaints. Sometimes 2 people find a common topic of complaining about a particular person or situation. Without even having full realization of the act, they indulge themselves in something so meaningless.
“Instead of complaining that the rosebush is full of thorns, be happy the thorn bush has roses” – Proverb
When you control something, you want that thing, person or situation to behave according to you. Controlling makes us dependent and creates a fear in our mind where you think about the consequences if the situation does not work in your favor. It creates an energy of hatred, discomfort, agony; it less damages the other person and more your own self.
Gratitude breaks the monotone attached to your routine. It lets you focus on those moments which you initially considered as ordinary and moments that take place between what you call as life’s milestones. Most people focus on the milestones but forget the journey. Expressing gratitude makes you realize how worthy your journey is. Some people just life their life as being part of a rat race and by the time they realize to cherish the things they have, it’s the end of their life. When we are expressing gratitude we are consciously making an attempt to recall and remember the things that we are blessed with. Life gives us so many small moments but in anticipation of something big, we forget to give due credit to them.
You can find gratitude amidst tragedy and adversity also. Think about what doors are opening for you when one door closes. Even if you feel you have less than everyone else, you always have something to be grateful for.
Motivational speaker, Tony Robbins in his program Get the Edge talk about why is it important to express gratitude first thing in the morning. He says that we should spend around 15 minutes concentrating on thoughts of gratitude. He explains why we should express gratitude for self, family and closed ones, career and so on. He says the effects he experienced by doing this brought success into his everyday life and adds that this will lead be peak performance in tasks being undertaken.
Every day, recall 3 things that you are grateful for and see yourself attracting prosperity and fulfillment in your life. It can be the most basic things such as food on the table and fresh air to having great friends and family, financial security and so on.
“Be thankful for what you have, you will end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough” – Oprah Winfrey