Attitude of Gratitude
Attitude of Gratitude
What does it mean to have an Attitude of Gratitude? Well, I'm going to tell you. Not only is it something I work on maintaining throughout my day, I also endeavor to apply it to my writing.
Dictionary.com defines gratitude as "the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful". I call it "being in a state of Grace".
To me, saying "thank you" isn't just something I say when someone does something for me. True, it is good manners, but it should be more than waiting to receive something, which makes the word rather passive.
It can be so much more than just passive! You can be proactive with it. How, you ask? By being grateful in advance and expecting things to already have fallen into place for you.
You see, the Universe runs on gratitude. If you think about all the good things that have happened to you in your life, they all happened while someone was in a state of Grace and thinking beyond themselves.
Impossible, you say? My life is too hard to be in that place, you say? Well, let's examine your life and find a way to be in that state of Grace.
Let's say some joker cut you off on the freeway and made you slam on your brakes. Instead of being mad, be grateful: at least he didn't hit your car.
Let's say you made a mistake at work and your supervisor yelled at you. Instead of being mad or defensive, be grateful: you learn more from your mistakes than from your successes.
Let's say you ate at a restaurant you've been waiting to try and the food was bad and service lousy. Instead of being mad, be grateful: at least you found out the truth about the restaurant and don't have to eat there again.
Let's say that you just had an argument with your significant other. Instead of being mad and holding a grudge, be grateful. The argument brought a disagreement out into the open and gave you both an opportunity to discuss and resolve it, instead of it staying hidden and festering.
For your writing, let's say you've submitted a few articles, but aren't seeing that many clicks. Instead of getting angry or frustrated, be grateful. That apparent lack of success gives you the opportunity to further educate yourself on how the system works, which will bring you more success down the road. There's also the opportunity to learn about Divine Timing and the fact that the Universe works on a different timetable than you or me; maybe it takes time for that article to reach the appropriate audience.
It's simple reframing of everything that happens to you during the course of your day that changes bad to good, negative to positive. Further, by maintaining that State of Grace and keeping the energy positive, you get more positive back through the Law of Attraction. That's right, you get what you give.
So, maintaining an Attitude of Gratitude not only makes your life easier, it draws more positive things into your life, and who can't use more positive things in our lives?
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Nice post
Sir, you are writing really well. I appreciate your work. Keep writing such articles.
Thank you kindly!
I appreciate your feedback. I really enjoy writing these kinds of articles because they keep my focus on love and light.
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Gratitude
This is an awesome article Jim. We take so many things for granted in this world, such as the ability to see and hear, while there millions of other people out there who don't have that simple ability. Yet, we don't realize how this until we lose such a thing.
This article sounds like it came straight from your heart :)
Thanks! It did. :)
Most of the time, I get a chance to write my better articles after my wife and son have gone to sleep for the night and I get a few hours alone to collect my thought and look back on the day. It is in this reflective time that I get a chance to step back from the more urgent concerns and details and reset, reframe, refresh, and reprioritize.
Not only does this help me stay focused, it also helps me sleep better because the only energy I am carrying is what I want to carry.
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Think positively before going to sleep.
That reminds me of something I read once, don't ask me where because I haven't got a clue :) Anyways, it talked about how people who think about positive things they had in a day, sleep better than those who are kept awake worrying about things that went wrong. This is so true, if only we take the time each night to think about the many, many things that went right as opposed to those that didn't, we would sleep better each night. I am glad you have figured this out :) I hope others do too.
It also helps to set up the next day
In addition to journaling, I use the Franklin Covey planner system to plan and prioritize. One of its tenets is taking about 15 minutes at the end of each day to not only review what took place that day, but to also review what you are going to do the following day. By doing so before you go to bed, it helps set the stage for the next day so you are in the proper mindset from the moment you wake up.
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Practice Gratitude
Harold S. Kushner, Rabbi Laureate of Temple Israel In Natick, MA has written a book entitled The Lord Is My Shepherd:Healing Wisdom of the Twenty-Third Psalm: you know the psalm it's the one that reads "My cup runneth over, Surely goodness and mercy will follow me the rest of my life..." He writes extensively on gratitude, and it is the best writing on the subject that I've seen. You know him he also wrote the best seller When Bad Things Happen To Good People. If you are interested in the subject check out his book.
When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Yes, I've heard of the book. I will add it to my reading list. Thanks for the information.
My belief system says that we come from the Other Side with certain things we want to learn and accomplish and experience. We make agreements with each other before coming here, also, to help us learn. This is one of the ways that I have been able to reconcile an abusive alcoholic parent and really poor parenting by both, which caused me not to have certain life skills to set me in my adult life.
Since what I needed to learn how to do is stand on my own two feet based on my own initiative and goals, what better way to learn that than going into my adulthood without any of them. Difficult, yes, impossible, no. As I learn how to accomplish these things, I will be able to impart to my young son the lessons that I've learned in this lifetime, which will definitely give him an advantage when he sets out on his own.
If I had these things given and taught to me as a child, then I may have very well taken them for granted. Instead, I am learning them for the first time and cherishing them more.
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Nice Post.
+1 on your post :)
Loved reading all your posts. Keep at it. Give us more...
highly motivational.
State of Grace
I am grateful for this article! Your writing is always inspiring...very often giving us something to think about. Excellent work.
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Thank you for your comment!
I am exuding good manners and I am showing that I value your feedback! :p
But, seriously, I really appreciate that you "get" what I was trying to say in this article. I sincerely believe that our lives would be so much easier if everyone stayed focused on the positive, good things in life.
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