By: Christy Laverty
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.
– Cicero
Learning to be grateful is a life long journey in my opinion. It isn’t something that happens overnight or instantly. In my case it has been something I have been nurturing over the past several years. I started to really think about gratitude and how it impacted my life when I realized I wasn’t feeling happy about all aspects of my life. I was struggling with balance and work was draining me. I started to take a look at why I was feeling unhappy and all the good things I had in my life. I started to take stock of all the great things in my life and once I did I started to feel better. It was all about small steps. I won’t say it was instant gratification but I started to see there was a lot to be thankful for in my life.
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
– Oprah Winfrey
Here are just a few things you can do to help you live your life with an attitude of gratitude.
1. Say It Out Loud
I believe once you say things out loud or in public you are more accountable and it makes it feel more real. I have started to post my gratitude on both Facebook and Twitter. For me, saying out loud in that public way (because Social Media is about as public as I can get right now) helps me keep a record of the things I am thankful for in my life and I also get a chance to send messages of gratitude to the people in my life.
2. Say Thanks
This step is pretty easy actually. Just say THANK YOU! Say thank you to the people in your life, to the person who holds the door open for you, to the person who lets you in line ahead of them, just say thank you. You know what? You should also be saying thank you to yourself!
3. Keep A Journal
I love to write. If you write about what you are grateful for you get it out of your head and make it real. These days I like to blog about what I am grateful for. Of course you can also do it old school. Grab a notebook and pen and get writing. This also puts you in a creative space and gets you thinking about all the great things in your life.
4. Think Outside The Box
What do I mean with this one? Well, I want you to start thinking about all the things that might not be GREAT. I mean make sure you are not only saying thank you and showing gratitude for things that are going well in your life but also the challenges in your life. Challenges give us the chance to grow and expand our mind, body and spirit. Be grateful for all those moments too!
5. The Big and Small
For the purpose of this post I am going to stop at five but really the list is endless. I just want to remind you to not only be grateful for all those BIG life moments and milestones, like having a baby, buying a house, getting that big contract, etc BUT make sure you also thank the Universe for those small, everyday moments. Say thank you for a good cup of coffee, or matching socks, or the smell of fresh grass. Life is made up of all those small, everyday, special moments.
I would love to hear/read what you do to live with an attitude of gratitude. What do you do to show your gratitude?
Image courtesy of usamedeniz/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Don’t forget you can find my ramblings and writings at a few other places, including my two blogs. ChristyaLaverty.blogspot.com and frecklesthemom.blogspot.com
Latest posts by Christy (see all)
- Three Simple Steps to Positivity - June 23, 2014
- Kids and a Daily Gratitude Practice - May 14, 2014
- Learning To Live A More Grateful Life - April 2, 2014
Leave a Reply