Adopting an Attitude of Gratitude

The dictionary defines gratitude as the state of appreciating certain benefits we receive. Really? That definition seems a little hard for me to grasp. Rather than associate with “benefits we receive,” I think most of us think about gratitude as appreciating the positive in what we have.

Good things may not always appear to be glaringly obvious, but we have to see the good in the bad. We need the bad days to appreciate the good ones.

We don’t have to be thankful for everything; however, we should try to be thankful for something in every moment. We should aim to be grateful for the seagulls in our life just as much as we are grateful for the supporters. The seagulls are the people who swoop in and poop on our parties or try to steal our joy before they fly away. On the other hand, we have the supporters who want the best for us and encourage us through the good and the bad. It may seem crazy to appreciate our enemies as much as our family and closest friends, but it’s a good practice.

People tend to associate gratitude with happiness. Happiness and joy are directly related to gratitude. Unhappiness is the gap between expectations and reality. A common misconception is that happy people are grateful, but, in reality, it is grateful people who are happy.

Gratitude is about recognizing the good things in life that we would otherwise take for granted.

There are tangible ways to be grateful for things. For example, I start every day off making a list of what I am grateful for in that moment. In my prayers, I thank God for all of the blessings He gives me. Although I express my gratitude for simple moments, I also use a twisted form of gratitude on the bad days. For example, on the dreary, cold mornings I can appreciate that it’s not hot. That’s a bad example, but it proves a point. Every night when I journal, I write down a specific moment from that day that I am thankful for. I do these things on the best days, and the worst ones, too. Another thing I’m going to start doing is telling one person every day that I am thankful for them and everything they do for me. It might be sending a person a random text or passing someone in the hallway at school, but I am going to make sure that someone knows that I appreciate them on a daily basis.

Another practice that allows for gratitude is one I learned quite some time ago and something I should practice a lot more often. A few years ago, someone told me that when I found myself complaining I should list ten things I am grateful for in that moment. Not only does the practice allow me to reframe my mindset, it gives me the opportunity to understand that I have an abundance of blessings and I should stop complaining. One more great thing this practice does is give me an opportunity to forget what I was complaining about. We could all use simple acts of gratitude throughout the day to maintain a positive outlook on life.

I would encourage you to tell someone that you are thankful for them today. It means a lot to people when they get an out-of-the-blue text from someone expressing gratitude. It means so much to me when a long-time friend shares a blog post on gratitude, and says, “Hey! I’m counting you in my blessings today.” Those texts are the best, and I would encourage you to send more of those. Take a break from gossiping and complaining, and appreciate the extraordinary people around you.

I don’t want to close this blog without thanking my readers. I’m definitely grateful for followers as I am just starting my blog. I hope you will agree that having an attitude of gratitude allows us to let more positivity in, resulting in a happy and healthy lifestyle.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog post on kindness – my sweet younger brother can’t wait to help me write it.