Practicing gratitude is one of those things that you always hear people talk about. You might have done an exercise or two before, to see what all the fuss is about. Honestly, it can feel silly to just list the things that you’re grateful for. It seems like an easy task with no immediate effect. I mean, why wouldn’t you be grateful for those things? However, I find that practicing gratitude exercises and committing to being grateful can be two different things. Committing to being grateful is key to a happier, easier life.
Growing up, I had a very limited amount of time to be a child. I was navigating my parents’ ailments and dealing with the consequences of them not taking care of themselves. I grew up below the poverty line, in a difficult neighborhood, with responsibilities that no child should have had. As a young adult, I ended forming relationships with people that caused me a lot of harm that I am still recovering from.
Now living as an adult still taking care of one living parent, it’s been amazing to see how far I have come. And for that alone, I am grateful. But, before I had mastered committing to being grateful, I was doing the bare minimum and it showed. I was blaming everything in my present and future on everything that happened in the past. I put restrictions on accomplishing my own dreams because I simply felt like I would never be able to do the things that I really wanted to do.
I became a very negative person and I was not fun to be around. I always felt like “Why me? Why is this happening to me?” and all I could do what talk about the negative and think about the negative. And for the longest, I never found a single thing to be grateful for. I felt it in my body too. My thoughts were making me sick. But once I did start finding things to be grateful for and once I started making it a routine, my life changed for the better.
What Is Gratitude?
According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of gratitude as the art of being grateful or thankful. Being grateful is described as expressing gratitude. Because these two definitions put us in a circle, we’ll define the word thankful to understand the word grateful. To be thankful is to be conscious of the benefit received. In other words, it’s acknowledging and actively appreciating something good.
Because we’re human, it is easy for us to focus on negative things. It is not unusual for something negative to replay in our minds more so than something positive. You are not alone. However, this is a habit that can cause more harm than good. It’s easy to fall into patterns of focusing on all the negative aspects of your life. Focusing on the negative past and your current negative situations make you a negative person.
You might have a friend who is overwhelmingly negative. If you do, you might understand that it is difficult to be around people like that for an extended amount of time even if you care about them. The weight of someone else’s negativity can bring everyone else down too. They are also causing harm to themselves. By constantly reflecting on everything that isn’t right, you begin to have a negative expectation of the future too. That is called pessimism.
Being pessimistic is known for bringing about undesirable, self-fulfilling prophecies. If you always feel like something bad is going to happen, you will unconsciously make something bad happen. Someone who thinks they’ll never get into the school of their dreams doesn’t bother applying. Someone who thinks no one will ever love them may not be a pleasant person in relationships.
Why is gratitude so powerful?
How is committing to gratitude different from practicing gratitude? Practicing gratitude can lead to committing to gratitude. You can start with practicing gratitude but don’t stay there. A good way to resume practicing gratitude is using a gratitude journal. There are a wealth of gratitude journals available to you on Amazon and many other websites. Find one that suits you but don’t think too hard about it because that is just one more delay in getting you to feel better to accomplish your goals. They typically have prompts for different ways you can be grateful. Some are as simple as listing the things you are grateful for everyday.
A grateful mindset can set you free from the prison of disempowerment and the shackles of misery.
Steve Maraboli
Committing to gratitude helps transform the way you think. With some work, you can train your mind to become more optimistic. An optimistic mindset is transformative. Not only is it better for your health but it also helps you reach your goals easier. Optimism has it’s own self-fulfilling prophesies too, but they’re good. Being optimistic makes it easier to be motivated. It’s easier to get out of bed in the morning. It is easier to commit to things like a workout routine. Optimism feels a lot lighter on your body.
4 Ways to Commit To Gratitude Every Single Day
1. Catch yourself being negative in the moment that it happens, every time it happens. Process how you are feeling and acknowledge your negativity every single time.
2. Redirect your negativity. Instead of allowing yourself to have a downward spiral with your thoughts, think about something else. It helps your brain practice not focusing on something negative.
3. Every single time you get into the old habit of negative thinking, gently stop and remind yourself of at least 3 things that you are grateful for in that moment.
4. Surround yourself with people who have a positive outlook in life. We often don’t realize how the people around us are contributing to our negativity. Creating space and setting boundaries is key.
These 4 easy steps are actually pretty hard. Saying that something is easy is usually a marketing tactic. However, these 4 steps are exactly what we need to do to create success for ourselves. What will you do to remind yourself to get away from a constant state of negativity? Can you put a reminder in your phone to set the mood for the day? Can you write a sticky note and put it on the mirror that you look into every morning? Can you write a short note to yourself on the palm of your hand and look at it throughout your day? What are you going to do to maintain consistency?
It takes but one positive thought when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower an entire army of negative thoughts.
Robert H. Schuller
Everyday Is A New Day To Achieve Your Goals
Yes, you have a lot going on right now. Yes, you have aging parents and you have children to raise. Yes, you have to worry about your own career and general well-being. On top of that you have to do chores and run errands and handle a lot of other things. It’s a never-ending lifestyle that you have. However, don’t let those things stop you from doing at least one thing for yourself to get you closer to your goals. Don’t let negativity stop you from living your best life in spite of your circumstances. Practice gratitude.
Commit to gratitude every single day, with every single thought. That’s not to say you’re not allowed to have a negative thought here or there. Just don’t let it consume you. Instead, let gratitude take over. Own an attitude of gratitude. It makes life a lot easier to live. It makes every day a lot easier to get through. It takes hard work. But it’s possible to achieve.
