The Attitude of Gratitude Can Change Your Life In Amazing Ways…
Complaining and searching for all the things gone wrong seems to be the default that most people operate in. I know that I’ve done my fair share in the past, so I’m certainly guilty of this one. However, when I look back at the times that I deliberately chose to be grateful for what I have instead of what I didn’t, I realized that gratitude made a profound difference.
When I started choosing to be grateful for what I have, I noticed there was an immediate impact on my perception and experience of reality.
My Experience With Gratitude
It starts with a conscious decision to make a mental shift. To look at things from a perspective of what I have rather than what I don’t. And this is the most important part of gratitude being the right attitude.
It isn’t actually finding things that you are grateful for. The critical element of gratitude is, in truth, shifting from a perspective of *abundance* as compared to *scarcity*.
I mean, you probably have heard many times that you should have the abundance or prosperity attitude. But no one’s ever really told you what it actually is, right? I mean, what exactly *is* the abundance mindset?
It’s not about believing that you have something that you don’t have. It’s not about believing that it’s your right to have a million or billion dollars, or having that beautiful house, sports car, exotic holidays or the like.
The Abundance Mindset… What It Really Is
Having an abundant mindset starts by realizing that you already have everything you need right here and now. It may not be as much as the person next to you, but you have what you have.
We are all dealt a hand of cards in this life and it’s up to us to play the hand given the best we can. When you know how to play the game right, you never know… you might just end up winning a game that you thought you should have lost.
The abundance mindset comes by identifying what you already have and being grateful for it. Take the things that you have and appreciate the value of it. As you do this, you become aware of the infinite possibilities and potential of the things you already hold in your hand.
For example, when I’m feeling low or just having a down day, I’m glad that I have the ability to appreciate the beauty of the sun shining off the rich green leaves and vibrantly colorful flowers. I’m glad that I have the ability to hear the harmonies of lifting music. I’m glad that I have the arms, legs and body to do something to make things right.
Gratitude Changes Your Perception of Life
Gratitude changes the way you perceive things. It creates a shift in your emotions, pushing away the melancholy and heaviness that worry brings. It helps bring clarity to your mind to see that you always have had the potential to change your surroundings, even if just a little.
If You Are Worried About Stuff
For example, if I’m worried about money, I can review what I have and be grateful for them. Like the ability to write and share my thoughts (I could write a book!). Or that I have a decent educational background and intelligence that gives me the ability to search for opportunities. Or experience that allows me to create value (like this article) to share with others that may potentially create further opportunities for wealth creation.
And if you have no educational background, you can be grateful for the intelligence that allows you to read (and go to your public library!) and gain information that may possibly help you.
Being Grateful Helps You Be Proactive
I’ve realized that in many situations, just being grateful changes the way I view things. While it doesn’t change the situation directly, it affects how I respond to the environment. It makes me a little more accepting of the current situation and thus a little more proactive about doing something to change it.
I don’t practice this often enough myself, but the times that I have I almost always lift up my own spirit when I am down. It makes life a little brighter and optimistic, and gives me that boost I need to get through the day.
When you are grateful for what you have, you start looking at the things you have like apple seeds. While you can count the number of seeds in an apple, you can’t count the number of apples in the seed. The possibilities are limitless and infinite.
Gratitude Creates A World Of Possibilities
It may seem that we live in an “objective” world, that what you see around you is what it is and can’t be changed. But my experience has told me otherwise.
Just shifting my attitude and mindset alone changes the way I perceive reality. In fact, I would say that all positive and sustainable growth starts from the inside, where no one sees the growth first taking roots.
When you start taking concrete and definite actions, it’s more than possible to start shifting and changing your external reality. Experiencing a better life is an inside job that no one else can do for you.
You can read all the positive and affirming materials that you want, but it’s only when we decide to change our attitude to gratitude that things begin to change.
Will *gratitude* create an immediate transformation of your external reality?
It’s not an immediate transformation, but the *magic* doesn’t always happen at the snap of the fingers, does it? It’s more like the budding of a flower, or the first sprout of the seed that breaks the shell while still in the soil.
The things that we experience today didn’t occur overnight. It’s usually a culmination of our thought habits and actions that we’ve taken over the years.
What I can say is that it *will* change how you perceive life, thus affecting how you act towards it. And when your actions change to reflect your inner attitude, sooner or later your external reality will change.
I’m grateful that I can share these thoughts with you. So if you ask me, I’d say that Gratitude is the Right Attitude.