The Beauty of Gratitude
The beauty of gratitude. Hmmm, don’t you think that’s ‘pie in the sky’ sometimes – so out of reach when in the moment life is hectic and at times chaotic and difficult?
For me right now, life is going something like this.
Working long hours – loving what I’m doing and creating in the service of others.
Trying to create some semblance of balance between home and work commitments.
Loving and supporting our young teenage daughter who lives in the ‘now’….and is very into ‘her’ world. Everyone and everything else is secondary – as a parent, some days it’s tear your hair out territory 🙂
Intermittent technology challenges that slow us down at work.
Loving a husband who’s ridiculously busy at work too.
Friends and family that I haven’t seen or chatted to in ages.
…… and so it goes on.
Know the feeling?
Life can be full, busy and tough
Yep, I get that. Life happens and some days and weeks can be really hard going. And there will be times when life is really, really tough.
Yet we can step away from it, if only for a moment
I know that if we lift ourselves away from the busyness, worry, tiredness, frustration and sadness, and focus on gratitude ─ simply being grateful for all that we are and have ─ then life and our vitality for it changes in a heartbeat.
So what is gratitude?
Put simply, it’s ‘the feeling of being thankful’. It’s about taking a moment in time to reflect on all that is good; all that is beautiful; all that is abundant.
Gratitude is being thankful for the big things and the smallest of things. It’s being thankful for the day, the clean air, the beauty and joy of life and living, and the people who share our world, our health and vitality, our achievements, and the learning, lessons and ‘failing forward’ we do in life. We can be grateful for all of this and more.
Gratitude is what you want it to be.
Practise the gratitude attitude
You may be saying… blah, blah, blah…. 🙂 … that’s ‘touchy feely, weirdo stuff’. For the longest time, no-one has really talked about the benefits of gratitude. There are worldwide conversations on it now though.
How about trying it for a week or two? Take a few minutes out of each day to quiet your mind, feel the stillness of the moment, and think only good and grateful thoughts.
For me, gratitude is something I practise every day as I take to the park on my daily 6am power walks. Those walks are sacrosanct ‘me time’ – and I make sure they happen day in day out, as they soothe my soul……and keep me sane, balanced and happy (even in the darkest of times).
There’s even research on gratitude
Reliable research demonstrates that by experiencing the emotion of gratitude there’s a positive impact on our mental and emotional states. Quite simply, we become happier… just because!
Certainly that is how being grateful impacts me. I am unconditionally happy, and I love living my life that way.
Happiness is not dependent
Happiness is not dependent on income, achievement, health and fitness, or social status. It’s a state of being. And research also shows that some of the happiest people on earth actually have the least and live in the most difficult of situations… go figure that!
In being grateful and happy, we attract more. We attract more prosperity and success in its widest definition.
We attract people to us, as we’re good to be around and they are energised by our enthusiasm.
Gratitude in business is critical too
Our clients want to ‘feel’ that we’re grateful for their business. If we are and they ‘feel’ it, then they’re likely to become loyal and supportive; they become our cheerleaders. Team members ─ be they employees, outsourced team members or collaborators ─ will be more supportive of us if they feel that they are valued.
Gratitude is a muscle
Gratitude is like a muscle that needs to be worked on to improve. It takes time and ongoing practise for it to become better and easier to do.
The rewards are phenomenal though. Once worked on, the glorious gratitude muscle will simply kick in most of time in life, even during the hardest of times.
So, go on. Give gratitude a go…. At least for a week, and note how you feel. You may be surprised. I was when I tried it. Now I’m a ‘gratitude groupie’. 🙂
QUESTION: How has gratitude impacted your life? I’d love to hear your own experiences with the beauty of gratitude. Please share a comment below and let’s get the glorious gratitude conversation going.
Would some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to make an appointment. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.
