How to Be Grateful for What You Have

How to Be Grateful for What You Have

I was not a firm believer in gratitude and most of my life I never really bothered to explore the topic of being grateful for what I have.

But as with all things in life, every learning point comes to you when you are most receptive towards it and when you are most likely to absorb the lesson behind the story.

I hope that after you are finished reading this article, you too will begin to appreciate gratitude and start feeling more grateful for the things you have in your life.

What is the importance of gratitude in the first place?

Robert Emmons, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Positive Psychology, in his book Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier writes that scientifically speaking (because the information in this book is based on research involving thousands of people) regular grateful thinking can increase happiness by as much as 25 percent, while keeping a gratitude journal for as little as three weeks results in better sleep and more energy.

There is also an increase in creativity as well as having a stronger immune system.

He also makes an important distinction in the book, by saying that by feeling grateful we are not lying to ourselves that everything is great. We are simply becoming aware of our many blessings that we already have but were ignoring up to that time.

Obstacles

What are most common obstacles for being grateful?

Comparing myself with others

This is by far the most common obstacle. If you are busy always comparing yourself with others, chances are you will not focus on giving yourself appreciation for the things and values that you already have. You will probably just take them for granted or minimize their value.

You can also start disapproving of yourself, or even being angry for not living up to the standards you deemed were important and necessary.

You can read my blog post about ways to control anger and also learn about the real definition of failure in life.

You need to remember we are all different and we are all special.

Each of us has strengths and weaknesses, and comparing yourself to someone else is really not needed.

There will be people who have skills or are able to do things better then you, but you can also learn to develop that skills. Or you don’t need to develop them at all because you have different skills to use instead.

In any case, allow everyone to be special and the comparison becomes unnecessary.

I suggest that you read my blog post with techniques to build self-confidence.

Desire for more things and possessions

When we get stuck into wanting more and more things, we don’t have that much time to enjoy in the things that we already have.

There is always the next shiny toy. Realize that happiness doesn’t lie in things, but in experiences.

Let go of the desire for possession.

Did you notice that the mind won’t let us be grateful?

“Often people ask how I manage to be happy, despite having no arms and no legs. The quick answer is that I have a choice. I can be angry about not having limbs, or I can be thankful that I have a purpose. I chose gratitude.” ~ Nick Vujicic

Nick Vujcic is one of my favorite examples of the power of gratitude, he is an Australian Christian evangelist and motivational speaker born with Phocomelia, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs.

As a child, he struggled mentally and emotionally as well as physically, but eventually came to terms with his disability and, at the age of seventeen, started his own non-profit organization, Life Without Limbs.

Vujicic presents motivational speeches worldwide which focus on life with a disability, hope and finding meaning in life.

Here is a Youtube video of Nick on Oprah’s Lifeclass!

If Nick can find a way to be grateful, and not only that, to lead a worldwide motivational company, I am sure you can find something too.

Also, stop complaining. It is a habit that will for sure rob you of your happiness.

You can read my blog post about different ways to stop complaining and being happy.

Did you discover the underlying intention of the Universe?

Recognize the underlying intention of the Universe to always give you the experiences and things you need and are the best for you in your current time and space. Check the truth of this from your own life experience.

Sometimes what we want and what we need are completely different things.

There were a lot of times when I really wanted a specific situation of an experience, and I got disappointed when I didn’t get it.

It took 4-5 years to realize that not getting the thing I wanted was actually the best thing that could have happened to me for that time and place of my life.

Where does my happiness come from?

My happiness comes from the inside. It is not the fulfillment of the desire, but the lack of the desire that makes me happy.

If I can be happy with myself, and without any specific thing or experience in the world, I would always be happy.

If you want to learn more about this, I suggest you read my post on Why Do I Seek Approval – And How Do I Stop It?

Write a gratitude journal

Write a gratitude journal

Set aside a time of day to write into your gratitude journal. You can buy a little notebook, or you can even install a free smartphone application that will help you (with daily popup reminders) to choose at least one thing that you were grateful that happened to you that day.

Memento Mori

Remember you will die. This is not intended to bum you down. It’s intended in fact to remind you to start living your life from the side that you choose, instead of buying into everyone else’s story.

And if you are worrying about death or dying, please read my blog post called How Can I Stop Worrying About Everything.

What next?

Final thoughts about where to go next

“Sometimes we should express our gratitude for the small and simple things like the scent of the rain, the taste of your favorite food, or the sound of a loved one’s voice.” ~ Joseph B. Wirthlin.

Discover five things that you are grateful for in your life right now, in this moment, and write them in the comments section below.

Deepen your path into gratitude and self-acceptance – visit my reviews and recommendation page.

Remember: your life will change for the better when you start to be grateful for what you already have.

Love,

Sinisa

 

Images courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

8 thoughts on “How to Be Grateful for What You Have”

  1. Hi Sinisa,

    I learned throughout the years that happiness lies in little things like a hot cup of coffee early in the morning while listening to a favorite song on a radio or just having a “kiss” from your dog after a long and tiring day…
    I did a similar thing like a gratitude journal last year and it was called 100 days of happiness. My two dear friends and I decided to take each day a photo of thing or person who made us happy that day and we exchanged it by mail. I must admit that at first it wasn’t so easy cos I didn’t see the value of a little things…or better to say I wasn’t aware of them but after some time I could see opportunities to be grateful in every step of the way. This “exercice” helped me to enjoy more in the present and I try to continue this practice every day.
    For me gratitude is the best attitude 🙂
    Here are my 5 things that I’m grateful for in this moment:

    1. Love
    2. Health
    3. My dear friends
    4. My family and my dog 🙂
    5. Having a job that fulfills me

    Love,

    Mathy

    1. Hi Mathy!

      I am glad that I can always count on you, sharing your experience 🙂

      I like the idea of your video gratitude journal type, and I guess if you do it together with your friends that kinda adds the level of accountability, which in turn makes sure you actually put the effort (that is sometimes required) in order to find and show appreciation for at least one thing in a day.

      Everyone of us has at least one thing each day for which we could be grateful.

      I noticed that sometimes there is a huge resistance that shows up, when the popup on my smartphone reminds me to find something for which I am grateful, but I learned to see that only as a step (or a little obstacle on my way) that I need to take – heart on ;).

      I hope you will also continue with the practice of keeping the journal, I released my resistance for that and I can honestly say it only gets better after you do that!

      Thank you so much for sharing your experience,

      Love,

      Sinisa

  2. Well it’s not so hard to comment when you write good stuff 😉
    Btw you didn’t mention your 5 things you’re grateful for in this moment….so what are they? ;p

    Mathy

    1. Thank you very much 🙂

      Well, if you insist, here are my 5 things, just from today:
      1.) I slept like a baby and woke up refreshed
      2.) I had a great lunch in a cool new restaurant
      3.) I had long coffee break which I enjoyed in great company
      4.) I finished this post, which I was writing for couple of days now
      5.) I had my first comment from a real person 🙂

      As you see, there is lot of things to be grateful in every day, I didn’t even mention the most obvious ones, like ability to see, hear, touch, my health etc.

      S.

      1. I am now on Day 19 of the Gratitude Challenge! Several of my facebook friends have joined me in the challenge and are posting their daily entries as well. It’s so nice to read the responses because we all get a little boost of happiness each time. Other friends have told me that they have been inspired to do their own personal Gratitude Challenge as we do our public one, which is also fantastic!

  3. I am 6 days into my own gratitude challenge, and it’s going really well! I am posting my daily entries as my facebook status everyday, and encouraging my friends to write their entries, too. It’s awesome how contagious gratitude can be.

    1. It really is contagious, and also what you focus on expands. If you focus more on having (which is basically being grateful for what you have) more energy will be placed into that experience. Count your blessings, so there can be more of them.

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