Being grateful can change your life

I will never forget when I was a little girl with a strong aversion to tomato and my mother would say to me ‘thank you have food to eat; think of the hungry millions.” Sound familiar? I, of course, as a child took for granted the attention I was given, the food put in front of me, the clothes I wore, the unconditional love my parents always gave me. It wasn’t until later, through puberty and adulthood, having been touched by the heavy blows of life, that I began to understand the enormous potential of simply being grateful.

As a young adult, when things didn’t go as planned, I resented it. I was supposed to marry my first true love, live a life of luxury and privilege, and have 2.3 children. However, the universe had different plans for me. My true love broke my heart. I ended up hating the career I had chosen, which had taken me two and a half years to study. I became bitter, resentful, and ultimately depressed for a long, dark year. I managed to get out of depression and continued to live my life searching and searching for my lost address and secretly keeping a small seed of resentment for the world in the back of my mind. So my life went on for many years, wandering and searching, without really committing myself to anything or anyone.

One day I was on the phone, long distance, with my best friend. We were doing our usual moaning about what we were missing in life. So at that moment we made a pact. We both wrote down a list of goals we wanted to accomplish and set a date and instigated a backup plan if we failed. We accomplished every goal on that list within the time frame we had allowed ourselves. This was mind blowing. When we recognized our achievements, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Finally the universe was on my side. Since that breakthrough, I have found many different methods to change and improve my life. I am now very happily married, running my own business, and living life the way I always imagined I should. Every day I am grateful that my first true love left me or I would not have walked the path to find my loving husband. I am grateful every day that I didn’t like my first career choice, even after all that studying, or I wouldn’t be my own boss today. Although there are many different methods of personal development that I have used, my favorite, and the one that has served me the most, is being grateful.

This is life changing and it’s as simple as saying a few affirmations every day. Retrain your mind to think positive instead of negative. For example…

‘I hate my job’…….change to…….’I’m grateful I can pay my way’.

‘I never have enough money’…….a…….’I am grateful for every penny that comes to me’.

‘I’m always arguing with my wife/husband……for ……..’I’m thankful that I have a loving partner.’

Most of us have heard of affirmations before, but the secret is to add ‘gratitude’ to the mix and use your imagination to see that the affirmation is and feels true. Now some of these statements may not seem true to begin with, but our minds are susceptible to suggestion, especially if it is repeated over and over again until it takes hold. It becomes true! What we tell ourselves will be. Don’t be afraid to tell people your gratitude. Give thanks to everyone who does the smallest thing for you. Tell your friends how grateful you are for their friendship. Tell your children how grateful you are to have them to enrich your life. This gratitude can change your life forever. It can enhance all of your relationships, use it to get that promotion at work, use it on yourself to create radiant self-love and confidence. See how people and situations absorb your gratitude and return it to you tenfold.

I challenge you to put Being Grateful to the test. Create a list of five affirmations in the areas of your life that you would like to change or improve. Begin each affirmation with ‘I am grateful…’ Repeat each affirmation five times each morning and night for two weeks. Believe it, see it and feel it. Be grateful for the smallest things. Write in a journal and say to yourself “I am thankful for the bright sunny day”, “I am happy and thankful to be confident in every way” and “I am thankful for the support of my family and friends”. Be thankful now and be thankful for what is to come.

Let me know your amazing results and share them with others to change and enrich their lives too. Thank you for reading my story, I am grateful for the opportunity to share.