The Importance of Gratitude & How to Be Grateful in Life

You know how every coin has two sides? We may not realize it, but we tend to focus on the negative so much more than the positive.

We notice what we don’t have instead of what we do.

I’m not saying people don’t know how to be grateful for what they have; I’m saying it’s easier to find things to complain about than to try and see the beauty in every situation.

Here’s the problem:

Gratitude, as well as the happiness that stems from living a life filled with gratitude, shouldn’t be so hard to come by.

Gratitude, as well as the happiness that stems from living a life filled with gratitude, shouldn’t be so hard to come by. #begrateful #gratitude #attitudeofgratitude Share on X

If anything, understanding how to be grateful can be something that comes naturally through a positive mindset.

I would even go so far as to say that it should be a no-brainer, but we’ll get to that later.

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Are you a grateful person? Let’s try an exercise:

Imagine you are having the perfect day.

Something you were looking forward to went exactly according to plan. You travelled to a place you’ve always wanted to go to.

You won the lottery, you finally received recognition at work for all the effort that you put in. Whatever you think would constitute an amazing day, imagine that.

In this perfect day, luck was on your side in pretty much every aspect. Now you’re in bed using your phone, ready to end your day in bed with a smile.

Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, ding.

Suddenly, you get a message that completely ruins your mood.

You have two options on how to react:

1. Completely disregard the great day you’ve just had and dwell on the bad news you just received.

2. Remain grateful for all the good you experienced and realize that one bad thing shouldn’t bring you down.

Truth be told, a few years ago, I would have chosen option A in a heartbeat.

At that point in my life, I had the worst habit of letting even the littlest things get to me.

In a battle of 99 blessings and 1 hardship, I was the type of person who would choose the hardship.

I can’t say that I was proud of who I was. I certainly knew I had so many blessings and reasons to be grateful, but for some reason, I couldn’t find it in my heart to fully appreciate them.

It was tough, to say the least as there were so many people who were happy with way less than what I had, then there I was, struggling to see the silver lining that every cloud supposedly had.

Fast forward a few years, and I can confidently say that I have evolved into an Option B (remain grateful) kind of girl.

I feel this change had a lot to do with my friends. They helped me realize how much I had to be grateful for.

It turned out that the simple things I barely noticed at the time like being able to open up to my family and having as much freedom as I do were luxuries not many people get to experience.

Because of these friends, I learned how to view life in a more positive light; to focus on the 99 blessings rather than the 1 hardship.

Most of all, I finally got to take to heart the admittedly cliché but still just as meaningful saying that there is always something to be grateful for.

Gratitude Changes Everything, so Remember this:

• Everyone deserves to live a happy, gratitude-filled life.
• Think about how you can develop a mindset that makes thinking positively second nature.
• There is an optimistic way to look at life and there is always something to be grateful for. 
• Look for easy ways to find happiness

There is always a way to look at things from a positive perspective, no matter how impossible a situation may seem at first glance. 

There is always a way to look at life from a positive perspective, no matter how impossible a situation may seem at first glance. #begrateful #gratitide #thankful Share on X

If you’ve ever heard of the Law of Attraction, it follows pretty much the same logic. 

What you receive from the Universe has a lot to do with what you offer it. Simply put, the Law of Attraction is the ability to attract into our lives whatever we are focusing on.

It makes use of the mind’s power to translate our thoughts and materialize them into reality. It is the belief that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts, people can bring positive or negative experiences into their life.

Maybe this way of thinking sounds too simple, and it is, but who said that achieving a happy, gratitude-filled life has to be such a struggle?

In the same way, that dwelling on all the things that are going wrong seems to bring us even more hardships, living life with optimism certainly makes it easier to find things to be grateful for.

Who said that achieving a happy, gratitude-filled life has to be such a struggle? #attitudeofgratitude #Gratitude #BeGrateful Share on X

With that in mind, the secret to a happier life is simple:

Shift your focus and find the courage to flip that coin over.

Related Gratitude Resources:

• 40 Gratitude Quotes and Being Thankful Sayings
• 52 Gratitude Journal Prompts to Increase Happiness
• 65 Inspiring Quotes to Live in the Present
• How to Practice Gratitude + Easy Gratitude Exercises

About Gabby:

“There is one thing Gabby Cruz cannot live without, and it’s not her phone; it’s gratitude. Although she may be taking up business as a major in college, she remains passionate about helping others develop a gratitude mindset that makes thinking positively second nature.”

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