Gratitude or thankfulness are the synonym derived from the Latin word gratus ‘pleasing positive ‘, is a feeling of appreciation and positive response shown by us to our friends, family and nature. There should be no specific season for showing gratitude towards the immense gift God has showered and still we find it hard to overcome from our own inner conscious to share joy of being grateful for the things other have done unto us.
“Got no checkbooks, got no banks. Still I would like to express my thanks; I got sun in the mornin’ and the moon at night “
– Irving Berlin.
I understand that it is really difficult to not to feel grateful when the life seems to be tearing apart. There are many studies which have shown that showing a bit of thankfulness daily can increase the happiness level and decrease depression. Being grateful does not demand much ; you can be grateful that you have a loving partner , good health , a satisfying job, food on your table , roof above your head or for the teacher who teaches you and the janitor who keeps you’re surrounding clean. Always remember, “It’s not the happy people who are grateful; it’s the grateful people who are happy “.
Showing appreciation is a wonderful thing, it makes what is excellent in other belong to us as well. Attitude of gratitude is the regular habit to show appreciation for all aspect of your life, no matter how big or small. When you are peaceful within and grateful outside, you find more ways of broadcasting the happy rays with others.
Gratitude is also refer as a state of mind and by continuous practice of showing appreciation and respect, we can tap into reservoir of unlimited positive energy. Being grateful happen in two ways. The first is to realize that there is good in the world and good have fallen upon us .The second is that the goodness is coming from something other than us. As stated above this could be our family, our friends, nature and even God.
How to develop the attitude of gratitude –
- Count your blessing – Numbering all the ways that you are blessed is surely the first thing you can to do to be grateful towards life. Make sure you actually penned down and count your blessing. Start with the big things and work towards the smaller things. Buddha once said, “Let us rise and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot, at least we learn a little and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us be thankful”.
- Alphabetical List: If you find difficult to count your blessing, start by listing all the things that comes with the first letter of the alphabet. Say for Example A- Apple in the fridge, B- Bed, C – Chocolate and so on. Now if you ever feel that there is nothing good going on in your life, go back to this list to refresh your thinking.
- 5 Things Daily – Let me ask you to stop what you are doing now and think of the 5 things for which if not there would have make your life less fruitful. It can be something which is constant from the day you were born till now, something specific for the day or can be as simple as the air you are breathing.
- Gratitude Journal – A Journal is a day-book which is used to record all the news and events of personal nature which is more like a dairy. Maintaining a daily gratitude journal for the things you are grateful for can be worthwhile in the future. Just like alphabetical list, during tough times, go back to the previous entries you have written and focus on the good things.
- Be Grateful to Yourself – Remember, there is no two You in this world. All the success that you have achieved in your life no matter how big or small, it was destined for you to accomplish. People whom you would have helped when they were in trouble or smile you brought to someone faces when life was not worth living just because you stay true to yourself. Life start to see more rewarding things once you start appreciating the work you do for yourself.
When we train ourselves to look at life through the lens of gratitude rather than disappointment, we find ourselves happier and more at peace. There is so much to be grateful for if we just learn to look for it.