I
saw a post today on FaceBook that said, "What if you woke up today with
only the things you thanked God for yesterday?" and it forced me to pause
and think. Am I grateful for what I have, or do I tend to look for
"greener grass?" That's when I knew I had to write this article. This
one attitude impacts every area of our life.
You
can change your life with a single thought.
This
one thought can:
•
Create great wealth
•
Restore health and even cure disease
•
Unlock your greatest potential
•
Forge and fortify deep abiding love
•
Inspire great joy to the point of bliss
Scripture
tells us: "For as [a man] thinks within himself, so he is." (Proverbs
23:7 NAS95)
Therefore,
it is vitally important that we watch what thoughts we allow ourselves to
think. You may have heard the expression, "You bring about what you think about." Pretty simple, right? Our lives are a product of our thought
process. You will get what you expect in life.
So
what are we expecting? Why does one person have a different expectation than
another? Our THOUGHTS drive our expectation. Whatever we're thinking about
becomes what we expect to happen. This is why the great self-improvement books
have focused on the power of thoughts. Of all the thoughts you experience and control,
there is one that can profoundly transform your life on a daily basis. What is
it? Gratitude.
How
does gratitude transform our lives?
Our
mind is bombarded with million of bits of information every second, so it
filters out everything it is not actively looking for.
As
a general rule, our mind looks for what is wrong, lacking or missing in our
environment. Its primary job is to avoid danger and ensure our survival with
threat-assessment emotions like fear, hesitation and suspicion. However, if we
allow ourselves to become preoccupied with these negative thoughts, they begin
to dominate our mind and become our expectations. Because we begin to expect
negative we begin to create negative in our life. The ultimate result: a
lifetime of disappointing and unfulfilling experiences and outcomes.
However,
we CAN stop the natural negative tendency of our mind by redirecting it towards
abundance and what's positively possible by focusing it on what we're grateful
for. Almost instantly your life can change its trajectory.
This
simple shift can revolutionize your world and all that you can create in it.
You
see and experience what you look for. Sound too easy?
Take
this simple test: In the room where you're sitting now, count the number of red
items you see. Note as many as you can. How many items did you count? Now
without looking again-eyes closed- how many items in the room do you remember
were blue? You probably can't recall many at all. When you open your eyes and
focus on the blue items, you'll probably see many more than you remembered.
Why? Because the first time you weren't looking for them, thus you didn't see
them. In your first reality they did really exist at all.
An
attitude of gratitude opens your mind up to focus on the positive and
ultimately see, discover and create more of the same. As a result, you will
experience more abundance, prosperity, well-being, love, joy and happiness.
The
Tangible Benefits of Gratitude
Health
- Research has proven that practicing gratitude improves our emotional and
physical well-being, reduces stress, worry, fear, anxiety and the conditions
closely associated with these emotions such as high blood pressure, depression,
heart disease, and immune system deficiencies. Maybe you aren't in the greatest
physical shape right now, but you have the opportunity and ability to improve
that, starting right now. My story is proof of that. Be thankful for that.
Relationships
- I loved what Joel Osteen said in Darren Hardy's interview with him. Our
partners usually fulfill only about 80% of our needs. Most people, however,
focus on the 20% that's missing. Thus, they ultimately become unhappy and
unfulfilled. Sadly, many people will leave the relationship to find that 20% in
someone else. What they find is that "new" person will also fulfill
only about 80% of their needs as well-they're just different needs and
expectations from their last partner.
The
key is to focus on the 80% of what is right, wonderful and beautiful about your
partner and your relationship. Your positive perspective will change how you
appreciate, interact and support your partner, thus garnering a much different
response and engagement from them.
Wealth- When you see the glass half-full versus half-empty, you will start to see the
abundance of water all around you. When you attune your mind to abundance you
will start to develop new ideas, and see the opportunity and potential all
around you. Your positive outlook will change how you walk, talk and interact
in the world. Other influential and resourceful "birds of a feather"
will also see the commonality and want to connect with you.
Put
on your rose colored glasses.
Gratitude
is a choice. It can become a positive habit-but only with discipline. With
continued exercise and practice, it will create more abundance, prosperity,
well-being, joy and happiness than you ever thought possible.
One
of my favorite inspirational speakers and personal growth "guru," Jim Rohn, teaches that greatest gift of all is the gift of personal development-so
that is what I want to pass on to you. The one book that has had the most
impact on my development over the past year has been Darren Hardy's "The Compound Effect." This book and audio program teaches how success (or
failure) in every area of life, including fitness, is based on the small things
done repeatedly over time.
In
closing, here are some questions for you:
In
what ways will you express your gratitude over the next week?
What
is your favorite gratitude practice?
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