Choosing gratitude is a long continuous journey and one I’m (ironically) hugely grateful for. Before I focused on gratitude I was doing ok in life, yet once I chose the path of being more grateful, everything got simpler and started to slot into place.
Gratitude has been scientifically proven to strengthen your immune system, make you happier and more optimistic as well as making you less lonely and isolated, it’s amazing.
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough.” – Melodie Beatty
It’s important to note that gratitude isn’t about settling for what you have, it’s about being grateful for what you have. Being ambitious, seeking change and taking what you want is as much about gratitude as it is about owning your life. What we have is enough, it shouldn’t stop your ambitions however.
A few days ago, I got out of a taxi at the airport. I went to grab my bag from the boot and it unlatched itself, hitting me in the head. I felt a large smack and a throbbing that hurt like hell. After the taxi driver apologised I thought all was ok and made my way into the terminal. I felt something on my face and saw people staring at me, it was blood dripping down from my forehead. I started to feel dizzy and sat down for a moment. I wiped my forehead with my sleeve and didn’t think it was too bad. I continued to the check in where the lady promptly called for first aid and sat me down.
A guy was pushed to the front of the line as he was late for his flight. As he walked past he asked what was going on and saw my wound. Even though he was time bound and being ushered through, he stopped, opened his suit case and took out his first aid kit. He was insistent that he could help while I waited for the airport first aid. He took time cleaning my cut and placed a plaster on it to help stop the bleeding.
I could have been angry at the taxi driver, angry at the situation and angry that I had a gash on my forehead. Instead I was calm and grateful it hadn’t knocked me unconscious or worse made a severe open wound preventing me from flying. Being in a calm state made me approachable and I went from being grateful it wasn’t worse to being grateful for the kindness of strangers.
It turns out one of the benefits of being grateful is that it makes you more easily approachable and people like you more.
I’m Currently reading Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant. A wonderful and terrific book. It’s also one of the hardest books I’ve ever read. At it’s core it’s about resilience and gratitude. It’s not a hard read because it’s poorly written, it’s a hard read because it’s full of stories of loss and grief, amazing stories full of gratitude at times of suffering. It’s packed with incredible stories of how friends and family supported their loved ones through their grief and how as humans we are hard wired to survive the toughest of situations. There is always an option B and as Sheryl puts it, her husbands death taught her to kick the shit out of Option B.
Option B involves gratitude. You can be a victim in life or you can harness gratitude, I prefer to harness gratitude as it’s making my life more wonderful every day.
“Don’t Be Pushed by Your Problems. Be Led by Your Dreams” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
You can start by keeping a gratitude journal, it’s something I’ve done for a couple of years. The 5 minute journal is amazing for this as it has specifics for the morning and evening. Specifics like 3 amazing things that happened that day. Writing these 3 things before sleep has a powerful effect on our brains, one that tells us we’re achieving rather than thinking about our failures.
If you’re interested, below is a great site that covers how you can begin to truly embrace gratitude in your life, it’s not that difficult, it’s not all woo woo and it only comes with benefits.