Just this morning, I was opportuned to teach some teenagers about cultivating an attitude of gratitude. I think the best way to end the year is to be grateful, both for the things that were great, and the things that didn’t appear so great.
Why do you or I need to be grateful you might ask? Well, why shouldn’t you, when there are so many reasons to be? Being alive, for one, is a good reason to be grateful.
It’s easy to be grateful for the things that go well and were expected to, but we also need to be able to show gratitude for things that didn’t go as planned. Why? Because the universe works in an interesting way. The attitude of gratitude, draws abundance and supply towards you, while the attitude of complain and ingratitude pushes away abundance and supply away from you.
It amazes me, when I hear business researchers say that the same circumstances that make some businesses successful is what makes others fail. In the “good to great” research, it was discovered that the companies that made the good to great transition believed that the circumstances around them made them lucky, while on speaking with the comparism companies the same circumstances were sited as basis for their ill luck. This sounds funny, but reality is this – If the spectacle with which you see the world is tinted by gratitude, you will see opportunites where others see challenges. All things, good or bad, will work together for your ultimate good, and you’ll be able to be joyous in all things, and give thanks whatever happens. By being grateful, immediate (even negative) situations begin to align to favour you.
Whatever it is you are going through, doing the following things will help you cultivate the attitude of gratitude that will bring all good things your way.
1. Gratitude must emanate from your lips daily and regularly – Make up your mind to always be joyful. This will not happen naturally, getting sad, angry or even frustrated about any situation makes it difficult to switch genuine gratitude on, but if you deliberately do, the feelings of anger and frustration will move away and you’ll suddenly have a clearer perspective.
2. Look on the bright side – No matter how thin we cut a situation, it always has two sides. There are always at least 2 angles to look at any situation from – Always! Choose to look on the bright side. Choose to look at negative events with a perspective that makes it look like in your favour. For example, if you had an accident, take a perspective that says, it was good this happened, because if it didn’t, something terrible might have happened ahead that I wouldn’t have handled so well. Don’t go through life looking for excuses for what you are personally responsible for, but if things go different from how you have planned, look on the bright side.
3. Focus on the end no matter what – You are on a journey. You are destined for your dreams. Looking at life this way, makes you see everyday as a portion of your journey. Everything that happens to you happens to move you forward, you end is non negotiable, the destination is certain, but the journey undefined. Enjoy every step of the journey by maintaining an attitude of gratitude. Don’t whine and complain, celebrate!
4. Align yourself with the Sovereign – Know that no matter what happens on earth, there is a God that rules and reigns in the affairs of men. It’s foolishness to think that the earth banged into existence when even your breakfast needs concious activity. Align yourself with the fact that the universe is governed, humble yourself under the desires of the Sovereign God, know that everything is set to make you progress, and be truely grateful for the gift of every day.
On this note, I’ll like to say a big thank you to all who commented on this site this year, thank you! Your presence was felt and your comments gave me the necessary boost to continue. I’ll like to say a big thank you to the regular visitors, thank you! Knowing that you were reading has helped to make the write-ups as good as possible. I’ll like to say a big thank you to those who actually called, chatted, and to those that I met through this forum and have become my tight pals, you know you, thank you! I also am saying a big thank you to those who referred others to this site, I’ve gotten a lot of mails with the intro, “a friend for mine referred me to this site”, thank you! From less than a hundred thousand monthly hits in April to close to four hundered monthly hits in November, from obscurity to contender for most read site, its been a blast, it has been you! Thank you! Looking forward to a better and stronger relationship in the coming year!
