The Art of Gratitude

Have you ever had the feeling of not being satisfied? Not being entirely happy and grateful?

It’s funny how we chase after achieving things; whether that be materialistic items, a career, a relationship or a family. Continuously striving to make ourselves happy. Yet, when we get there we want more, right? Why? Why are we, as a generation, failing to be satisfied, to feel grateful? How do we work on gratitude? How do we become grateful for life and thankful for what we have?

I met the woman of my dreams, built a family, bought a home, carved out a successful career as a personal trainer, yet I still had this feeling of being unfulfilled and deemed that I had become ungrateful for the simple things in life.

I couldn’t keep going, desiring things continuously. Putting unnecessary pressure on myself and those around me.

Thankfully, through becoming self aware and mindful I found that there is a way however, a way of bringing gratitude to your life everyday and in order to embrace this and engage the secret was to practise gratitude, everyday! Even at times when you don’t want to, you must do it! Why is gratitude important? Gratitude helps to ground ourselves and to enlighten us in embracing the positive things in life, things we take for granted. This in turn improves your mood and happiness and will help you to realise how lucky you are in life.

Here are a few examples of what you could be grateful for. Do you have both arms and legs? Yes? Well, be grateful, some people don’t. Do you have eyesight? Yes? Be grateful as some people have never seen, ever! Do you have a home to live in? You do? Guess what, some people do not even have a room to sleep in at night. See what I am getting at? There is always someone worse off than you, and instead of taking everything for granted, use your time to make the most of the luxuries you do have, and most importantly, be grateful and happy with what you do have.

At 7pm every night, I write in a gratitude journal, sometimes only one entry, sometimes two or three, I just write down what I am grateful for. Here are some examples: I’m grateful for my wife, my son, my home. Today I am grateful for that wonderful dinner I had with a friend and I am grateful for my talents and ability to stay calm. Now, this is a great tip for when you are feeling down and out about life and all of your first world problems…

Read back on your gratitude journal and realise that you are just feeling a bit down at this moment in time. Trust me, reading back on previous gratitude entries will lift you, and remind you of why you are lucky and why you should be grateful for life. Just remember you have this one life. Appreciate it and be grateful for it. Don’t hate, Appreciate. Thank you for reading. I am forever grateful.