Written by: LeAnn Smith, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
When you hear the word ‘gratitude,’ what do you think of?
Being thankful for the promotion at work?
Grateful for unexpected support, help, or gift?
Basically, moments when good stuff happens.
But what about the times when the not-so-good stuff happens? Are you grateful then?
If you said ‘no,’ you are not alone.
About ten years ago, I went through a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training. It was a month-long deep dive into Yoga. We practiced and went through our training for up to 10 hours a day, six days a week.
To say it was intense is an understatement!
During that month of self-reflection and training, I learned a valuable practice that has stayed with me to this day.
A practice that has helped me evolve into a better human being, a better Trainer, Instructor, Coach, business owner, friend, neighbor, and daughter, as well as so much more.
It is a practice that forced me to look in the mirror with honesty and integrity while peeling back the many layers of myself.
I learned what it really meant to practice gratitude.
The practice itself is simple, yet the application to our day-to-day lives can be challenging.
At the most basic level, it means we begin, or end, each day pausing for gratitude.
Yes, we give gratitude for all the positive, beautiful, wonderful, exciting, and good things in our lives.
But we also give gratitude for the hardships, challenges, difficulties, flaws, slipups, mishaps, and, well, life happenings.
What we perceive as ‘negative’ are actually learning opportunities that allow us to evolve into better human beings. An opportunity to grow, expand, dive deeper into our own psyche, and shift our perception of ‘bad stuff.’
So what does real gratitude look like?
Think about the last time someone did you wrong. Our knee-jerk response is to point the finger, right?
Real gratitude is taking a step back and looking at the situation from a new viewpoint. We have no control over other people’s actions . . . only our own. But what was our part in the situation? Did we simply engage with the wrong people, or is there something more?
Another scenario may be losing your job. That is brutal and difficult without a doubt. But the real gratitude challenges us to consider new viewpoints -- maybe it was the best thing that could have happened to us. Maybe it opens the door for us to step outside our comfort zone and try something new. Or maybe it’s an opportunity to see what we could have done differently at our job.
If we take pause and look throughout our day, we have moments of choice and decisions that can go one way or another. Gratitude challenges us to learn and grow from everything we experience.
I’m not going to lie to say this is easy because it isn’t. If it was, everyone would be evolved, higher self-beings. It takes an open heart and mind, as well as the courage to look deep within yourself.
It takes work, but I can tell you it is worth it.
After ten years of practicing gratitude daily, I continue to see my choices, decisions, and life differently. I see my involvement in life from a new lens.
By challenging myself to be grateful for the positive and the negative parts of my life, I’m learning to be more joyful, present, and gracious.
I will leave you with the Positivity Pledge I came across this years ago, and it still rings true to me.
Positivity Pledge
I shall no longer allow negative
thoughts or feelings to drain me
of my energy.
Instead, I shall focus on all the
good that is in my life.
I will think it, feel it, and speak it.
by doing so, I will send out vibes
of positive energy into the world
and I shall be grateful for all the
wonderful things it will attract
Into my life.
LeAnn Smith, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
LeAnn works with clients that are ‘stuck’ in their wellness journey either by injury, illness, disease, or otherwise. Her approach is to meet you where you are, partner together to create a customized plan to support your goals and lifestyle. LeAnn provides a full spectrum approach of wellness modalities to her clients with over eleven years of experience, such as Personal Training, Yoga Instruction, Health & Nutrition Coaching. Her motto: Welcome home, your vibrant self awaits!
LeAnn also offers Corporate Wellness solutions for organizations of all sizes. With over fourteen years of corporate Human Resources experience, she brings a wealth of corporate, organizational knowledge and understanding and the ability to provide customized and engaging health and wellness solutions.
