Written by: Misty Lucas , 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.
Gratitude. I’m sure you have heard of this word before and you probably know that it simply means a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation. Gratitude is the frequency most harmonious with abundance and a beacon for abundance.
There are two types of gratitude. The first you’re probably familiar with and it’s gratitude for all things you have and the second which is more difficult is gratitude in all things. This gratitude requires a deeper spiritual skill.
Knowing the power and potential of showing gratitude and subsequently applying it accordingly can be the single most decisive factor in ensuring better degrees of success for yourself.
Let’s dwell a little on exactly what gratitude can do for you and subsequently your success in life.
When practicing gratitude for all the things it instills a positive feeling in you and the people you show it to. It alters your perspective of negative feelings, thoughts or beliefs you may have of yourself or others by alerting these feelings, thoughts and beliefs to the things you are grateful for. Be grateful for what is coming and live in a state of expectancy.
Gratitude raises your awareness and focus and it can inspire you to achieve better for yourself and the people around you.
In fact, there are numerous other benefits of gratitude. Yet, many people still do not or refuse to shower themselves or the people around them with gratitude. Instead, they put themselves and others down by criticism and condemnation.
To see if you fall under this category, take the next few seconds to ponder over the following questions:
What exactly are the obstacles that are holding you back from showing gratitude to yourself and to others?
How can you overcome these obstacles?
How can you unleash an onslaught of gratitude to yourself and to others?
The obstacles stated above are mainly negative thoughts, emotions and beliefs that you may possess that are probably not only hindering you from showing gratitude but they are most probably also hindering you from success and the life you want to live. However, the chief aim of my article is to show you the importance of showing gratitude and how you can go about doing it. As such, I will not touch in depth about how to overcome these negative thoughts, emotions and beliefs. But if you would like to find out more, let’s connect for a clarity call.
The second act of gratitude in all things. Gratitude is an active, powerful and spiritual practice. When you’re in gratitude even in the most difficult times it can shift our perspective and allow us to see the the situation differently. It opens our hearts and minds to see what does this situation have to offer and to feel into the experience differently.
Now that you are clearer about the benefits of gratitude, let’s first talk about how you can start showing gratitude to yourself. To start doing this, you must first be appreciative of all your achievements – be it big or small – that you have experienced so far in your life. Ask yourself: when was the last time you actually rewarded yourself for those achievements? If you have constantly been doing so, then good for you and keep it up. If not, then it’s about time you start indulging or pampering yourself with some simple or extravagant (whichever is appropriate) rewards for all your past achievements and the future ones.
Next be appreciative of the things you have – your job, work place, house, wealth, family, food and surroundings. Implement a practice of gratitude Each morning, write five things you are grateful for. Each evening, review the list and add to it if you’d like. Keep referring to this list when you’re feeling sad or depressed and you can instantly feel a surge of happiness or positive emotions.
So far, I have covered how you can show gratitude to yourself and the things around you. Now I will touch on how you can show gratitude to the people around you. There are many ways you can express your gratitude to the people around you but I will only list down the few I feel are important and simple to perform. You are however, free to find out or think of others of your own and implement them as you deem fit.
Consciously express gratitude to someone in your life, family, workplace, friends By doing this you will create stronger bonds with those in your life.
Make a thank you list of all the people you are grateful for and constantly refer to this list to give yourself a better and greater feeling.
Give a simple verbal thank you, note of appreciation or even a thank you e-mail to express your gratitude to the people who have assisted you in achievements.
Shower the people you are grateful for with small or big cards, gifts, presents or rewards to clearly show them how much you appreciate them.
Or simply provide the people around you with gifts that cannot be bought with cash like your valuable time, your sacrifice or something that is of utmost importance to you.
Always bear in mind that when you show gratitude to yourself, the difficult times in life, the things and the people around you, you will definitely hold the key to unlocking your personal growth and ultimately your success.
If you’re wanting to work with me personally I have a 6 Month Coaching Program that I am really excited about. It is an opportunity for women to learn my strategies for building healthy lifestyle practices, become aware of the thoughts and patterns holding them back and move forward in a life they create. Go to my website and grab all the details: www.mistylucaswellness.com
I am currently running a Free 5 day workshop, What is Stress Costing You? Take Your Health Beyond Conventional Medicine, once a month so that women can access my strategies and get to know me and get some insight into what working with a life coach looks like. It is open to anyone who wants support. You can register for the workshop here.
Misty Lucas, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Misty Lucas, is a Women's Life Coach and Restorative Yoga Educator. After a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis that left her depleted physically, emotionally and spiritually she had to find a new path. She left her career in law and dedicated her life to supporting women navigating complicated health crisis from chronic stress and autoimmune illnesses by blending her coaching skills and restorative yoga techniques. From this knowledge she has created her signature coaching program to support her clients and work with them releasing old patterns holding them back to create a life they want to live.
