Make Gratitude A Habit For Happiness
Any time someone asks me about the basic components of happiness, there’s always one consistent answer: gratitude!
That’s because if you can’t appreciate what you have now, you never will.
Not being able to appreciate your life as it is will only leave you feeling badly about yourself.
After the buzz of achievement wears off you’ll be left feeling exactly the same as you do right now: lost and incomplete.
We’ve all been conditioned to believe in The Perfection Myth. We think that if we just do a little more then we’ll pass the finish line (finally!) and we’ll never have to experience loneliness, fear or shame ever again.
Of course, perfection is simply not possible on this human planet. With every new achievement, we inherit a new set of problems. And we also gain a new perspective, which also makes us want to keep going just a little bit farther.
The desire for more in life is not a bad thing. It’s an important part of who we are. Our desire helps us to keep expanding along our own life path.
But if you start to think that you can’t be truly happy until you’ve ticked every item off your To Do List, then you’ll begin to run into trouble.
The future will be just as perfectly imperfect as right now is. So when you let yourself start to focus on all that you have instead of everything you don’t, you let your brain flip the internal switch from lack into happiness.
Remember that according to the Law of Attraction, whatever you focus on expands. So if you put yourself in the energy of having instead of not having, the more amazing stuff you’ll call into your life.
So no matter where you’re at in your own life’s journey, it’s time to make the art of appreciation a priority in your life. Cultivating gratitude will let you embrace imperfections and allow yourself to be happy in this current moment.
Here are three strategies to help you get started:
3 Ways Make Gratitude A Habit for Happiness
Gratitude Habit for Happiness Tip #1: Appreciate Yourself
Being grateful to yourself is just another method of self-love. Too many of us have a negative inner voice that seemingly loves to remind us of all our shortcomings. But no matter what that voice is trying to tell you, it’s important to be grateful towards yourself.
Let’s face it: sometimes it takes a whole lotta effort just to get through your day. But yay for you. You did your thing. You showed up for your commitments. You LIVED your life. And even if no one else is noticing, that’s pretty freakin’ amazing.
Self-love involves being grateful to yourself for doing these things.
Don’t underestimate how important those every day tasks truly are.
Self-appreciation isn’t egotistical or grandiose. It’s about granting yourself some basic grace and kindness. So take a look at what you’ve done today/ this month/ this life that pushed you out of your comfort zone. Too often we don’t give ourselves enough credit just for showing up in our own life. But life can be tough–and you’re still here, doing the damn thing. So make it a regular habit to tell yourself thank you (even if it’s all on the inside).
Gratitude Habit for Happiness Tip #2: Appreciate Others
Stop and look around you dear. There are many people in your life who are straight-up amazing! Now tell me: can you even imagine your life without them?
However, despite their importance, perhaps they aren’t aware of their own impact on your life. And why would they be if you never bother to tell them?
It’s easy to take the people around you for granted, especially if they’ve been around for a long time. But every single relationship is a unique gift.
If we stop and think for a moment, we’re usually very grateful for our parents, partners, boss and even our baristas. So let’s start by letting them know regularly.
Give people a compliment or a heart-felt thank you. People can feel when you really mean it. Often it doesn’t take much to elevate a normal “Hey thanks!” into a special moment that both you and the other person will carry throughout their day.
Gratitude Habit for Happiness Tip #3: Capture Your Gratitude
Making gratitude a habit can feel difficult at first unless you actually stop to write it down. Our gratitude muscle needs some time to grow. It takes effort for our brain to see the world in a whole new way.
That’s exactly why I recommend using a Gratitude Worksheet (like the one in this post) or creating your own gratitude journal. Then just make sure you take five minutes out of your morning or evening in order to sit down and do the damn thing.
A regular gratitude habit itself is super easy: just think of three things you can feel really grateful about. You can start small if necessary (your bed, your phone). But with more practice it will become easier and easier to think of new things to be grateful for.
I hope this post inspires you to make gratitude a priority in your own life! It truly is the magic key to both manifesting and to living a happy life.
Good luck with and thank you so much for reading! See you back here next week.
PS Looking for more? You might also want to check out this post about how to (finally!) feel good or this one about stop living life by default.
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