How Gratitude Changes Your Life?

In the past I could not see how gratitude changes your life. When I wanted new things, I would complain about what I currently had.

At that time, my mom always told me that the new things will come. I simply needed to be grateful for what I currently had.

It was very difficult to grasp that concept.

However after much frustration and anger that stemmed from seeing nothing changing in my current circumstances, I opted to release the obsession to have the new things.

Obsessing got me no where and I decided to really STOP and pay attention to what I currently had.

Like a magic trick I noticed major shifts in my life. However the shifts were not because of a change of job or relationship. There was no obvious external change to rationally explain the shifts.

The only shift was internal.

I began stopping and sincerely acknowledging the things I had and expressing gratitude for having it.

It turns what you have into enough.

When what you have begins to feel sufficient you find that you suddenly become more resourceful, more resilient and more empowered to navigate life to achieve your goals.

Do not confuse being grateful for what you have and being content to mean that you will not fiercely go after your goals. Instead you are able to do your best & use what you have at the given time towards your goals when what you have feels enough.

Implementing practices of gratitude plays an important role in goal achievement as it provides feelings of safety and security in your present moment as you work towards your goals.

It changes your emotional home.

We all have a default emotional home. Some persons emotional home may look like sadness, anger, disconnection, numbness and a range of other emotions that do not make you feel that great. This is as a result of unresolved traumas experienced in the past. Your emotional home refers to that default mode you go into especially when negative things happen in life or things do not turn out the way you expected.  It may also be your response when you feel triggered by others.

Your emotional health is essentially your mental health. Practices of gratitude improves your mood and improves your emotional state. When you feel better you are able to show up for yourself and others better as well. If you notice that you are struggling with your relationships and feel as though many areas of your life or a specific area feels awful, practicing gratitude will improve your emotional state.

This then becomes a habit which improves your mental well being. A new habit of feeling grateful then changes your emotional home.

Gratitude improves your self esteem & confidence.

When you feel better about life by improving your emotional home you also feel better about yourself. Appreciation for who you are, the things you have accomplished, what you have and where you are going boosts your self confidence.

Often times our overthinking minds and perfectionist ways prevent us from seeing that who we are and what we have is enough. Implementing practices of gratitude allows you to love yourself more and appreciate the value you can contribute in this world.

Bonus- After implementing practices of gratitude you can use affirmations to support your boost in confidence, change your emotional home and increase your motivation to put in the work needed to achieve your goals.

Here is a podcast episode How Gratitude Changes your life.

This episode I shared the reality check I received about gratitude.

“The more you practice gratitude, the more you see how much there is to be grateful for, and your life becomes an ongoing celebration of joy and happiness”

̴Don Miguel Ruiz ̴