The Power of Gratitude – USE IT!

What are you feeling grateful for? What makes you happy today? What makes you feel so good you’re bursting with love, joy, and gratitude?

In my previous post, I explained why gratitude is such a powerful force and how I was able to attract more money into my life by simply cultivating gratitude.

In this post, I’ll give you 7 practical tips on how to cultivate the attitude of gratitude.

1. Think Small

Thinking big is great of course, but when it comes to cultivating gratitude, you really gotta notice all the small things, too. No matter what your life is like, you’re always surrounded by things that make you happy. Things you can feel grateful for. All you have to do is open your eyes and see!

Why focus on the small things? Simply because your goal is to be in a state of grateful happiness and abundance for as much as you can. To attract more abundance into your life, you need to cultivate the mindset of abundance. You cultivate it by noticing the abundance that is already surrounding you. If you’re always waiting for something bigger and better, you’ll never be in the mindset of abundance that is important for the Law of Attraction to work.

Besides, even if you finally got that spankin’ new BMW to replace that old car you absolutely hated driving (although it worked fine), would you be happy and grateful? No, you’d be waiting for that Ferrari. Stuff doesn’t make you happy. Your appreciation for it makes you happy.

2. Be Aware

To notice all those small things around you, you need to become more aware of both your surroundings and your feelings. This way, you can identify the things and people that contribute to your happiness.

You’re always surrounded by many small everyday things that do make your life better. Unfortunately, most of us take them for granted! Got a roof to live under, running water, and an internet connection? Many people don’t have those. If you can feel grateful for all the small things, if you can notice the abundance that is surrounding you, you will find yourself being constantly grateful.

For example, I’m so grateful for my early morning routine I always get up an hour earlier than I have to so I can enjoy my morning moments in peace: a quiet house, cuppa coffee, laptop, and the rising sun peeking through the curtains. I’m also grateful for living near a river so I can take relaxing, soothing walks alongside the beautiful river and nature any time I wish. I’m so grateful for having a wonderful husband, loving family, and great friends. I’m grateful I am surrounded by love.

Gratitude isn’t rocket science. It’s everyday Zen.

Of course I’m not telling you that you should just be floating in a constant state of grateful bliss, totally ignoring the bad things about your life, never improving anything. I’m suggesting the total opposite.

When you become more aware of your surroundings and your feelings, you’ll not only become aware of the things you feel grateful for. You’ll also become aware of the things that make you unhappy. Be honest about them. Don’t ignore them while focusing on the things that make you happy. Find practical ways of taking charge of your life and changing the things you don’t like! I’ll talk about this more in the 7th tip.

3. Make a List

Each day, make a list of 10 things you are grateful for. This helps you notice all the things that make you happy. Even if you had a crappy day, you’re “forced” to find something you’re grateful for. On those days, I’m especially grateful for my list making routine.

Every night before going to bed, I make a list of 10 things that made me feel grateful for that day. I write the list on my computer because it’s more convenient that way, but if you like a paper journal, that’s totally fine as well. Just write them down!

You can make a simple list of keywords or write down complete sentences, whichever suits your style. I prefer complete sentences, often beginning with something like

• “I am grateful for…”
• “I feel blessed…”
• “I thank [the universe, God, myself, a friend, etc.] for…”

Well, you get the idea. Let your imagination run wild!

Avoid using negatives. Your subconscious mind doesn’t really understand the word not, so it usually just ignores it. So don’t write something like “I am grateful I’m not sick” because your brain tends to skip the not part and turn it into “I am grateful I’m sick.” Instead, use positives, such as “I am grateful I’m healthy.”

For each item on the list, feel the gratitude flowing through yourself while writing it down. For example, the gratitude I feel is often so overwhelming it makes me cry! Make this list right before going to bed, so that you can go to sleep feeling happy, contented, loved. This gives your subconscious something to work on during the night.

For example, on a typical day, the items on my list may look like this:

• I feel blessed for the delicious, nourishing sushi I had today.
• I thank my dear husband for loving and supporting me.
• I feel grateful for having a working computer with an internet connection.
• I feel blessed for the big concert I was able to enjoy today.
• I feel blessed to have a healthy, attractive body.

See? These are mostly small things. Of course, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write down any big things. If something big happens, by all means, write it down!

4. Turbo Charge Everything with Good Intentions

Whenever you’re doing something to improve your life or that of others, load it with good intentions. If you’re cleaning the house, feel grateful that you can make your home clean, cozy, and beautiful. If you’re exercising, feel grateful for doing something to make you healthier and stronger. If you’re about to meet an old friend, load the meeting with the intentions of expressing love and receiving love in turn. If you’re cooking, focus on making a delicious, enjoyable meal that nourishes your body and mind.

5. Pray. Yes, you too, Atheists!

You know how religious people pray before eating or before going to bed? Well, you don’t have to be religious in order to use the power of prayer!

I don’t believe in a personal god myself, so I certainly don’t thank any god for my food or ask for them to protect my dreams before I go to sleep. However, I often found myself feeling so grateful for my food that I just wanted to spend a moment thanking for it. For you, food may be mere sustenance, but I use it as an example here because I personally love cooking and eating.

But who to thank if you don’t want to talk to a god? Here are some ideas that I use:

• Thank Mother Nature for giving you Her fruits and crops to eat. Accept Her gifts with gratitude.
• Thank the animals that gave you their milk or their life so you can nourish your body.
• Thank the universe (or God, Source, Oneness) for taking care of you.
• Thank the chef. If you’re the chef, thank yourself!

I don’t pray before going to bed but if you feel like saying thanks for your day, go ahead! Of course you can do it any time you’re about to do something you enjoy so much you want to thank for it. For example, I could imagine saying a thank you prayer if I’m about to open a nice, high quality bottle of some of my favorite Scotch whisky. And perhaps ask for protection so I don’t drink too much of it.

Sounds crazy? Hey, don’t take life so seriously!

6. Be Happy for Your Friends

Avoid jealousy like the swine flu! Jealousy is based on the mindset of scarcity: that resources are so limited there aren’t enough of them for everyone. That if someone is happy and succeeds, it will automatically be deducted from your happiness. If you cultivate the mindset of abundance, however, you know that everyone can get their share.

Why feel jealous if, for example, your friend gets married? There are still plenty of fantastic men and women you can meet. Why limit the options by fixating on one? If you do so, you’re operating from the mindset of scarcity. Your friend got a huge business opportunity? Great! Feel happy for them! There are many opportunities out there, but if you only focus on feeling bad about that opportunity your friend seized, you probably won’t notice all the opportunities waiting for you out there.

If something wonderful happens to your friends, feel grateful for them! Their happiness is your happiness, too. Aren’t you happier when you can be surrounded by happy people?

Sometimes this sharing of happiness is very concrete. For example, a good friend of ours finally overcame his financial troubles and hit it big time with his company. We had borrowed him some money while he was struggling, and now he was finally able to pay the money back – just when we needed it. Also, my hubby got the opportunity to do some freelance work for him and his company – even more money for us! On top of it, he’s given us a couple of free tickets to fairs and concerts on behalf of his company – more money saved for us! So, because our friend is doing well, we are doing better, too.

Oh, this friend is also much more relaxed right now, so he’s better company as well.

7. Work for It!

So, all you have to do is sit on your ass, feeling grateful, and all the goodies will just fall into your lap, right?

NO. You still have to work for what you want. For example, if you want a new friend, how can you ever meet them if you just sit at home, alone? You’ll still have to go out and socialize to meet new people. Or if you want a killer body, you can’t just sit on the couch, drinking beer and eating junk food. No matter how grateful you’re feeling for your beer belly, you’re not gonna get those killer abs unless you actually change your diet, go out, and exercise.

Gratitude, or the Law of Attraction in general, isn’t a miracle maker. You still have to work for it. Gratitude is a mere helper: it helps you shift your mindset so you can welcome abundance into your life and perhaps notice new opportunities you otherwise wouldn’t. It helps you become an emotional match for what you want but it ain’t gonna do the work for you.

You reap what you sow. For example, I mentioned that friend of ours who finally succeeded. My hubby and I had been helping him and standing beside him while he was struggling. If we hadn’t been good friends for him, do you think he’d give us all those freebies and freelance job opportunities now? No. We were blessed because he was blessed but we still deserved those blessings.

Be Grateful for… Feeling Grateful!

I am so grateful for discovering the power of gratitude. Even if none of that Law of Attraction stuff worked, I would still be cultivating gratitude, simply for the sheer joy of it. Feeling grateful makes me so happy. I have also become more alert and aware. These days, it’s easier for me to spot opportunities and seize them!

So… go out, work for it, and make those things happen – with love, joy, and gratitude!