Finding Gratitude
“If you want to find happiness, find gratitude.” -Steve Maraboli
Gratitude is important during any circumstance, 365 days a year. However, it becomes even more important during the holiday season, especially this year with COVID.
Many of you may not be spending today (Christmas Eve) or tomorrow the same way as usual, which may be testing your emotions and mood. This is why finding gratitude is even more important. Although it might not be the way you wish, I guarantee there is still something to be grateful for.
One of the keys to fulfillment in life is finding a way to be content with what you have in the present moment. Fulfillment doesn’t come from waiting for that one thing you think will make you happy. . .
“I just need to find the perfect man and I will be happy”
“Once I get a promotion all my worries will go away”
Fulfillment and happiness never come from waiting for things to happen or from thinking that all you need is that one perfect thing (man, job).
Rather, fulfillment in life starts with gratitude.
Gratitude can come from many different things, big and small.
You can find gratitude in big things such as a job promotion, recovering from an illness, your prayers being answered, or getting pregnant.
However, big things like that don’t happen every day which is why it is important to practice gratitude towards small things too. Most days will be filled with a bunch of small things to be grateful for that you may not even realize.
You can find gratitude in small things such as a great cup of coffee, a warm blanket, the sound of the ocean, laughing with your friends or family, sleeping in, your favorite pair of socks, television, or good food.
Many people might also overlook more obvious little things you can be grateful for such as a roof over your head, good health, access to technology, enough money to get by, clean water, your senses, a bed, a car, being alive, and so forth.
Sometimes you don’t have to think so big. In fact, most of the time, happiness can be found right under your nose in the smallest things. It’s not about what you don’t have or what someone else has that you don’t, but about being grateful for what you have right now.
We all live completely different lives than one another, especially on the inside. Searching for that one external object to make you happy will 9/10 times never work. Why? Because material objects only make you temporarily happy but they don’t fix the deeper issues that are making you unhappy.
This is why gratitude is a great first step to fulfillment. It focuses on finding the joy in what you have now and the experiences you go through in the present.
Tomorrow is never promised which is why just waiting for that one thing, that one thing that “you know” will cure all your problems, wastes so much time and effort. While you are waiting, you miss everything that is going on right in front of you. The small things of joy, already in your reach, begin to disappear because your focus is on the future not on the present.
I understand for some circumstances it may be harder to find things to be grateful for. However, one of the most important things is not just to find the good in things that are going your way but also in the things that are not going your way.
There is something to be grateful for in any circumstance, no matter how difficult. It may be a lesson that you need to learn or any of the small things I mentioned earlier.
If you are someone who often sees things as never going your way and feel like nothing good can ever happen to you, gratitude may be hard to practice at first. That is okay, as long as you don’t give up on it. As soon as things get hard again coming back to what you are grateful for will be super helpful in getting through it and in changing your perspective.
So how can you add the practice of gratitude into your life daily?
It only takes 5 minutes each day to implement gratitude into your life.
- Start by finding a time that you can consistently add this practice into your routine (right after you wake up or right before bed might work best).
- Find a journal or notepad that you can use. However, if those are unavailable you can use the notes on your phone or computer or just think about it in your head. Writing it down is preferred because then you can go back and look at your list to remind yourself of what you are grateful for in tough times.
- Each day you can write 3 things, big or little, that you are grateful for. There are no rules, this is what you are grateful for not anyone else, it may be different than someone else’s list.
This practice can completely shift your perspective and day by day, little by little, this practice of gratitude will become routine if you stick to it.
Once you are in that routine of practicing gratitude and finding joy in all things now, you will be more content and fulfilled in your life. You may even become detached from the things you thought you needed in order to be happy. Therefore, avoiding disappointment if they never come to you.
This is a life-changing practice so start now so you can live a more fulfilling life now, not just tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Skylar Rae🌻
Follow my Instagram for more soul enlightenment, mental health, and personal development — @skylarraeblog
To learn the importance of being present read this article: https://skylarrae.medium.com/learning-to-be-present-ee9b4b288760
Learn why your perspective matters by reading this article: https://skylarrae.medium.com/why-your-perspective-throughout-your-entire-life-matters-998887cba614
Learn what the difference between being alone vs. being lonely is here: https://skylarrae.medium.com/being-alone-vs-being-lonely-7b00374afcf2
