It all comes down to gratitude 🙏🏾✨

There is no one in the world who lives a perfect life lacking problems. Some problems are unarguably more intense than others, but no one is excused from the stresses of life. There is a young child who has had little to nothing to eat today and then there is you, who has failed an exam. Both these problems are extremely valid, don’t allow anyone to tell you otherwise. But do you know why the child who has had just a little something to eat today still has a smile on their face and you are sulking longer than you have to? Sometimes it all comes down to gratitude. 

Understanding gratitude

According to the Google dictionary, gratitude is the quality of being thankful. To me, it’s the ability to look at everyone and everything around you that makes your life a little easier and giving thanks. It’s the ability to acknowledge all the messed up things that are going on in your life but still being aware and appreciative of the good. Gratitude is such an important quality to have because being more thankful and choosing to see the good in the world allows you to be happy. Realising just how blessed you are is a sure way to turn that frown upside down ☹️ 👉🏾 ☺️

The child who managed to get one meal today is smiling because they’re appreciative of that one meal. They’re grateful that they managed to have something to eat today. Sometimes there is a negative shift where being surrounded by a lot of blessings makes other people less thankful. There is a sense of entitlement, as if you were meant to live the life you’re living and there’s absolutely no alternative. The next thing on someone’s mind will be what car they want next or what phone they want next. Something like failing an exam will get them so down and they’ll refuse to believe that anything is going right for them on that day when actually, A LOT is still going right for them. 

Gratitude!✨ What a beautiful word. Gratitude is a word full of positivity and possibilities. You get out of the universe what you put into it. If you put out gratitude, you’ll reap the benefits of gratitude. When you are so focused on everything that you are grateful for, it seems as if even better things keep happening for you. That’s not a coincidence. It’s because you’re attracting them.

A Christian Perspective

The Bible expressly says that if God can’t trust you with a little, He won’t trust you with a lot. Luke ch 16 vs 10 reads, “whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much” (NIV; Bible Hub). If you don’t thank God for the things that He has already blessed you with, why would He bless you with more? You’re not being faithful with the little that you have and therefore cannot be trusted with more. Look at it this way: if someone gave you a gift then you took the gift and ignored them, do you really think they’ll be back with another gift? Be thankful.

You could be living a completely different life right now but the fact that you’re reading my blog post means that you have access to the internet, as well as a gadget. Wow! So much to be thankful for, especially when you consider that others could not have a meal today. 

Things to be thankful for

When you haven’t been practicing gratitude it may be difficult to know where to start from but once you start, it’ll be impossible to stop. Once you tap into the world of gratefulness, you’ll always find that there’s something to be thankful for. There are big things to be thankful for, but also “smaller” things. I put the word smaller in quotation marks because truthfully speaking, every blessing is a blessing and there should be no such thing as a small blessing. Here are a few things to start you off:There are many people who were unable to see today. Be grateful that you still get to spend time with the people you love, chase your goals and enjoy your visit here on earth. Be grateful for every moment and every breathe. 

The food you ate today

As I mentioned earlier, having food is a great blessing. Be thankful for the fact that you did not go to bed hungry. Being thankful ignites a fire of kindness inside of you. Because you know just how blessed you are to be eating, you may find yourself working to ensure that other people eat too. This could be feeding your family or even giving your packet of chips to the homeless child on the road because she needs them more than you do. You reap what you sow and when you sow gratitude and kindness, you will not reap rotten fruit. 

Yourself!

Be grateful for yourself. You have found yourself in tough situations and each and every time you have pulled yourself out, resulting in where you are today. Thank yourself for always working hard to achieve your goals, working towards being a better person, and all the other amazing things you do. You’re a blessing, so be thankful for who you are. 

And many more…

Be thankful for your family, the roof over your head, the series that keeps you entertained, your favourite musician, the laptop that helped you through exams, people who advice you, the chirping birds, your education, the shoes on your feet, youtube, the gym, your novel, your friends, nature, Liverpool 😌🏆 Can’t you see? There is so much to be thankful for! 

How to start being grateful

One of the things that I constantly write about on this blog because I whole heartedly believe in it is journaling. I have previously stated that “journaling is a key that helps to unlock an emotionally smarter version of ourselves and unfortunately, many people do not utilize this extremely useful key”. Journaling has the ability to (and this is not an exaggeration) change your life. There are several beneficial reasons to start journaling which you can find on a previous blog post I wrote here: https://advicefromruva.com/2020/08/26/several-beneficial-reasons-to-start-journaling/#more-1221

1. Keep a gratitude journal

In this instance, journaling can be used to practice gratitude. If you dedicate a few minutes each morning to journaling about the things you’re thankful for, you’ll see your life changing. This is because you’re now focusing on the positive things around you. It could also be a great idea to journal at the end of the day. When you do this, find things that you were grateful for during the day. Sometimes people have the misconception that they had a “bad day” when in fact a bad THING happened, which does not have to taint the rest of the day. In a nutshell, keep a gratitude journal. 

2. State what you’re thankful for as you see or do it

You can also practice gratitude throughout the day. As you see and do things that you’re thankful for, give thanks in your heart or even say it out loud. “I’m grateful for this car I’m using to get to work”. “I am grateful for this quiet time I get to spend with myself”. “I am thankful for the beautiful nature that I’m seeing around me”. “I’m grateful for this manicure 💅🏾”. “I’m grateful for the clean water that I’m drinking”. A positive mindset and a heart full of gratitude will immensely improve your life. 

One last thing: I’m grateful that you read this blog post ☺️🥰💚