For my first post I decided to share with you something I do every single day and something that you can EASILY start applying in your life RIGHT NOW. It takes less than 30 seconds and it will change your life. You would have to be a complete moron to NOT do this. This magical little thing I am taking about is expressing gratitude. It may sound basic, but trust me… learning how to express gratitude on a regular basis will do you a world of good. I am a true believer that in order to have everything you want in life (and more) you first need to appreciate whole-heartedly what you DO have. Hell, even Oprah says that “the single greatest thing you can do to change your life today is to start being grateful for what you have right now.”
If Oprah doesn’t convince you than maybe science does. Studies have proven that people who express their gratitude daily are 25% happier and significantly healthier than those who don’t.
For some reason completely unknown to me, no matter how easy it is, the majority of people in this world are incapable of expressing gratitude. Why? They have a poisoned mindset that teaches them to focus on what they DON’T have, not on what they do. Well news flash people! What you focus on expands! So the more you focus on the lack in your life, the more of it you will have.. and on and on it goes in a vicious downward spiral.
When I first introduced the idea of expressing daily gratitude to some of my “not-so-enlightened” friends they looked at me as if I was a conceited and arrogant bitch. They said things like “isn’t it kind of rude to just start talking about all the things you have in your life? You know, not everyone can afford to have the life you do.” To this I say BULLSHIT! That is exactly the fucked up mindset that I am talking about. Yes, be compassionate for those who have not but bloody hell, get it together people! Being grateful for what you have doesn’t mean gloating in your greatness (ok, maybe it does a little)… but appreciating the positive and wonderful things (big or small, tangible or intangible) you already have in your life.
Maybe you are grateful for your health, your friends, your new job, your hardcore work out this morning, the letter you received from a distant friend, the sun shining!
What are you grateful for this very moment?
Even as I sit here I can think of a million and a half things I am grateful for RIGHT NOW. I am not going to lie. Expressing gratitude is not always easy at first. When I first stumbled over the idea of daily gratitude I used to struggle to think of one thing I was grateful for in my life. I realize now that it was because I had the same poisoned mindset of focusing on the lack in my life that many of you have. So what did I do?
I changed it. Plain and simple.
Since I started expressing gratitude, amazing things have started happening in my life.
Now it’s your turn.
So what’s the best way to express gratitude? Write down everything it is you are grateful for – EVERYDAY.
I use an awesome online application called GratitudeLog to keep my very own gratitude journal online. It’s completely free to use and it makes expressing gratitude even easier so you have absolutely NO excuse to not start RIGHT NOW.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Go to www.GratitudeLog.com.
- Sign up for your very own FREE account.
- Invite your friends and family to join so you can start following each others gratitude updates.
- Get grateful! Post your very first gratitude log.
- Add me as a friend and follow my gratitude updates.
To living the dream,
~ A
Hey Alex, great first post. Edgy, too! I like!
Yeah, I agree. Expressing gratitude for what you have isn’t conceited, and I think that people who react by calling you a bitch are probably destined to never really “make it”. I think the key is to be gracious and always help others at the same time.
Well I am grateful that I get to be first to comment
We have Twitter to thank for that.
I don’t know if it’s because I am a dude or because of a negative mindset, but I find it hard to focus on a feeling of gratitude for very long. I know, I need to WORK at it.
It is not as though I am unaware of the concept, but it’s great to see a blog post with a little PASSION about the subject.
Isn’t weird you can hear the same thing from one hundred different people over a long period of time before something clicks and you decide to take action, if only to test the principal for yourself rather than dismissing or forgetting it.
I must promise myself to give it a proper go, starting right now, and if I practice it for long enough I should see positive results, right?
Then it will become a habit.
Richie
PS. Whilst visiting my Father who now lives in a nursing home, I looked in on a Lady whose room is right by the main entrance. Her door is usually open, so she can say ‘HI’ to all comers One night, as I commented on the lovely spring weather, she said.
“Yes, we have a lot to be thankful for”
And that is from a bed ridden Lady, Eighty-Four years of age.
Lesson Learned.
First!!
I shall start ze gratitude rolling right now.
To the most awesome Team Leader ever, you are epic, thanks for everything!
Awesome job with the site Alex. Well done.
And just for shits and giggles:
Sick and tired of hearing
All these people talk about
What’s the deal with this pop life?
And when is gonna fade out?
The thing you got to realize
What we doing is not a trend
We got the gift of melody
We gonna bring it till the end
Laters Alex!
Amen, Sistah! You couldn’t have said it better. There really is nothing more amazing than sipping on an ice cold margarita in sunny Kuala Lumpur looking over a gorgeous skyline.
Then hopping on a plane over to Bali for a weekend filled with fun in the sun. The only way your life could get better is if you had a hot pool boy fanning you with palm fronds and a monkey butler. Oh wait, you already have those.
Great Post, but my favorite so far is the “about me” section!
The best thing about gratitude is, after a really bad day, you sit around and think of the things you are grateful for and suddenly you feel 100x better. People can get stuck in the mindset that they are always working towards being happy and fulfilled and once they are, then they can be grateful. If you think like that, you’ll never be happy.
If Oprah does it, it must be good…
You are so right. Expressing gratitude is a spiritual, psychological, emotional and some would say, metaphysical thing. But I have also found…pure and simple….it’s also a physical thing. You can almost feel your heart opening and letting in as much as it lets out in gratitude–it’s really quite overwhelming. It is, truly, the opposite of conceit or arrogance. The grateful heart is humble, non-judgmental, and open to the beauty surrounding us even in the midst of pain. Grateful eyes see only people trying their best to live their true hearts. Grateful hands are always ready to help. Grateful souls make the universe a giving place. From someone with more years behind her than ahead, some deeply felt advice: consider, everyday, the wonders, mysteries and joys right in front of you.
great post!
way to go
OK so I wasn’t first. Pesky comment moderation.
However, I did just find an awesome, pertinent quote, for which I am grateful!
“Everyone dies, but not everyone lives.”
-anon
The best information i have found exactly here. Keep going Thank you
Hi! I like your srticle and I would like very much to read some more information on this issue. Will you post some more?
Thanks so much for your comment. I will definitely be posting more information on expressing gratitude plus other topics in personal development. I apologize for the lack of action on my blog recently. I have been traveling around Australia and Indonesia and have little access to the internet. The good news is, over my travels I have stumbled upon some very valuable insights and I am excited to share them! Look for a new blog post within the next couple days!