Being grateful and spreading gratitude can do so much for yourself and for others. We have everyday to be grateful for, but we tend to forget to take the time to acknowledge what we have, who we have, and everything around us.
What does being “grateful” really mean? We keep hearing about it, but how come we still don’t practice it? Gratefulness is being appreciative of what you have — whether they’re positive or negative experiences.
As said by the one who shares gratitude on the daily:
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” — Oprah Winfrey
Practicing gratitude allows you to express yourself.
When “adulting”, we tend to go through life on autopilot. At times, we tend to go through our daily routine without really thinking about ourselves and how we felt throughout the day. Gratitude gives us the opportunity each day to express ourselves and how we felt about what we experienced. Even if it’s once a week, that still gives you the chance to express yourself. Sometimes I’ve practiced gratitude daily, but there’s also other times when I just forget. Realistically, at the end of each week, I like to check back in with myself and remember what experiences I was grateful for. It could even be the smallest things — Like having a cup of coffee at a new coffee shop (as I’m writing this article at EightFold Coffee which I’ve never been to) or spending time with a friend that you haven’t spoken to in years.
Below is my 3-step process to practicing gratefulness.
1. Situation → 2. Feeling → 3. Opportunity
Take a situation that you experienced throughout the day and really dig into how it made you feel (whether it was good or bad). Experience those feelings all over again. Now look at it in another way — What was an opportunity that you gained from that experience and feeling? What did you learn from it? What are you thankful for? How has that situation helped you grow?
Most of the time, I practice gratitude when difficult and challenging situations arise. I practice with my friends quite often by sharing my frustrations out loud. I then flip the entire context around to identify what I’m truly grateful for from that experience. It makes them laugh because of the complete 180 that happens, but by putting that energy into the world, it really helps me connect with the challenges that I’m experiencing and finding the opportunity for what I’ve learned.
For example, I’ve been challenged by many mentors in my career on projects and initiatives I’ve planned, created, and implemented, but instead of seeing those as challenges — I quickly remember that they wouldn’t have shared what they told me if they truly didn’t care. The situation was hearing the feedback on what I’ve worked on, the feeling was being frustrated and anxious, the opportunity was that I had the chance to hear another perspective from an experienced professional in the industry that I want to succeed in.
We all have something or someone to be grateful for. Invest in yourself by taking the time to be grateful throughout your days.
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Thanks for reading!
If you ever want to have a conversation about what’s keeping you from growing or doing what you love, don’t hesitate to reach out! — Alex