At times, you may feel entirely hopeless and depressed; you try to clutch onto something that shall lift you out of your misery, but you do not seem to find anything. You might even feel disconnected and begin to lose inspiration in life; or maybe everything just seems boring and pointless. The counter to this kind of attitude is the practice of gratitude.
Gratitude is the element that most people tend to ignore in their personality, possibly because it’s so easy to ignore. If something is already there in your life, why feel grateful? This however leads to a life of constant grasping, always trying to get more without ever really feeling happy about the present.
Gratitude is to acknowledge the good things in your life, and to be able to sense their worth.
Feeling Grateful
The most essential step to start feeling gratitude is to change your perspective on life. You need to start acknowledging all the good things you have in life. Trust me, you have a lot.
Don’t look far: you have a computer or some other device and internet access to be able to read this. There are bits of information travelling to you at enormous speeds from the other side of the world just so you can read this post. Somebody spent their lifetime creating systems to allow this to happen.
This is a trivial example, but it illustrates an important point: we don’t think about all the great things we have.
Heck, you have an education good enough for you to understand what all these squiggly symbols mean and how they combine into words and sentences.
People tend to take so much for granted; to the point where they no longer recognise the value of their possessions and abilities.
It takes great focus to adopt a new perspective and an acute perception of all the value around you. Notice that “value” here does not mean material value. It stands for human value.
Express Your Gratitude to Loved Ones
We tend to forget how we feel about our loved ones; how we can never imagine our lives without them. Some people go on with their lives, never acknowledging the value of friends, until they lose them one way or another.
Start expressing your gratitude for others. As you verbally formulate the emotions within you, they will start to become more intense and identified. Getting used to expressing your gratitude will make you more open to life; your senses will become much more receptive of feelings and emotions.
Be Grateful for Your Achievements
There is a certain phase after accomplishing a great task: you feel overly positive and self-confident. However, these sensations seem to fade away with time. You must always remind yourself of the progress and success you have attained. This will help you feel grateful for your qualities and your place in life.
Focus on What You Have
Stop focusing on other people and all the good stuff they seem to acquire. It’s okay, let them have all those things. Their lives are not meant to be a blueprint for yours. Your life if yours to live.
Besides, you do not have full knowledge of their lives or the things they lack. Acknowledge the value of your own possessions, material or immaterial; health, happiness, good relationships, personal and spiritual growth – these are the qualities you should be seeking and also the ones to be deeply grateful for.
Your development as a person requires your full attention throughout the whole process. Try not to ignore the minor details; for they may uncover the hidden paths you have been looking for.