Russ Beauchene
Gratitude
Here is another tool that I want to give you to work with.
A lot of this site is about setting up a positive energy that will attract the different things that we want in life.
And we do that with our thoughts, words, actions and expectations.
One of the ways that we do that is to set up an attitude of gratitude.
Think of it like this.
When do we feel gratitude?
We feel gratitude when there is something positive in our lives in some form or another.
We can feel gratitude for a raise at work or a beautiful sunset.
We can feel gratitude for someone giving us a compliment or for a wonderful meal.
Positive things come into our lives from many different sources.
And all we really need to do is notice them and acknowledge them.
Why is gratitude so powerful?
Remember that whatever we focus on DOES show up in our lives in one form or another.
When we focus on the things that we are grateful for, more of the same will show up for us.
Besides that, when we are feeling gratitude we just plain feel good.
I want you to try something here.
Take a few minutes and think about a few things in your life that are bothering you.
Really dwell on them and start complaining about them.
Find some things that you can complain about and really get into it.
Do this for 10 to 15 minutes.
See how you feel when the time is up.
You don't feel real good do you?
Now, take a few minutes and think about a few things that you are grateful for in your life.
Really dwell on them and start talking about how glad you are that they are there.
Look at those things and really feel how happy you are that they exist.
Do this for 10 to 15 minutes.
See how you feel when the time is up.
How good do you feel when you have done that?
It feels pretty good doesn't it?
It makes me feel good and I LIKE feeling good.
Here is another reason that it is so powerful.
We have already seen that we draw to us what we focus on.
What are we focusing on when we are complaining?
Things are bad or wrong or we are not getting what we want in our lives.
When we are complaining, we are focusing on those things.
And, we draw to us what we focus on.
In other words, we get more of the same.
What are we focusing on when we are expressing gratitude?
Things that we feel are good and right and having what we want in our lives.
As we express gratitude, we are focusing on those things.
And, we draw to us what we focus on.
We get more of the same.
I happen to like good things coming into my life.
Let's see, if I spend more time feeling gratitude than I do complaining, I get to feel good AND I get to draw more good things into my life.
That sounds pretty good to me.
So how do we go about doing this?
The first thing that I suggest is starting a gratitude journal.
Find yourself a notebook that is just for this.
Every night, write down at least 5 things about that day that you are grateful for.
You can just write down the thing that you are grateful for or you can also write down different things around it.
For example, you can write that you are grateful that you have a job and leave it at that.
Or you can say that you are grateful that you have a job because it gives you money to pay the rent and food to eat.
Either one will work.
I just find that writing the reason give it even more power.
Do it EVERY night.
Why do it at night?
It's a great way to end the day.
I feel in a very relaxed and positive frame of mind when I have written the 5 things that I am grateful for.
All of the problems and worries of the day seem to get set aside.
I end up going to bed feeling pretty good.
I start my day with my cheerleader MP3 and I end my day with my gratitude journal.
My day seem to get better each day.
Find some time every night to list AT LEAST 5 things in your gratitude journal.
You can list more than 5 if you want to.
There is no limit to how many things you can list.
But do at least 5 every night.
You can also go back through your gratitude journal every once in a while to remind yourself of all of the things that you have had to be grateful for every day.
See how you feel when you have done this for a while.
I have gotten into the habit of making an MP3 of the things that I am grateful for each night.
I find that saying them out loud with all of the emotions showing up is really powerful for me.
I can listen to them any time I want to and really feel what was happening when I made them.
Another simple way to bring even more gratitude into your life is to make it a point to say "Thank you" a lot more often.
Whenever anyone does anything for you, make it a point to say thank you to them.
Don't just say the words.
Take a moment to stop and get eye contact with them and say it as if you really mean it.
See how that makes you feel when you really do that for a while.
See how it makes the other person feel.
See how much more comes into your life after you have done this for a while.
See what changes happen in your life after you have done this for a while.
Yes, you WILL see changes in your life as you do this.
If nothing else, you will enjoy the road even more.
And that is ALWAYS good.
You may have noticed that I include gratitude in each one of my scripts.
I know that an attitude of gratitude keeps the positive energy flowing.
It also keeps me thinking about the good things that are already in my life.
Think about it.
There is no way that I can find things to complain about AND feel gratitude at the same time.
Each time that you write out a script, find a way to include gratitude in it.
It will make the script even more powerful.
Besides, you will feel better too.
Cultivate your own attitude of gratitude and see what happens.
You just MIGHT be surprised.
Now you have two very positive things to work with.
Start your morning with your cheerleader MP3 so that you can design the kind of day that you will have.
It's a great way to start the day on a positive note.
At the end of the day, write down the five things that you are grateful for.
It's a great way to end your day on a positive note.
See what changes happen in your life when you do this for a while.
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