How to Maintain an Attitude of Gratitude
Updated: Nov 15, 2020
Blessings In Disguise
There are not many things that we can control in life, and this season of coronavirus has made us even more aware of how little we actually can control. It has woken us to the reality that our next breath is not promised. Every moment we have seems vitally important and even more important is what we do with them. Our attitude in the only thing we can truly control. Only how we act and how we react is up to us. One thing is for sure. It is impossible to live in a state of gratitude and ingratitude at the same time.
𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺; 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦. - 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴
Blessings come in many forms. Sometimes they are evident. Sometimes they are hidden until reflected upon. It can hard to notice the existence of blessings in our lives when they they are born through adversity and challenge. Regardless how or when you become aware of them, it's much easier to feel the blessings you have through expressing gratitude.
Determining Urgency vs Importance
We’ve all been stuck in quarantine for a while now, some of us are now starting to come out of it while others of us have had it renewed. I’m certain we have all learned a few things about ourselves and our lives through this process. I’ve been blessed with many things during this process, but one of the lessons I am the most grateful for is gaining a better grasp on what is urgent versus what is important.
In a world of urgent I’ve always felt the weight of that pull. Learning how better to prioritize the importance of things in my life has allowed me to remove some things that weren’t actually that important after all. The daily (sometimes hourly) struggle to choose an attitude of gratitude in spite of my feelings has really made a difference in remaining positive and is something that I am choosing for myself moving forward. Try writing in a gratitude journal to help create a grateful heart and to reflect upon it often.
What are some things that you have discovered you are grateful for during thing process? What are some things you are grateful to discover you can let go of?
How to Set Your Pace
Pace is something that I used to teach my teams when I was in retail management. To always be busy and create to illusion of movement in their departments entices guests to come inside and makes them feel comfortable while shopping. The company that I worked for set a high caliber for pace, but they aren’t the only ones.
Seemingly everything that surrounds us teaches to exist in a state of hurry. Our minds keep us busy, our lifestyles keep us busy, our jobs keep us busy, our responsibilities keep us busy, even our families keep us busy.
In many instances, we have convinced ourselves that our pace determines our productivity, but in reality be are discovering that there are many ways to be successful at a more manageable pace. In light of our quarantine, many of us have awakened to the fact that the elimination of hurry and a slower pace is sometimes necessary. There is something to be said for stillness in life, that without being forced to, we might have never discovered.
Although I cannot wait until things open up again and this illness becomes a memory, I am thankful for learning to adjust my pace of life and I intended to fully embracing my “new normal”. I have learned how to kneel down in the grass and how to be idle and blessed 🙌🏼 I have learned a deeper understanding of how God continues to work in our lives if we trust Him with our pace. I aim to learn daily how to maintain an attitude of gratitude in any circumstance.
How has your pace changed and do you feel this has impacted the need for hurry in your life moving forward?
What Comes Next?
It's easy to ask ourselves "now what?" giving the circumstances. Where do we go from here?
We can...
Learn
Hurt
Love
Cry
Laugh
Create
Refocus
Repeat
We can embrace life.
We are thankful for each moment, as now more than ever, we realize each moment is all that is promised and we seek light in all situations to move positively into the next moment. Put it to the test, gratitude changes everything.
How to Maintain an Attitude of Gratitude
It’s not easy, it wakes work and dedication to maintain gratitude. It take identifying the things that trigger your ingratitude and grumbling and taking action to stop this negative attitude in its tracks. Life isn’t easy, no matter who you are and how much easier others lives appear. You aren’t in their position, walking in their shoes, facing what they face and neither are they in yours.
Attitude is a choice. Positivity is a choice. The longer you work at it, the more you decide to change your mind for the better, gratitude starts to become the leading action instead of you seeking it as a reaction. So when it feels like the glass is less then full and life is less than kind, don’t complain unless you’re willing to put the work in to change it. What attitudes and thoughts are worth entertaining? It’s not about what you decide to get rid of, it’s about what we decide to keep.
What are some ways you choose an attitude of gratitude when you don’t feel like it?
Choosing Healthy Soil
“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.’ - Luke 8:14-15
And another one, and another on, another one bites the dust!
Days roll into weeks and week into months and months into years. It’s been weeks of quarantine and frankly one of the strangest years most of us have ever faced and were only 5 months in! And yet...
There’s something to be said for where we are at. Of course we don’t like to feel uncertain. I think we can all agree we were, at least in part, previously comfortable in our discomfort and partially blinded by it.
Have you taken more time to discover more about yourself? How about your spouse or your family? Have you re-evaluated some things in your life? Have you learned something? Are you in the middle of trying something new? Have you cleaned anything out that you decided you didn’t need? Have you decided to choose gratitude and contentment?
What is life going to look like for you, coming out of this period we are all facing? Life can be so uncertain for sure, but the one thing you can control is your mind. It’s not easy, it takes work. For those of us that aren’t used to it, it takes determination.
I challenge you to reflect over your life (if you haven’t already). To write down the things you have discovered and plan out where you want to go. I challenge you to decide if the soil you are standing on is healthy enough to sow where you are going to need to go to grow.
There’s still time to choose.
A Blessing for Your Journey
May the sun shine on you always. Let God guide your day and your week and your life. Help us to practice gratitude daily. I pray that you are surrounded in cheerful laughter and that your heart is so full that it overflows on your family and all those that you meet, that they too desire to have the relationship you have with the Lord of your soul! May you live in grace and gratitude, all the days of your life.
Comment below, I'd love to hear from you.
Keep Smiling Always Ya’ll!!!
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