Transforming Your Life Through Practical and Tactical Appreciation
Gratitude. It’s something everyone says we should have. Ok, great, but… Gratitude is more than just a buzzword or a trending topic. So, can we go deeper? Like, why? How can I make it practical and tactical, and not forced or vanilla?
Gratitude is a powerful emotion, yes – an emotion – and practice that can transform your life in ways you might not have imagined. I want to explore with you why gratitude is so important, how you can cultivate it in a meaningful way, and the real impact it can have on your overall well-being by breaking gratitude apart for you into pieces and vibes that stick.
Understanding the Depth of Gratitude
Gratitude isn’t just about saying “thank you” or jotting down a few things you’re grateful for each day. But, that’s a great way to start. It’s about a deeper recognition and appreciation of the good in your life, and it can fundamentally shift your perspective and experience of the world.
Surprisingly your feet and hands can also be put to use in gratitude. ACTING ON or SITTING IN gratitude will shift our physical experience, literally. A true full body experience. Because it is – more on this later.
Perpetual Gratitude
Prosperity and Abundance are no stranger to gratitude. What you appreciate APPRECIATES. You may also be familiar with the expression ‘what you focus on you get more of’. When you practice the celebration of gratitude and appreciation you can’t help but be prosperous in all that you do. The abundance will keep washing over you. It’s the most awesome and tenacious of circles we can enter, yet it takes intentionality and awareness.
Having used gratitude in all forms throughout my life as a millennial born to baby-boomers (millennials also can have gen X parents – it’s different, trust me)… anyway, gratitude has given me opportunities, built relationships I didn’t know I needed and pulled me through the depths of great loss in my life. At times gratitude has been the only thing holding me up. Yes, gratitude can do all that and more, friend.
Gratitude is Your Built-in Emotional Safety Net!
So, I pose the question. Is gratitude enough? Yes. Especially when it is all you have. Or when you have nothing, hit what you think is the bottom, it becomes the thing tethering you to love, light and not feeling as lost as you did just a minute ago. Gratitude is everything when you think you have nothing, friend.
Saying YES to Ourselves
Gratitude starts with you, yourself. Saying YES to the good things in yourself is one way to express this internally and externally. It’s about answering the call, that little voice, the ping inside of you. Sometimes those pings are asking you for action. Taking action is a huge part of our ability to trust ourselves. When we take small, meaningful actions, we see good—like the kind of GOOD that creates heaven on earth. ((Because God is good = He made you in his image = you are on earth = earth now possesses a piece of heaven… YOU!))
A Self-Trust Moment
When you practice gratitude and self-trust, that GOODNESS is now something you are able to readily recognize in yourself. Mmmmm. SIT in that for a minute, friend.
What is something you did in the last 24 hours that made you smile? Jot it down. See! You are doing it! You heard and trusted yourself! WHAT?!?!? Self-trust comes from self-discovery and cultivates self-motivation. Fully recognizing it is a form of gratitude can be what sets it in motion for you. Wheels turning yet?
These Promptings Can Always Be Trusted
They may sound small or insignificant at first but they are profound. They are life and world altering. In that order. Promptings impact not only those around us but find their way into our very being through gratitude. The gratitude we find ourselves in when that smile comes across our face. You know the one.
When we are first grateful for ourselves we learn how to know, like, and trust ourselves. It is not until then that we can open ourselves to the world—on our terms, in our unique way. Knowing ourselves first gives us an automatic safety net within ourselves, saying, “No matter what, I am safe and loved, because I am me.” Now nothing can stop you. You are UNSTOPPABLE!
The Connection Between Gratitude and High-Vibe Emotions
How can gratitude infiltrate our very being, you ask? Gratitude is one of the highest vibe emotions on the emotional spectrum. Have you ever just sat in gratitude? We sit in other emotions. Grief, sadness, frustration, anger, guilt, shame… why not try gratitude for a change.
When we operate from a place of gratitude, we elevate our entire emotional state. This upliftment can pull low-vibe emotions like sadness, grief, frustration, anger, guilt, and shame out of the shadows. These emotions are then dusted off, hugged, and loved. How did that feel?
Validation Note:
What you are grateful for doesn’t have to be directly linked to what is making you sad or angry. Just being in a state of gratitude brings the whole vibe of your being up, and that hard stuff comes with it. It’s all good. – “Give thanks IN (not for) all things” –
These two pulls, gratitude in conjunction with low vibe emotions can produce what I have personally experienced and coined as emotional whiplash. When you are emotionally pulled from your depths to one of the highest vibe emotions, gratitude, the strong and resilient being… YOU emerge! Gratitude exercises us in ways, even I couldn’t have imaged for myself. Until I understood this visual. And I know gratitude can do this for you too, friend!
Practical Ways to Stay in Gratitude
- Daily Journaling: Start or end your day by writing down three things you’re grateful for – in full sentences. This simple practice can shift your focus from what’s lacking in your life to the abundance that already exists. “ I am so happy and grateful for…”
- Self Narrative Prompts: Use prompts to guide your thoughts and reflections. For instance, “What made me smile today?” or “What’s one thing I learned about myself today?” “What am I grateful for today?”
- Mindfulness and Meditation: Incorporate mindfulness practices that focus on gratitude. This could be as simple as taking a few moments to give thanks for the beauty around you or meditating on the things you’re thankful for.
- Expressing Thanks: Make it a habit to express gratitude to others. This could be through a thank-you note, a verbal acknowledgment, an invitation and even the simplest gesture of appreciation can resonate. Send a card now, without leaving the comfort of your home!
- Gratitude Jar: Keep a jar where you and your family can drop in notes of things you’re grateful for. Over a seemingly short period of time, you’ll build a visual representation of all the positives in your life.
Spreading Positivity Beyond Yourself
Gratitude is not just a personal practice; it has the power to create a ripple effect that extends far beyond just you, friend. When we practice gratitude consistently, it impacts not only our own well-being but also influences our relationships, communication, communities, and even the culture(be it at home, in the workplace or an entire city). Let gratitude ripple through your bones and into your relationships. You may never know the full affects of this… and that’s the point. And the mystery!
