Gratitude! We here a lot about being grateful and sometimes I think we just give it lip service. However, if you take the time to actually examine your life and think of all the positives, being grateful can improve your health and well-being.
As part of Rejuvenation we need to look inward and think about our life and also take some time each day to be grateful for all the good things.
It is so easy to fall into the trap of feeling sorry for ourselves. This happens for many reasons and sometimes it is justified. We all have problems in life and we may need to have ‘a moment’ of self-pity. BUT we need to snap out of that and look around us and realise how lucky we are.
It sounds a cliche but really there is always someone who is worse off than we are. Most of the time our problems are ‘first world problems’. When we are tired or busy we forget how fortunate we are and I’m not talking about money.
Our wealth comes from having loving and supportive family and friends.
Our wealth comes from experiencing and appreciating nature and the little things in life that bring joy.
Our wealth comes from good health and the promise of new beginnings each day.
In my post ‘G’ is for Gratitude – How being grateful is good for our mental health I talk about the idea that:
Reflecting on all we are grateful for takes the spotlight off us and our problems! When we feel grateful we are looking at all the positives in our lives and we feel a warm glow building inside of us.
Being grateful actually makes us feel happy and improves our mental and spiritual health.
An exercise to try is to write down at least 10 things you are grateful for in your life and pin them on your mirror so that you see them everyday.
Start each day with a grateful heart.Click To TweetNext in the series will be….. #5 – Enjoy some sunshine
Let’s Keep Sizzling!
Click here to read more on how to Rejuvenate Yourself
17 Comments
[…] # 4 Take time to be grateful […]
I so totally agree with you! There was a time life was really bad and I was so depressed I would stay in bed for days. Then I don’t know what happened but I woke up so disgusted with what I was doing that I started embracing life in a way I never have. I love every little thing and live in gratefulness, honestly this life is all we have.
Oh I feel for you Heidi I think we have all experienced some really bad times in life when we just can’t get out of bed. I’m so pleased that you found the way to start embracing life again. Have a beautiful day!
Sue, thank you for all the ways that you keep encouraging us all to be better, do better and to stay positive. Being grateful is such a large part of being content and happy.
Kathleen
Bloggers Pit Stop
Thank you Kathleen you always make me feel better when I read your comments. It is true though being grateful just makes life so much happier rather than concentrating on the negatives.
I agree wholeheartedly. Gratitude is a big part of my toolbox for a life well lived. I have a gratitude journal, and try to reflect upon how lucky I am in so many ways as often as I can. I live in a country with no war, I’m warm and sheltered, I have a job, I have friends and family, I’m loved, and I love. I have so much to be grateful for. Whenever I see something awful in other countries I often say to myself ‘There but for the grace of God go I’. I could so easily have been born somewhere else, and had a life so very different. I’m visiting via #Blog Share Learn! Linda. x
What a great attitude you have Linda! I like the idea of a gratitude journal as it is literally there in black and white – great to read when we are in a ‘feeling sorry for ourselves’ kind of mood. Thanks for visiting and have a beautiful day!
I am grateful for all the wonderful blogging friends I have made – like you! Great reminder, Sue! #overthemoon
Oh thank you Cathy – it is a great reward from blogging I believe. Just a pity sometimes I live so far away from my blogging friends 🙂
Aaaah yes, the gratitude thing. I really must get in the habit of that – I suspect it has a way of bringing things that are out of perspective right back to where they should be.
It isn’t always easy Jo to remember to give thanks but I suppose if we at least try we are half way there. Happy New Year to you and may it be filled with fun, love and laughter. x
Oh I need to snap out of the ‘feeling sorry for myself’ thing. I play the victim far too often and forget to be grateful and appreciate what I have.
I’m planning on doing the gratitude jar thing this year and HOPE it’s something I can sustain past the first few days!
Hi Deborah it is so easy to fall into feeling sorry for ourselves – I know I do so you aren’t alone. I’m sure even if you don’t do gratitude everyday as long as we remember most of the time that is the main thing. Happy New Year to you x
THIS was such a timely read Sue..our minds take us back to negative defaults without too much effort..and we need to rein in back via gratitude. That was the post I used for this prompt too. Many times I have paid lip service to gratitude but in reading another article this week, I learned that even thinking about gratitude is helpful for brain re-wiring. It seems we are all on similar journeys of growth and learning and as someone in her now LATE 60s I need the reassurance that I can continue to do so! Mindfulness and meditation help this immensely. Thank you for linking up for #lifethisweek 1/52. Denyse
I agree Denyse sometimes we are our own worst enemy. I’m sure we all pay lip service to gratitude but to me it is something that I strive for and don’t beat myself up if I have lapses. I love your idea of brain re-wiring a great way to look at changing habits. Thanks for the link up and see you next Monday. x
I need to make this year more about gratitude I reckon. I need to get out of a funk of doom, and I know it’s helped before. There is always something good in every day, no matter how bad things may seem! 🙂
You are so right Alicia, there is something good in ever day but most of us fall into the funk of doom so you aren’t alone. We just need to keep trying and the positives will certainly start to outweigh the negatives. Have a lovely day. x