How does practising gratitude help you?

The benefits of practising gratitude

I decided to practice gratitude after reading the benefits of practising it and making it a part of your everyday life. 

I had just been recovering from a serious bout of depression, that took me to very low levels of thinking.  I had not suffered depression before and people had usually commented on how I smiled a lot. 

But things changed drastically for me and I did not realise I was going into a downward spin until it was too late. 

 I also had a big void in my life and life does not like a vacuum! It seeks to fill it and not always with great things. 

I did not take control and things just got worse and worse. I felt alone, with no one to turn to. I also did not like to let others into my very private thoughts, so others misread me and judged what they saw on the surface. 

They were seeing the symptoms, and not the terrible feeling of desperation and not having anywhere to turn to when I needed help. 

There was always judgment and that's not helpful when you're on a downhill slide. 

Resilience and Gratitude

As I was growing up, I had developed resilience and I reminded myself that I had to believe there was a light at the end of the tunnel.  I kept saying that but I really did not believe it. 

Although I am not saying that you should not take medication for depression, it was not for me. 

I met someone who helped me enormously by supporting me in a very troubled time. He saw things that others did not see so it was easier for him not to judge me.

He knew I was making bad decisions but he also saw through lies leveled at me and my complete burnout. I had no mental strength left. 

I could not say 'no' and life was very demanding for me, as well working a very demanding job entailing 3 hours travel a day. 

He saw why I was struggling and the candle was burning at both ends, and ready to snuff out! 

My Plan to Improve my Mental Wellness with Gratitude

I had learnt with my last job that you need to fill the vacuum in your life.

I started a new job and found that I liked what I was doing. After the demands of the last job, it was a very pleasant change.

So keeping busy with a job I liked was my first step towards better health.

As it was a casual job with an agency, I still had panic attacks on my days off but I then thrust myself into learning to blog, on my days off. 

So keeping busy helped me as I did not have time for negative thoughts. 

My introduction to gratitude. 

While blogging, I came across articles on Gratitude.  They really resonated with me!

After a late divorce, and my totally giving up on ever making up the money and house I lost after 28 years of marriage, I knew I had to work hard and gain a reputable name with the agency and schools so I could get a fair amount of work throughout the year. 

I started to actively practice gratitude until it became a habit.  I read articles and sat down at the end of each workday and thought about what were the positive experiences I had that day. 

 I wrote them down so they became more concrete. 

When working with a troubled student, we made a Gratitude Jar so that we could pull a gratitude strip out, at random, and reflect on what had happened on any particular day.  

It's so easy to focus on the one bad thing that may have happened and let it sum up your whole day.

I was happy and smiling again. I became an Ambassador for my agency and was being requested by schools to be their first call when teachers were absent. 

I loved working with the kids and did not get involved in work politics. I treated my support workers well and knew how to handle difficult children, with my background in special ed. and autism. 

I did things cheerfully! 

Yes, finding the little things to be grateful for each day instead of focusing on the negative had a positive effect on my life. 

I have been the only casual teacher employed throughout the pandemic on an ongoing basis, and the school has employed me in another capacity when I finished the first placement.  

How practising gratitude can help you?

Speaking in general terms, practicing gratitude will:

make you a happier person

have a more positive outlook

improve your relationships 

attract success and abundance with the Law of Attraction

A Gratitude Toolkit is an easy way to help you develop the habit of gratitude. It takes 30 days of practice to change the habits of mind.

How Gratitude underlies the Law of Attraction:

When you send out good positive vibes, you attract others effortlessly.

Your thoughts determine your experiences so positive thoughts will attract positive experiences in a person's life and vice versa. 

Another fundamental belief in the Law of Attraction:

What you give out, you receive. 

I started to sponsor individuals and families in third-world countries.  I cannot even measure the happiness that my friends from African countries have given me. 

I have a new family and circle of friends that love me very much. 

I have sponsored starving widows and their children through the local church during the pandemic. There is a lot of poverty and I'm humbled by their gratitude.

Unfortunately, many African leaders do not pass all the community aid to their communities so I have been able to establish trusting relationships to help them.

 

A small amount of money goes a long way in third-world countries. 

 

 My African friends always show gratitude and humility while living a simple life.

My greatest desire is to meet them and also to seek further ways of helping them.

It is now my primary concern, overriding my work goals. 

So, following the Law of Attraction, the mind can translate our thoughts and materialize them into our reality. 

So the Law of Attraction does give you the freedom to change and free yourself from self-doubt and worry. 

I'm fighting the demons that I picked up after going broke after my divorce and become more proactive and positive in my life's decisions and who I want in my life. 

I've learnt that doing the same thing over and over again, will only get the same results-so make sure you're making choices that get you to your vision of where you want to be. 

Our choices and actions will create our intended life, in line with our vision of where we want to be.

It's important to visualise what you want and then make the needed effort to get it. 

The Law of Attraction can further help you as it can: 

improve your money situation

increase your self-confidence

combat anxiety

get fit, lose weight

So you have nothing to lose but everything to gain by practising gratitude and understanding the Law of Attraction.

I have made a Gratitude Bundle to start your journey to a better life, with more confidence and happiness. 

Please feel free to share your journey below too! 

Life is not smooth sailing and sometimes it's community that gets us through- our tribe. 

 

 

Gratefulness-How can I change my mindset and be more thankful?

Gratefulness and mindset 

I thought I might focus on gratefulness and how to change a mindset so that we are feeling thankful daily and becoming happier, regardless of a taxi being late, our children not getting out of bed, an unexpected bill......

  In a recent post, I discussed how gratitude does impact on our wellness.

I discussed how gratefulness connects us socially to others and also stimulates the part of the brain which sets off a chain reaction that ultimately improves our mental wellbeing. 

This can also work in reverse as negative emotions can also set a chain of chemical reactions, that are invisible to us but nonetheless wreak havoc on our bodies.

 For more reading about the connection between gratefulness and wellbeing, you can read this post.

If being a negative person can harm us physically,  can it also impact on us socially?

Well, how many memes have you seen on social media advising you to stay away from negativity, and that means that some people get a bad name for being negative, toxic, draining, doomsday merchants etc. 

This means that negative people are ultimately seen as bad company, poor examples of parenting, and draining partners or work colleagues! 

They cause negative reactions from those around them and this further embeds their feelings of negativity. 

So are you a positive, thankful person that is socially pleasing to be around?

Check your mindset and gratitude now:

Do you consistently groan about your day?

Do you ruminate on the past?

Do you go to work daily in a bad mood?

If someone mentions something in a positive manner, do you top it off with a negative statement?

Are you a grumbling, bad mood sort of person?

Do you focus on one bad thing that may have happened in the day, and pay no attention to the positives of your day?

Do you find it hard to find positives in your day, if asked?

Do you find it hard to find positive attributes in people? Are you cynical?

Do you feel apprehensive at the start of each day?

Do you feel down about life, life choices, and pessimistic about the future?

Do you feel unhappy regularly?

Do you want to become a more positive person?

We may have some characteristics of some of the attributes listed but they may vary in degrees. On a more personal note, I know a couple of people who are so negative that they can be labeled toxic. 

However, that is the extreme and most people are a mixture of positives and negatives! But there is always room for improvement.

How to form the Gratitude habit.

It takes 30 days to form a new habit and forming the habit of Gratitude can lead to more happiness in your life. 

It resets your mind and helps you focus on the positives in your life, instead of dwelling on the negatives.

If you would like to get into the habit of practicing gratefulness, you may find this Gratitude Bundle valuable. 

This Gratitude Bundle will help you get into the habit of practicing gratitude and becoming a happier person.

 Become more positive, have more success in your relationships and become a happier person through the habit of Gratitude. 

With this Gratitude Bundle, you will receive your  

-weekly re-usable templates 

-attractive Binder Cover

-Reflection sheet template to use as many times as you want and keep track of your developing habit of gratitude

-Gratitude Jar labels

The Bundle is beautifully designed and its contents (your gratitude notes) will delight you throughout the year. 

For those with children, what a lovely living example you can provide of how happiness develops through gratitude. 

Unlimited downloads!

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