BEING GRATEFUL IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WILL MAKE YOU HAPPIER.
“Gratitude unlocks the fulness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend” — Melody Beattie
One of the keys to happiness is something that anyone can have at any time. It’s simple and it’s vital. It’s gratitude. Professor Robert Emmons from the University of California has found that consistently grateful people are happier and more satisfied with their lives; they are more optimistic and have fewer negative emotions; and they even sleep more, spend more time exercising, and recover faster from illness.
Today, I want to share with you two ideas that will help you increase your happiness through the practice of the habit of being grateful.
The matter that I think is vital for you to be happier in a daily basis is that you should change that belief of “I’m not happy with what I have, because I want, deserve and can have more”. Have you ever thought about how they are others in significantly worst situations than you are? Just think about your health, whatever it is in this moment, they are people in worst health positions, at the point that they are taking their last breath.
I want you to be conscious that our society teaches you that you should always strive for more, for big things, for your ambitions, regardless of what you already have. The consumerism of today’s economy literally drains our happiness, because it makes us believe that we will find it by having the new trending smart phone, the 2019 vehicle, a big and better house, and so on. Instead of viewing the world through a lens of all the things you don’t have or that are missing out, try shifting the focus to what you do have and what is going well in YOUR life. Don’t compare your possessions and achievements with those of others that are richer and in a better position than you.
Stop being happy only when you buy costly things and have big achievements in your life, such as a new TV, your birthday, a great trip, a promotion, and so on. Start by being grateful about all those little things that almost surely you are taking for granted ¿Have you ever been grateful for having running water and the opportunity to sleep comfortably? Those are privileges that many human beings don’t have. Make it a daily habit to be grateful about your food, your clothes, the smile that someone gifts you, the company of your beloved ones. Live on the present, because it itself is a present!
The key is to get into the habit of recognizing happy moments every day, because our life is full of them. In other words: maintain a daily habit of small happiness moments.
Surely some days you will find it hard to be grateful. But I’m sure that if you put effort on this process, it will be evident that there are always things that you can be grateful for.
Gratitude is a positive emotion, and positive emotions surely make you happier. ¿What are you waiting to be grateful right now?
With passion for helping you grow,
Daniel.
