I’ve always considered myself to be one of the happiest people to ever walk the Earth. And without a doubt, nearly 99.9% of that is having to do with my having the right mindset.
So, what is an attitude of gratitude?
An attitude of gratitude is a way of living your life filled with gratitude and appreciation, and practicing it on a day to day basis. It all stems from understanding that life is a miracle. When you internalize that, it gives you a new perspective on how you should conduct yourself in the world. Then you do things from a place of being grateful for what you have. It teaches you how to be mindful of the present moment, always searching for things that you “can” and perhaps should be grateful for.
What happens often is, many people chase happiness and they miss out on life, whereas happy people focus their lives on being grateful daily, and then happiness just comes as a byproduct of such lifestyle.
Don’t get mistaken, this a skill. And like any other skills, it requires a certain level of mastery for you to reap its benefits.
Gratitude is considered to be an antidote to suffering. And for a good reason. It outshines the bad.
Because perspective is everything.
Just to give you an example. Let’s take two people crossing the street, who, both, almost got run over by a car.
The way they respond to the same situation is totally different.
One, lashes out with all his fury at a driver. The other, catching his breath, still not quite capturing what exactly just happened. He is letting this moment sink in. And he is realizing he barely made it out alive. He could have been dead, and yet he isn’t. This is a miracle!
It’s just an example, and maybe even a terrible one.
But the real caveat is, we are all in this situation. We are all dying. The finish line of life is death.
The biggest irony of life is that no one is coming out of it alive.
Although almost no one is acting like it and no one is paying attention to it. You are being focused on a thousand little things and yet you are missing the whole picture.
You keep forgetting that every day people die from random and sometimes ridiculous things. A stupid brick can fall on your head tomorrow and you’d drop dead.
So many people wait for a horrendous things to happen in their lives so only then they start doing something that is genuinely meaningful and important to them. Don’t wait for a serious illness or some other tragedy to remind you how important your life truly is.
It’s a miracle to be alive.
Some of you are thinking right now, that your life is freaking hard. That so many bad and unfortunate things happened that you almost ready to give up.
Take a look at it from a different angle and appreciate the fact, that it could have gone so much worse, but it hasn’t.
Celebrate every victory you can get. Savor those moments.
One of my favorite people in this whole world, doctor Jordan B. Peterson has a rule that goes something along these lines, “Pet a cat, when you encounter it on the street.” And that’s exactly how i see it too.
Life is unbelievably hard and painful, and sometimes horrible. And yet, whenever an opportunity presents itself, be that a cat on the street or some other things, appreciate the moment. Truly truly appreciate that.
I think the reason, why in my 31 years of life, I’ve never met anyone happier than me, is this—I also have never met anyone more grateful for life than I am. It’s really simple.
The correlation between an attitude of gratitude and happiness. The more grateful I become, the happier my life gets. It just does.
I’ve been through a few things myself—from people I cared for dying to serious illnesses, and to being broke.
May be far from what some people have struggled with, but just enough for me to know how precious and great life is.
Losing someone is tough.
Life is suffering, no doubt about it. But what you do with what you have is the only thing that really matters.
Did you lose somebody you loved and you had to grieve and you barely collected yourself? OR you had cancer, and now you had to undergo a chemotherapy and be miserable?
Not many things you can do in such situations.
But first things first, collect yourself. You are strong enough to overcome what life throws your way. Deep down you know it.
One of the surest ways to overcome anything, is to find meaning in life, and realize why you do what you do. May be you were dealt a bad hand, and your life was a disaster until this point.
Maybe you can share your story and inspire others that they, too, can overcome anything. Share your experience, and by doing that, you imbue others with a strength, hope, and purpose.
Be the light for someone else. You can do that even if your own life is dark.
We are social creatures. But when it matters most, in dire situations, we always forget that.
I want to remind you, that YOU ARE NOT ALONE. People been saying this forever, and for a good reason. Because you are not. The older you get, the more you realize, that we are all in this boat together.
Perspective is so important. When you realize that suffering is just another part of life you get to play a different game. What you do with what you have is what matters.
It’s the only thing that matters really. It’s so easy to say “when I get this, or when I become that, then I will be happy.”
No. That’s not good enough! I don’t believe in that.
RIGHT NOW, I will find a way to just be happy. You already know how that feels. It’s about perspective and always has been.
I’ve been through divorce, family members and friends dying, people I love most get severely ill, unspeakably ill. Cancer, multiple strokes, multiple heart attacks, paralysis—just to name a few.
And yet I always find a way to be happy. I always comeback to my baseline of happiness which is extremely high. Always.
How do I do that?
Because whereas other people see these horrible things happening and they become angry, bitter, and many other things of that nature. I don’t do any of that.
Because I realize while they are getting angry at things they cannot control.
And meanwhile that other person that they say they love the most is still alive. And thank goodness!
I focus solely on that appreciation and pure luck that we almost lost him or her, but we didn’t! Isn’t that a miracle? I think it is.
I cherish such moments. And therefore, I celebrate every single victory I can get. I don’t get too cute with that.
I take them all. And I’m extremely grateful for every single one of them. You can cultivate happiness from an attitude of gratitude.
Focus on what’s important.
Many people have this wrong. Start with this. Appreciate people and things that you have right now with you. Consciously do it every day. You don’t know how long you are gonna have each other.
My grandpa had a stroke years ago. And that changed me. It changed how I see the world. People see such things happen to them and they think it’s the end of the world.
It isn’t. For some people it’s an eye opener. You might say, “Well, he is paralyzed” or something along these lines.
But do you realize how many millions of people would trade places with you in a blink of an eye just to have those extra 30 seconds to spend with their loved ones.
And they couldn’t anymore because they passed away. Everyone who has ever lost somebody they loved, would give you anything, and I mean ANYTHING for that single opportunity that you have right now.
Don’t play a victim.
Yes, life is unfair, and things could have turned out differently. But they didn’t. This is what you have. This is what you need to make your best of.
Perspective is everything. Because when you realize how fragile life is, and you appreciate it, and focus on what’s important, what’s really important, and then the quality of your life improves.
You already know that suffering is an intrinsic part of life. Regardless of whether you like that or not. It’s just there. Recognize that, and then go do something about it.
Since this is what you got, make the best of it! It’s not like you have anything better to do—this is your life! How you live your life matters.
You matter! When you practice gratitude every day, it learn that what you have right now in this moment is enough. YOU ARE ENOUGH!
