The Magic of Gratitude

Here's one of the most direct ways I know to achieve an overall feeling of wellbeing: cultivate an attitude of gratitude.

Heard this before? Sound too hokey for ya? Well, maybe it is, but it does work if you give it a try with an open mind.

No matter what your station in life or the state of your health, you probably spend your time in three different modes or states.

The first is a victim mode. The old "why is this happening to me", "there seems to be nothing I can do about it" mode. This is a very negative place to be.

The second state is that of “flat-lining”. In this state, you're neither up nor down. You don't have a lot of positive energy, but you're not feeling so bad either. This is the state that most people are in most of the time.

The third state is a very positive, up mode, when you feel full of positive energy.
You feel expansive and happy with the world. You also have more confidence.

When you suffer from any kind of chronic problem, whether it's health related, stress related, relationship problems, you name it -- you tend to live in the first two negative modes. In fact, you may spend a lot of your time in victim mode.

Victim mode is no fun. However, you may know someone who actually revels in their problems or poor health. They love to talk about all the bad things that happen to them. They will suck the energy right out of you if you are sympathetic enough (or dumb enough) to listen for any length of time.

You yourself may be in victim mode for much of the time. I certainly was for awhile, when I was battling a debilitating case of asthma. I didn't realize at the time what an insidious impact asthma was having on my health, my confidence, even on my relationships and performance at work.

Well, I finally woke up and smelled the coffee. I realized that staying in victim mode was only making things worse. It wasn't congruent with the type of person I really am.

As a visitor to this website who is taking the time to read this article, I know it's not the type of person you are, either.

One of the key things I did to snap out of my negativity was to foster an attitude
of gratitude. I started looking outside of myself and counting my blessings, both large and small.

I gave thanks for my family and friends. I gave thanks for my home, my books (among my most previous possessions). I gave thanks for my clients and all the people I reach through my email tips, websites and newsletters. I gave thanks for the fact that, overall, I am blessed with abundant health. And so on.

After giving thanks for awhile, I started to feel -- really feel -- appreciation and gratitude.

The feeling of appreciation is probably the most profound you can have. It's actually a lot like love. You vibrate on a higher level. You feel more in harmony with the world. You get a real boost to your energy, and you become less self-centered and withdrawn. You smile and laugh more easily, because you are more relaxed.

Of course, saying thanks for the positive stuff is pretty easy. But you have to be
thankful for the negative stuff as well.

For example, I tried to analyze what, if anything, I could feel gratitude for about having asthma.

This was difficult at first, but I began to realize that asthma had made me a much more compassionate person. It also made me realize that I had a challenge in front of me: to get healthy again! And we operate best when we are challenged, particularly when we task ourselves with a worthwhile goal.

When I realized this, I decided that one of my primary goals in life would be to break out of the physical and psychological prison I was in because of asthma.

One of the things I did (and still do) on a daily basis was to review the people and things I was grateful for, every night before I went to bed. This got me into a
very positive and relaxed state of mind. It also cancelled out the negative energy I
may have felt during the day due to stress at work, asthma symptoms, and so forth.

Now, doing this is no panacea for all of your problems, stresses, health conditions, or whatever ails you. I share it with you because doing this regularly helped me sleep better and enjoy more energy during the day. And I began to experience much less stress and felt myself becoming calmer and more focused. I feel pretty confident that you will experience the same benefits.

I encourage you to give it a try.

I'll leave you with a quote about the power of gratitude:

"The grateful mind is constantly fixed upon the best; therefore it tends to become the best; it takes the form of character of the best, and will receive the best." (Wallace D. Wattles)  

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Copyright Karen Van Ness. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this article is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of Karen Van Ness and KVN Enterprises.

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