We live in the world where people compete with each other in everything. A lot of people try to show their superiority by doing mean things to others or say bad things about them so that to be “better” in comparison to someone’s weaknesses. This doesn’t make them wiser, smarter, more passionate or more successful. But in comparison to ….. they don’t feel as miserable as they might have been. This also doesn’t lead to personal growth, but rather to stagnation in development or even degradation of a person.
The more pride, fear, anger, grief, apathy, or shame we feel the less happy we are and the farther our way to harmony is.
In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.
What if everyone could appreciate accomplishments of other people, try to compete not by diminishing someone else’s abilities but rather by personal growth?
In his book Power vs Force Dr.Hawkins describes gratitude as a feeling with one of the highest energy levels. This means that if people are more grateful, they can make their surroundings more positively charged thus making the world a little bit better every time they feel and distribute high energy vibrations. Try it out yourself – close your eyes and imagine a situation you were grateful for in your life. You’ll feel the overwhelming feeling which makes you smile – this is gratitude and this is how it gives you more happiness.
Now imagine you feel it every day and the level of your happiness increases with every breath you take.
Here are the ways to be more grateful:
- Appreciate every big or little thing or achievement you or people around you do. Everything starts with appreciating every good thing in life and recognizing that there is nothing too small for you to be thankful for. Be grateful for good weather, a smile someone gives to you, leaves changing colors…
- Stop frequently and try to be present in every situation. This will give you an opportunity to notice more good things to be grateful for every day. Modern life is chaotic and constantly changing, but it is still possible to make a deep breath and see the real beautiful LIFE. It only takes eight weeks of gratitude practice for people to start showing changed brain patterns that lead to greater empathy and happiness.
- Be grateful for any experience life gives to you – good or bad – doesn’t even matter. This is your experience and there is no such thing as FAIL – we are all learning and if we notice and are grateful for everything in our life, our personal growth goes more smoothly.
- Have a journal of GRATITUDE by your hand. You can write down every little thing you can be grateful for and if you are angry at your life or at someone in your life, simply open and find so many great things that surround your life. Dig a little deeper into some of your own past experiences and try to figure out how they have helped shape you into the person you are today.
Your brain is a powerful tool, and training it towards gratitude is all part of ensuring that the gratitude comes more easily as you practice, so what are you waiting for?