Gratitude is the best attitude

Republished from brilliantlivinghq

If you want to jump out of bed in the morning shouting ‘I love my life’ at the top of your voice (and mean it) – the time and place to start is here and now.

It’s brilliant to have a vision of how you want life to look – and goals to get you there.

It’s great to use tools like affirmations and visualization to put you in the right frame of mind to achieve those goals.

But it’s not just about looking forward to happiness in some future time.

It’s about where you are now, being happy with who you are and what you have now.

And this is where gratitude is the best attitude kicks in.

Gratitude and appreciation give you a simple yet amazing mind management tool with the power to change how you feel right now and carry you forward towards your goals.

‘I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.’ Brene Brown

Gratitude is one of the universal themes from our shared experience of what it means to be human.

It crosses cultures, gender and age, and features in the world’s great religious traditions.

Every language in the world has a way of saying ‘thank you’.

But despite the fact it’s easy to say, and we throw out cursory ‘thank you’s everyday, it’s not so easy to feel and experience. 

To make gratitude a deliberate part of our daily lives takes practice.

So is it worth it?

Writing down 5 things they were grateful for once a week for ten weeks, had a measurable positive impact on the happiness and health levels of a group studied by Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough of the University of California.

And if when it comes to managing your mind, gratitude is the best attitude to focus you on the good things in your life and train your mind to look for more of the same.

‘Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.’ Zig Ziglar