Melanie’s Story – Grateful for experiences

“I think those who feel more grateful have always lost something.”

Aarushi: Hey, Melanie, thanks for joining. And we are here. So excited to learn about you and your story. Could you please start by giving us a look at how your life was before you were intentional about gratitude?
Melanie: Sure, thanks for having me. I got a dog in 2015, he was supposed to be an assistance dog. And after six months, he failed. And I found life pretty hard. I have a disability. And I had previous dogs that worked quite well and could go everywhere with me and help me while I was out and about and at home.
And then I got Upton. And he failed after six months. And I didn’t know whether to give him back to the organization that gave me him or whether I should just keep him because I didn’t know when the next one would come by. And I found that I was stressing about it, and about what to do.
I found writing my thoughts out before I went to bed really helpful. And then I could sleep and not have to worry about what was on my mind a bit. So I started journaling using my phone. And then I found the Gratitude app and it gave me a place to write regularly, prompts and colors are awesome as well.
I’m usually quite positive, a person that loves life and loves doing all sorts of things. But I hate the cold. And it can get quite cold in Perth where I live. And I find that just restricts me from doing things as well, I can’t do as much work.
Yeah, Just my range of motion decreases in winter, because I can’t do as much for myself. And I don’t sleep as well in winter because I go to bed freezing cold and I can’t fall asleep.
And then I have blankets on when I wake up in the morning and I’m boiling hot and I can’t sleep then either. And so, I kind of get grumpy in winter, and I was taking it out on some of my support workers.
And one of them said, “You know, just be grateful that I’m here. I’m here to help you. Don’t take it out on me.” And so she really encouraged me to be grateful for the little things, just her turning up was good.
And the fact that I’m alive and the fact that I can put a heater on and warm up if I need to. And, there are lots of other people who don’t have that privilege as well. So I think she really was the main instigator of me feeling grateful.
Aarushi: So you said that you used to just write out your thoughts in your journal? How was that different from writing about things that you are grateful for?
Melanie: I guess I used to just write about the problems that I had. Whereas now, if it’s a rainy day, and it’s horrible weather, I can be grateful that I was home, instead of writing how awful it was, right?
If it was raining, and I didn’t get wet, then I’d write how lucky I was not to get wet. Or, just a little spin on things just a little bit. They all add up to big things at the end of the day.
Aarushi: What do you think is the importance of gratitude in the world, for everyone to feel in their lives?
Melanie: I think a lot of people probably do. It’s probably the more privileged people who don’t, the people in power, those sorts of people who make decisions about everyone else.
Probably the poor people feel gratitude for anything that comes their way because they don’t have much to start with. They’re grateful for anything that they get. You got lots of money, you’ve got lots of cars, you don’t appreciate them.
You can do whatever you like, you’re not gonna be appreciative of everything that you have. Whereas someone who has to work hard to earn the money will appreciate it more.
Aarushi: So when you have more things, you’re less appreciative and less grateful?
Melanie: Yeah. Like if I had a dog that worked perfectly, I won’t appreciate him as much. I wouldn’t acknowledge it because it’s right there in front of me. Sometimes you just take it for granted.
Like the sun? The sun is always there, except on a rainy day. I think that if you have something all the time, it’s harder to appreciate because it’s always there. You know, it’s not missing to miss it.
Like, people who have accidents and can’t walk again, and never appreciated that they could walk or take themselves to get in a car and drive somewhere. That ability to realize how good you had it?
Aarushi: Yeah, it makes me realize that it’s hard to go through these times, to then come to a point when you feel grateful. So I think gratitude helps you not to, I mean, you can’t really dictate all of your life, but you can feel grateful even without losing something because you become conscious about it.
Melanie: Yes, but I think those who feel more grateful have always lost something. The more grateful you feel, the more you might have lost and the more trauma you felt.
Aarushi: So in that sense, even the pain that you felt, is now helping you feel something good.
Melanie: Yeah. More and more grateful. I mean, same with happiness, you can’t always feel happy, unless you’ve felt sadness. You have the ups and the downs. And the lower the downs, the higher you can go.
Aarushi: We try to escape sadness. And there’s this movie that I really love, ‘Inside Out’ and the lesson from that movie is that just to escape sadness, you keep you don’t experience other emotions fully.
You put yourself away from possible harm and possible losses, possible sadness. And in that journey, you don’t even feel happiness truly. So because you didn’t feel sadness as you should have, you don’t even feel happy fully.
Melanie: And, you know, I used to feel bad, feeling angry or whatever. But, I have to be true to my emotions. If I am angry, I’m allowed to be angry. If someone really annoyed me, I’m allowed to show my anger. As long as I don’t punch anybody or anything.
But, I don’t shy away from emotions now. If someone’s made me angry, I have every right to be angry. If I’m sad, I’ll tell people I’m sad. If I’m having a good mood, I’ll tell people I’m happy. If I’m angry, I’ll tell people I’m angry.
You can’t always put on a happy face. You can’t hide your emotions. You’re allowed to experience. That’s what gratitude is to me. You’re allowed to experience every emotion, there is no harm in doing that.
As long as you don’t experience bad emotions for too long at a time. That would be bad for your mental health. Other people will notice anyway. Even when you’re trying very, very hard not to.
Aarushi: Yeah, when you’re trying really hard not to show, there comes a breaking point when it’s all going to spill over.
Melanie: And you don’t want to get to that point because it spills over into something that you know, if it’s anger, or bitterness, or jealousy or something, you’re going to do something that you might regret.
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25 Things To Appreciate About You

Here are 25 things that are worth appreciating about you.

So much of our time is spent on picking out the problems in us, or the things that we should improve upon. Constant improvement is the key, right?
While it’s great to be a work-in-progress and become a better version of ourselves every day, don’t you think we should also work to appreciate every good thing too?
All of us have some places where we lack in, but the good parts are far more than those. Think about it, you can count your cons, but can you count all the great things about you? All of them?
Not sure? Don’t worry, I’ll handle it for you today. Here is a (short) list of all the best things about you that are worth appreciating.
List 0f 25 Things to Appreciate About You
1. How you care for the ones you love
You have their best interest at heart and keep making efforts to be there for them.
2. Your willingness to help
You’ve helped people out in small ways whenever you could, like lending a pen to someone, giving directions, opening a door. These are some really sweet things!
3. Your laugh
The great sound of your joy and amusement. It makes others feel comfortable around you and makes the day brighter.
4. Your uniqueness
You’ve probably seen this many times, but let me say it again – There is no one like you. There just isn’t! The way you look, all your features and characteristics, the story of your life, your quirks, it’s all one unique set that can’t be found anywhere else.
5. Your favorites
The things we love are an extension of our personality. You find yourself in stories, songs, places, art, and become fascinated with them. Such a great experience!
6. The stories you never get tired of
Something funny that happened at a wedding, or a super weird encounter that you keep retelling through the years. Evergreen magic.
7. All the bad days you make through
There were many days when it has hard to feel happy, but you persisted.
8. All the times you didn’t lose hope
Even when the future was obscure and the answers unclear, you kept going.
9. The shows you watched when you were a child
Those delightful worlds that you reminisce with love.
10. How passionate you are for the things you want
When there is something that you know you deserve, you do your best to achieve it.
11. You challenge your comfort zone
There have been times when some tasks were not the most comfortable to do, but you did them anyway.
12. You have been vulnerable about your true feelings
It takes true courage to openly say what you feel by beating your insecurities.
13. Your confidence
You have voiced your opinion confidently when you could’ve easily nodded along to avoid conflict.
14. The lessons that you have learned and grown with
You are wiser than ever before and it’s because of your willingness to grow.
15. Your big heart
How happy you feel for others’ success
16. Your gratitude
How you appreciate the people/things you like

17. Your singular way of understanding things
No one thinks how you do, and that’s fascinating!
18. Your dreams for how your life should be
You have a vision for your future, and that’s inspiring!
19. The skills and qualities you are known for
There are some things that you do so well that others remember you for them.
20. How you forgive people that you love
Forgiveness is a gift that takes bravery to give, and you’ve seen the good in others to give them second chances.
21. Your journey
You have worked through conflicts and messy situations in the relationships that matter to you.
22. Your efforts for others
You have done your best for others (even when you couldn’t do it for yourself).
23. You face your fears
Time and again, you took a deep breath and walked on even when you were tempted to run away.
24. You try to empathize with others
Even when it was not easy to relate to someone’s situation, you put in the effort to understand them.
25. You have solved so many problems throughout your life
Think about it, there have been many sticky situations in your life, but you found a way through all of them. Remember that whenever you feel overwhelmed. You are stronger than you think.
There you have it! Those were 25 of the very many wonderful things about you that you might overlook while focusing on the parts that need improvement.
You need your appreciation more than anyone else’s, so be sure to cherish everything awesome about you!
Continue Reading: 7 Ways to Be a Good Friend to Yourself From Today
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Aarushi Tewari
The writer and affirmations speaker at Gratitude, Aarushi believes that one of the most effective ways of feeling inner peace is by being grateful and having a loving self-relationship.

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Click on the link above to read articles I’ve written over the years. Thank you.

100 Monday Affirmations to Welcome The New Week

Have a great start to the week with empowering words!

Mondays, Mondays, Mondays… So many mixed feelings.
A lot of us dread Monday morning. We slide into a worsening mood by Sunday afternoon itself.
And, I understand. Maybe it’s because of a job that’s too taxing, tiring, boring, or confusing, or one that you just don’t want anymore.
It’s okay to feel the way that you do. But, I become sad thinking that we’ve named these days of the week ourselves and started working to make a living, only to have all of it work against us.
Think about it – just the thought of a day makes us shudder. This is not how life should be. So, let’s get back control of what we can, as much as possible. And here’s where Monday affirmations come in.
Until you’re out of the situation that makes Monday stressful for you, I hope these empowering and comforting words will get you through.
Monday Affirmations
I have control over my life.
Monday is just that – a day.
I am feeling calm and refreshed today.
I am grateful for the weekend leading to a beautiful Monday.
I can make Monday a good day.
I can make Monday anything I want to.
I am filled with gratitude for this Monday.
This Monday is filled with hope.
I can do it!
Monday is a wonderful day.
I choose to make Monday a day I feel good in.
This is my life and I make the best of it.
I deserve to feel better about Mondays.
This week can be anything I want it to be.
I am meeting positive people this week.
My energy is bettering the lives of others I meet this week.
I am growing as a person this week.
I am inspired, driven, passionate, and motivated.
This is the start of a good week.
I embrace new beginnings.
I am ready to accomplish all my weekly goals.
This week is in my control.
I will make the most of my moments this week.
My goals are becoming reality this week.
I trust the universe to guide me this week.
Happiness is flooding my life this week.
A new week is a chance for me to reach new goals.
I am ready for a week of success.
I accept new opportunities in my life this week.
This week has endless potential.
I will remember this week for its greatness.
I will carry passion with me through these next 7 days.
Mondays are a gift from the universe.
I am full of energy this week.
All of my tasks will get done with plenty of time this week.
I am so excited to achieve my goals this week.
I am growing as a person this week.
This is my week.
Abundance is coming towards me this week.
A new week is a beautiful time for growth.
This is a stress-free week.
This week will be filled with unexpected blessings and surprises.
Despite how I feel, I understand this feeling and situation are temporary.
Serenity, tranquillity, and other pleasurable emotions engulf my being.
I am letting go of my worries.
I am reclaiming my power.
I am thankful and grateful for the good in my life.
I trust my intuition and I am always guided to make wise decisions.
My peace is my power.
Today, and every day, I choose joy.
Monday Morning Affirmations
I am grateful for a new day.
I am grateful for a new week.
I am feeling healthy and strong today.
I am a healthy and happy person.
I choose to focus on the good parts of the day.
This is the best day of my life.
I am grateful that my life is so happy and successful.
I am excited to wake up today and experience this beautiful life that I am creating with my thoughts and visions.
I am the creator of my best reality.
I am filled with gratitude and kindness for another wonderful day on this earth.
I am full of positive loving energy.
Monday, you and I are going to be friends.
Monday won’t run me, I will run it.
I am feeling better and better this Monday.
I will put on my positive pants and enjoy my Monday.
Monday mornings are for clean slates and fresh starts.
I will use today to grow as a person.
This is going to be a productive week.
Money, success, and happiness will flow effortlessly toward me.
I am ready for an incredible week.
I am a successful and happy person.
I choose to be free and happy.
I am a healthy and happy person.
I am willing to be happy now.
Things will fall into place for me effortlessly this Monday.
It’s a good day to have a Monday.
I see this new week as an opportunity.
This week, I am showing myself love.
The power is in my hands. I can make Monday anything I choose.
I will make the most out of every minute of this new day, Monday.
I am grateful for this new week.
I will accomplish all my to-dos this Monday.
I am filled with gratitude for a new week.
A new day, a new week and many new opportunities are ahead of me.
I will start this Monday with positive energy.
Monday mornings are for clean slates and fresh starts.
I focus my vision on creating a life of true joy and prosperity.
Happiness is always at my fingertips.
I deserve to live a joyful, vibrant, passionate life.
I am worthy and deserving of my beautiful dreams.
Today is a great day to be alive!
I radiate love and self-confidence.
I am humble yet confident.
I choose wholeness.
I celebrate all of who I am.
My imperfections make me beautiful.
I accept everything in my life.
I am at peace with myself.
I am cool, calm, and collected.
I am allowing myself to feel good.
Continue Reading: 100 Tuesday Affirmations to Make The Best Of Your Day
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Aarushi Tewari
The writer and affirmations speaker at Gratitude, Aarushi believes that one of the most effective ways of feeling inner peace is by being grateful and having a loving self-relationship.

15-day New Year Challenge

Starting January 1

🌻
Begin the new year with a positive outlook
💖
Start fresh every day with a new prompt
📝
Examples to help you get ideas
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Related reads

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Let’s make the most of the end of the week.

AFFIRMATIONS
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GRATITUDE

Alina’s Story – Gratitude in my life

Here is Alina’s story of attracting her dreams into her life with the power of gratitude and manifestation.

Alina: My name is Alina. I am from Lithuania and I want to share my gratitude story with you. I started to practice it since I find some kind of literature or articles from Rhonda Byrne. So, I watched this movie and every time I watch it, it inspires me. It seems that you can reach everything while watching, you know, that all your thoughts become things.
I even have this tattoo of the sentence – Thoughts become things. It reminds me every time I look at it. So I started to read more and I went to some groups and like I found other inspiring people and started to practice gratitude, started to visualize and being thankful for the little things, like, good morning, you are stepping out of the bed and you’re thinking, “Today will be a very good and nice day.”
And it is! Actually then you start to change your thinking, your thoughts. What changed in my life, since I started to practice it? I can mention two things. It was a flat, where I’m living now because I always, always thought how I wish that I could have my own place, my own flat.
I didn’t buy it, but still, I rent it, this is my place, you know? And I was thinking, I want that every time I come back home, I just feel free about what I am doing because it is my space and it doesn’t matter if there’s mess around, but it is my mess. I think after one year I got a suggestion from my colleague that she has a flat, big one. Do you want to rent it? So, yes, I said, of course!
Another thing. When I was a student, I was always thinking, because I heard some people talking, it would be so nice to work as a translator, like translating TV series. So, I thought that it is a good job and interesting. This summer I got this job’s suggestion. Now I am in this sphere and I see that it is not so easy as it seems at the first sight, because there is a lot of work to do.
It takes more time, but it’s still interesting to me because I am a teacher. I am teaching children. And, I know if you love this job, what you’re doing, you are going to a festival every morning, but if you don’t like what you’re doing, so it is like a hell.
When you wake up, you have a lot of thoughts in your head. Now I am thinking, I have such a dream to create an app, which would be like a person’s own challenge. What he or she decides and that’s what he will accomplish if it is reachable.
It’s just a thought, but it comes to my mind very frequently as I see now. Maybe something will happen in the future, I don’t know, maybe I will create.
And another thing, which I accidentally caught myself thinking, I saw an article and about one lady from my town. She works with flowers. There was an article written about her that she lived in Italy. I don’t remember now. And I thought that someday somebody will write an article about me.
Thoughts are coming all the time to my head, but you have to start to finish because it doesn’t happen very quickly for me. What I achieved took one year or even five years, but it’s still achievable.
And I am grateful, actually. Yeah. I am grateful. I am grateful for your app because I found it accidentally. Sometimes I go to Google, you know, and I am searching for apps related to gratitude. One day I found your app, I thought it is amazing because every day you can write. This is like your diary, you know, diary on your phone.
Later, I thought maybe I could share my story, somebody to inspire, so that they won’t lose hope because there are some cases now, it seems like everything is slipping away from under your feet. But I think that every problem has a solution. It cannot be that a problem doesn’t have it. So, I put this into my head now; every problem has a solution!
That’s it. I thought I have got two things to share, real events. I achieved using my thoughts. I thought: I wish that I could have that. I wish that I could work in this sphere, and it came after some years, but it still came.
Aarushi: So for you, gratitude has been a strong power to manifest what you want in your life.
Alina: Yes. Yes, it is. And it is still now. And what am now doing maybe I didn’t do before, I am getting myself to think about every small thing. I say thank you to the universe, to God.
Aarushi: And, do you think being grateful also brought some positive changes in your personality, how you saw situations? Like you said that every problem has a solution. Did it have other changes in your personality? When you would go through some difficult times, how would gratitude help you?
Alina: My personality. Yeah. I remember myself when I didn’t accept critics, you know? I thought that I’m the best and nobody can criticize me, but now I am just looking at myself from the side, and I see that I make mistakes. I am not the God.
Every person is different. I also have pluses and minuses. And if somebody criticizes me, it means that I didn’t do something good and I need to learn from this. But if I am right, and I know that I am 100% right, I’m fighting for my opinion and my beliefs.
Aarushi: And why do you think that it is important to feel grateful in life?
Alina: Because it changes your mood, first of all, it uplifts you from the inside, like good vibes, you know, some kind of warm feelings and warm heart. This state is something wonderful because then you think that everything is reachable. All problems have a solution and that you are not alone.
I am in a lot of Facebook groups. There are a lot of groups regarding gratitude as well. And when I read the comments, I see that I am not alone, that there are a lot of people who are practicing gratitude and their lives are getting better.
Nowadays there is a lot of hatred, a lot of angry people. So I just want to walk away from them, why? They may ruin my day and mood. It’s better to spread some positivity, you know? I think that I have chosen the correct way because I didn’t know before, and now when I am in it, it really makes me feel better. I am a better person.
Aarushi: I’m sure you are. When sometimes when you would be going through some challenge or something difficult, how do you find something to feel grateful for? How do you find gratitude then?
Alina: It is hard actually when you get in such things but you cannot let this bad force overcome the good ones. You have to fight that in your head and in your thinking; to change it. I always try to change it by thinking about something. I will find a solution or something good.
Maybe I will hear good advice, like my family members advise me and I will still find the solution. Another thing which I practice is, for example, when you’re feeling really bad and you don’t have to talk with somebody and you are just alone.
I just take a paper, a sheet of paper, and I write everything down. What I feel, what is disturbing me. Why? Because after that, when I am finishing it, it is like relief, and later, of course, I just read it and throw it in the dustbin. It helps me a lot.
Aarushi: Yeah. I also do that whenever I’m stressed, I take my diary and I just write everything that is on my mind and it really does help to let your thoughts all out on paper. So, from 2015 to 2021, how would you describe all these years and how has the journey been from that point to this point?
Alina: There were downfalls. There were hardships and wonderful moments, but I’m not giving up. I am trying to have these good times more. I’m always saying to myself, “You are very strong and you can manage.” I am talking with myself. I don’t know if it’s a bad habit or a good one, but I’m really talking to myself: “You are the best and you can find a solution.”
It changed because when you are growing and your mind is changing as well. So yeah, of course, it changed my life. I have these better moments more now than before because my mom is always pessimistic and I am optimistic. Our viewpoints are different. She sees every way, you know, like bad, but, I am trying to inspire her.
I always say to her, just look, there is a lot of positivity and not everything is bad. So we have to think about that. I’m trying even to persuade her because she has health problems. I am saying if you think that you are ill and you will be ill, but if you will change your thinking and start to think like I will get out from the illness, I will heal. Your mood and the vibes will be good. And really, it is true. It is true.
Aarushi: Yes. I totally agree with you. The way that you talk to yourself, the things that you say to yourself, do play out in your life and impact what happens to you. So yeah, that is how affirmations work.
Alina: Yes, yes. You are right regarding affirmations. You always have to say that you are the best, that you can manage, just to inspire everybody and yourself. Because you are living in this body with yourself and you will live in it until the end, so you have to love yourself as well. Yeah.
Aarushi: Yes, absolutely. Thank you, Alina. I really enjoy listening to your story and thank you for sharing this with me and everyone who’s listening. I did learn a lot of things and I will always keep in my mind that every problem has a solution.
If you’d like to share your story too, send an email to stories@gratefulness.me, and we’ll schedule a call.
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Team Gratitude
Hey, it’s the team of Gratitude! We’re driven to nurture the well-being of people around the world and are grateful to see you here. Connect with us at blog@gratefulness.me 🙂

15-day New Year Challenge

Starting January 1

🌻
Begin the new year with a positive outlook
💖
Start fresh every day with a new prompt
📝
Examples to help you get ideas
⏰
Reminders to keep you on track

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Related reads

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Feel beautiful!

AFFIRMATIONS
3 MIN READ
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Let’s make the most of the end of the week.

AFFIRMATIONS
3 MIN READ
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Make the best of the best day of the week!

Take the FREE New Year Challenge

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GRATITUDE

11 Steps to Become More Grateful

In this blog post, you’ll find 11 ways to attract more gratitude in your life and welcome the sweetness of joy in your heart.

“The root of joy is gratefulness…It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”
― David Steindl-Rast
The daily practice of gratitude is consistently related to increased happiness. As said above, by being grateful we experience true happiness. In this blog post, you’ll find 11 ways to attract more gratitude in your life and welcome the sweetness of joy in your heart. Here they are:
1. Keep a gratitude journal
The most effective and recommended step to practice gratitude is to write about what you’re grateful for every day in your gratitude journal. The key is consistency.
You might not notice changes in just a week but if you keep going you’ll start to realize the many blessings that exist in your life and the lightness of joy blooming in yourself.
2. Be expressive about joy
If there is something that elates you, be expressive about it, even if it’s simply a cat sleeping adorably on a table.
Life is full of small wonders to an open heart that looks for them. Try to let go of others’ judgment about your excitement for trivial things and embrace your fascination without constraints.
3. Appreciate others
Do you remember the last time someone really appreciated you? When you were caught by surprise because of their gratitude. It’s a great feeling, to be appreciated, it stays with us for a long time.
Let’s do the same ourselves. Going past the generic “Thanks” let’s express why someone or something they did value to us.
It’ll make their day even if they might shy away from telling you that it did. You can read more in our post about the best way to spread gratitude around with ideas about the people you can appreciate.
4. Look at challenges as opportunities
We all go through sticky situations here and there. Some of us go through a lot of them, and I don’t mean to be positive in a toxic way by saying that every problem can be an opportunity for you, but some of them can.
When you’re faced with a challenging situation, take a moment to ask yourself if this is a lesson in disguise, or an opportunity to do more. If it seems so, try to focus on how you can use it to help yourself and develop instead of slowing down.
5. Thank yourself
The one person that you should love most and be grateful towards is yourself. You have been a constant support system in your life.
When times were rough, and doubt took shelter in your mind, you made it through or might be trying to right now. Being grateful for yourself and your life is essential to living gratefully. You deserve your love and gratitude before anyone else.
6. Re-frame negative thoughts
It so happens that we tend to think of the negative first and create a spiral of what all could possibly go wrong when faced with a problem. It happens with how we react to ourselves as well.
One mistake, and we start to question so many things. In moments like these, it’s good to take a step back and see if there is a better way to respond. Search for the silver linings. You can read our post on reframing your mindset and thinking positively here.
7. Appreciate your journey
One of the many parts of yourself that you can feel grateful for is your journey. Take a moment and run the movie of your life through your mind.
So much has happened in those years, you’ve grown and become much wiser, and you’ve surpassed all the challenges that life threw at you. It’s a thing of beauty, and I hope you’re proud of yourself.
Even if you might be struggling right now, have faith in your strength, and remember to feel grateful for all that you have achieved through the years, big and small, tangible or intangible.
8. Help others
It’s quite a special feeling that one experiences when they do something nice for someone with no expectations. Try and recreate that feeling for a moment, it feels so good, right?
It makes us realize what truly matters is that we all look out for one another and grow together. There is a mutual exchange of gratitude. The giver appreciates having the means and capability to help someone out and the receiver feels grateful for being cared for by another person.
9. Give time to hobbies
Investing time in doing something simply because it makes you feel good is a wonderful way to become more grateful. Think about it, aren’t we fortunate to have hobbies or favorite things to do?
Listening to your favorite album, painting, strolling, binging your favorite TV series, chatting with your best friend, leisurely driving, etc, are activities that you should not deprioritize as more responsibilities come your way.
They are as important as your other commitments. Remember that gratitude comes easy to a heart that is already happy. Try to take breaks for your jolly time, whenever you can manage.
10. Don’t compare yourself
This is a surefire way to disempower yourself. Looking up to someone is great, but harshly questioning why you’re not like them is never going to help.
Whenever there is someone that you think is doing better than you, look for what you can learn to bring yourself up, not tear yourself down by unfair comparison.
We all have unique journeys and we move at our own pace. All we can do is give our best and keep trying.
11. Savor the moments of joy
As we practice gratitude, even the smallest blessing that we would’ve ignored before shines bright with joy to us. When something fortunate happens, even if i’s just the traffic lights turning green right when you arrive, really appreciate how that helps you.
Many small moments happen for our benefit and if we treat them with as much attention as any other lucky moment, we’ll keep receiving more of them. Let’s bathe in the goodness of gratitude as much as we can for all that we can.
And, that’s all! These were 11 ways to become more grateful in life and improve our well-being with time. Hope that you found these helpful. Wishing you a wonderful grateful time! Take care 🙂
Continue Reading: Top 8 Tips to Maintain Your Emotional Health
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Aarushi Tewari
The writer and affirmations speaker at Gratitude, Aarushi believes that one of the most effective ways of feeling inner peace is by being grateful and having a loving self-relationship.

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GRATITUDE

Hey! I’m doing a free 11-day Thank You Challenge and I’d love for you to join in too. https://gratitude.onelink.me/sQxx/ofz7b068

Click on the link above, or type this link in your browser to join me in this awesome challenge. Thank you.

Not only did Jesus purchase salvation for his people on the cross — he also gave us a perfect example of how to suffer graciously, to the glory of God. In the seven statements by Christ on the cross that are recorded for us in Scripture, we are given seven molds that should shape our responses to grief, tragedy, pain, and injustice.

The first words that we hear from our Savior’s mouth — as he suffers at the hands of ignorant, cruel, and deceitful men — are words of kindness and mercy. And so the first lesson we learn from our suffering Lord is this: forgive and pray for those who have wronged you.

This, of course, is never our first inclination. We wish to strike back, speak out, or count up all the wrongs that we have suffered. Yet here is the only truly innocent person that has ever lived and, while he is dying at the unjust and cruel hands of his enemies, he is speaking words of genuine pity and pardon.

It is evident that the New Testament Christians took this example to heart, for they emulate him time and again. As Stephen is being stoned to death for preaching the gospel, his prayer is “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:60). As Paul faced the wicked Roman ruler Nero even some of his closest companions forsook him; yet, his response was “I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge” (2 Timothy 4:16).

Has someone harmed you? Have you been the victim of unfair treatment? How have you responded? Have you forgiven them? Have you prayed for them? If Jesus could forgive on the cross, certainly we can forgive because of the cross.

There are many things we do not know about the end of this life or the end of the world. But God has given us all the assurance we need in order to look joyfully, expectantly forward.

Paul knew enough about what was coming to say, I reckon — an accounting term, meaning he had taken a careful inventory, done the calculations, and come to a careful and reliable conclusion. And what Paul was comparing was the sufferings of this time (with which he was intimately and personally acquainted) and the glory to come for every believer in Jesus Christ.

As Paul added up the multiple trials, heartaches, losses, and sorrows of this world and carefully considered this sum in relation to the glory afterwards, he came to this stunning realization: the two should not even be compared, because the amount of the one is so far greater than the mass of the other.

Anyone who has experienced even a fraction of the pain that this world holds will find this hard to imagine. We cannot conceive of a happiness so deep, a pleasure so complete, a glory so glorious that our grief here is swallowed up by it. But God does not ask us to fathom such a claim; he simply requires that by faith we believe it.

Are you living by faith in the enormity of glory, in the expansive joy that is found in the presence of Jesus?

One thing is needful. How difficult it is to learn this lesson!

Martha meant well, and so do we oftentimes. There are a thousand things that call for our attention each day. There are obligations to fulfill, schedules to be kept, and people to be pleased. But in the midst of the daily hubbub, whether you are a homemaker or a chief financial officer, do not forget that one thing is needful

A promising career is not needful. The approval of peers is not needful. A well-padded retirement account is not needful. Even the affection of family members is not needful. One thing — and one thing alone — is absolutely essential.

What could possibly be that important, in every culture and for every person? Jesus tells us: it was exactly what Mary hath chosen. The one thing that is needful is to sit “at Jesus’ feet” and “hear his word” (v.39).

We must make time in the busyness of our daily lives to spend at the feet of Jesus, submitting ourselves to his will and opening our hearts to him in prayer. We must be willing to say “No” to the countless distractions that threaten to pull us away from him throughout the day. We must hear his word, which he has shared and preserved for us in the Bible.

Communion with Jesus Christ is not just part of Christianity, it is Christianity. It is not just part of life, it is the only life that matters. It is the purpose for which you were created and it is the only thing which shall not be taken away from you by disaster or even death.