"You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you."
-- Sarah Ban Breathnach ~ Simple Abundance

One of the quickest way to make the shift from being negative, resentful, angry, victimized to being positive, compassionate, empowered, is through gratitude. When you truly feel grateful for what you have in your life (and I'm not referring to just the material things), it's almost impossible to dwell on the negative feelings. In fact, scientists have found that feeling grateful produces the feel-good chemicals in your brain, the same chemicals that reduce stress, lesson pain and improve your immune functions. Being grateful puts you in a totally different mindset and energy level, and enables you to look at your life & current circumstances from a more positive perspective. As a result, you will feel more in control and empowered to take action and make both inner & outer changes in your life.

I'm sure you have had experiences in the past that you thought was THE worst thing that could happen to you, and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We all have experiences like that. In fact, all the negative or even tragic experiences we had, served a purpose. As human beings, we are meant to continuously grow and transcend ourselves. All the challenges we have are there to stretch us and force us to learn and to grow. If we can see this truth, and recognize all the blessings in disguise that we have all experienced in the past, we will have this "inner knowing" that everything will work out in the end, that the Universe is loving, even though we may or may not see the "master plan" right now. And that "inner knowing" gives us tremendous comfort and security, doesn't it?

If you can consciously focus your energy on gratitude, and actively look for things/people to be grateful for, you will reap the benefits on multiple levels:

• You will instantly feel calmer, more joyful, and centered
• According to the Law of Attraction, you will attract even more abundance, joy and other things you'd be grateful for into your life
• You will take comfort in the inner knowing that "all is well" and everything will work out in the end, despite your current challenges and circumstances

So, how do you cultivate the gratitude attitude? Here are some action exercises you can try:

• When you are in a negative, challenging situation, instead of trying to run away & avoid the experience, make a conscious choice to be fully present and look for the blessings, lessons and opportunities (to learn & to grow).

• "Top Three Things" exercise: as you go through your day, make a mental list of the 3 best things that happen to you today. When something else better shows up, modify your list and keep track of the top 3 things for the day. If you keep a journal, you might want to write down your list at the end of the day, so you can refer back to your journal in the future. Do this exercise for at least a week. This exercise trains your mind to consciously and actively look for the blessings in your life. Focus on finding "what's going right" instead of following our tendency to focus on "what's going wrong". I'm sure you will find new appreciation & outlook for your life.

Thanksgiving is coming up, and it's the perfect time to focus on gratitude. Why not make a commitment to try out these action challenges, and see how they can change your life.

Labels: abundance, gratitude, managing emotions