“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
-Meister Eckhart
Feeling gratitude is the most important thing you can do of all of the mindset shifts. In addition to the important reminder that there are things you like around you, being constantly aware of all the awesome there is lifts your mood and keeps your vibe high. After all, puppies exist. So do candles and crystals and blades of grass and so many other amazing things.
Every morning before I begin my meditation practice I go over what I am utterly grateful for. Sometimes I literally cry because my life is so good. My dogs Bella and Mimsy generally jump on my lap right when I’m about to begin my gratitude practice, and are usually the first things on my list--how can I not be grateful for nudging noses? What follows is often the super soft blanket I’m snuggled under, my son’s snoring, how freaking comfortable my couch is. I include my bank account, my health, my parents, my friends, and anything else that pops up. Thinking about these things makes me feel super good, and feeling good is the goal of everything.
There are many ways to practice gratitude. One is feeling grateful for what is. When you can focus on what to be grateful for in the moment you feel good–and if you verbalize this to who you’re grateful for, you make other people feel good too! For example, I have a business bestie. We hop on calls to discuss new ideas, have writing dates over Zoom, edit each other’s writing–stuff like that. I try to tell her at every given opportunity how appreciative I am of her–because I truly am. This makes me feel good for speaking my gratitude aloud, and this makes her feel good, too! Win-win.
You can even be grateful for the challenges the Universe brings you, as your challenges support your growth. When we look at these universal lessons with gratitude and love instead of pushing back against troubling times, it makes it easier to let the things that don’t support us go. While this can be difficult, the rewards outweigh the drama of letting the same depressing record play over and over in your head.
A second way to practice gratitude is feeling grateful for what is on it’s way. When we feel grateful for what is not yet, we are trusting the Universe, and our connection with the Universe, to bring it in. Trusting in the unknown and feeling gratitude that the things you want are on their way is the big kahuna of manifesting.
There are so many benefits to a gratitude practice; it can even improve sleep, mood, and general resilience. Having a gratitude practice can change your life and all it takes is a small shift. Try it and see how you feel!