Why aren't we more grateful?
I'm sure if you asked your neighbor or best friend if
he/she was a grateful person they would certainly say yes. We
like to think we practice gratitude often but if you get real
with yourself you might find out otherwise. How many times
have you been at the water cooler and your co-worker comes up
complaining about the boss or complaining about the guy who
cut them off that morning on the way to the office. Think
about YOUR conversations. How many times do you tend to
complain? It might not be about big things but the little
things count too. What about the media? Seems a story cannot
really make headlines unless it carries an element of
conflict.
Why have we become so fascinated with problems? Is life
really that bad that we'd rather tell people what is wrong
versus what is right? I sure hope not.
I believe that we have just become too wrapped up in our
responsibilities, our routines, and our daily chores that we
have subconsciously smothered our natural ability to practice
gratitude. Instead of being upset that the guy cut you off on
the way to work and perhaps made you 5-minutes late... what
about being thankful that you are fortunate enough to have a
job, to be able to afford a car to get to work 5- minutes late
instead of taking the bus and sitting out in the rain or cold
waiting to get picked up.
Gratitude is not complicated but it does take a little
work. When you find yourself getting frustrated, getting
stressed or maybe even sharing your negative feelings with
someone... stop yourself and think backwards. Think about the
problem and find something about it to be grateful for. After
a while, you will start to change your thought patterns. I
know a guy who woke up one day, got dressed in his suit and
tie, walked out to his car to leave only to find 3 of 4 tires
slashed. Obviously he was upset. Not only was he going to be
extremely late for work but the cost of 3 new tires was money
he just didn't have right now. He had a choice. To get mad,
let his frustration get the best of him and ruin his day -
maybe even his week or to find something about the situation
to be grateful for. He chose the later. He remembered that two
of his tires were getting pretty bare anyways and since he was
leaving to go to an appointment across town he would have
taken the interstate. Who knows, maybe going 70+ miles and
hour on two balding tires would have caused a blow out thus
causing a wreck with injury to him or to others. Maybe the
tires being slashed was a blessing in disguise.
That is just one example. As the old cliché goes "there is
always a silver lining to every cloud."
It's just up to
you to see it.
