A Beginner’s Guide to Gratitude

If there is one daily practice that can cause miracles in your life, it is gratitude. It is a practice which helps you focus on and appreciate all that you already have in life instead of what is missing. Being grateful has this amazing capability of magically turning our lives from a place of want, need and lack to overflowing with abundance, joy and fulfillment!

What is gratitude?

Here are a few of the definitions of the word gratitude:

“The state of being grateful.”

“It is the quality of being thankful.”

“A strong feeling of appreciation.”

How exactly does gratitude work?

When you think about what you are grateful for and show appreciation for what you have, you attract more of that into your life. This happens through the universal law where “like attracts like”. Whatever you think, whatever you feel, attracts more of that and will manifest in your life.

In the beginning I was skeptical.

I began practicing gratitude during one of the toughest moments in my life. I had been trying to get pregnant for over two years, I was working at a job that didn’t fulfill me and I was completely disconnected from myself! I was at a point where I felt things couldn’t possibly get worse so I thought, “What the hell, let’s give this gratitude thing a go”, but I didn’t have high hopes.

At first I found gratitude very challenging.

Trying to find new things that I was grateful for day after day was unthinkable at that point in my life. Looking back I was totally stuck in my own pity party, blaming my situation on others and so sucked into how much I was lacking in my life that I couldn’t even see a way out.

But within a few months of being grateful my whole life changed.

I had been headhunted by a company, all of my relationships had improved and I fell pregnant with our son! Gratitude turned my life around and I began to truly feel the magic in my life. I couldn’t believe it….I was loving life!

For gratitude to work you must commit to choose gratitude everyday.

Now of course these changes didn’t take place over night. I did the work and I still do. It is a practice. It is a mindset. It is a choice to be grateful! And once I realized that I had the power to change my mindset and be grateful… life simply got better, easier, happier.

Now I may fall out of my practice sometimes and when I do life just becomes a bit more challenging… full of things “I have to do” weighing me down as opposed to all of the amazing things “I get to do” which I’m excited about.

So in the end I always find my way back to my gratitude practice because my life is a million times better when I’m grateful! 

Are you looking to bring a little magic into your life?

For gratitude to work you have to decide to commit. So put it in your mind, schedule it in your calendar, do whatever necessary to turn this into a daily habit.

Here are a few different ways to sprinkle gratitude throughout your day:

1. A gratitude journal

Every day try to write down 3 things that you are grateful for. And take a moment to sit with this feeling of gratitude within your heart for these things. (If you don’t like writing just take a moment to sit and reflect.)

2. At meal times

Include your children and give thanks to all the people who were involved in getting that meal on your table…including yourself ;) Remember to cook with love.

3. Appreciate nature

Take a little time everyday to be outside in mother nature with your kids. Breathe the fresh air, smell the flowers, feel the sun on your skin, watch the trees dance in the breeze…notice natures beauty as often as possible.

I promise you mamas…once you get into the habit of gratitude, it is pretty addicting. It does take  a commitment but once you start it gets easier. You really start to notice how amazing your life is…and I am sure, you have some great stuff going on in your lives! So give thanks, show some appreciation and as Bob Marley said, “Love the life you live, live the life you love!”