Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey
We’ve heard it since we were kids – be grateful for what you have. But it’s really not as easy as it sounds. It’s hard to focus on being grateful because all around us we’re being told that we need to purchase more in order to be happy. We’ve been culturally conditioned to focus on what we don’t have. We are constantly hearing messages that we’re not thin enough, wealthy enough, pretty enough or smart enough. Much of our economy actually revolves around us believing that we always need more. Mega corporations have advertising budgets greater than the budget of many small nations just for the purpose of telling us that we need to buy more, more, more. We need this hair color to look beautiful, this skin cream to look younger, this tech product to be cool, and this diet product to be thinner. It becomes very difficult to be sincerely grateful for what we already have because we are constantly being bombarded by these messages of what we need in order to be happy, fulfilled, or socially accepted.
But what happens when we stop and become mindful of what we do have? If we can take just a few minutes every day to recognize and be grateful for a few things, all of a sudden we become aware of so many blessings that we had never seen before. Each time you acknowledge something you are grateful for, your body releases endorphins, your brain’s happy chemicals, that give you a surge of joy. The more grateful you are, the more endorphins are released. With consistent mindfulness and gratefulness, your brain releases greater amounts of these happy chemicals and you’ll feel a more consistent feeling of joy.
Having a rough day? Take a few moments to be grateful. There’s always something to be grateful for. And the more specific you are, the more endorphins are released. Instead of being stressed about having to stop at the store before dinner, try being thankful for having a car to get you there, the money to buy what you need, the wide variety of choices you have to choose from, the people who stock the shelves, etc. The more you practice, the easier it gets, and the faster your brain releases the endorphins which help to calm your stress.
Be sure to sign up below for my free Ebook for some ideas of how to get a quick joy boost when you have very little time or energy. Leave me a comment below and let me know how it goes!
