The Power Of Gratitude

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

“There is no other quality I would like to possess more than the ability to be grateful. For it is not only the greatest virtue, but also the mother of all other virtues."

Cicero

Every time you play a financial game Cash Flow I am faced with how differently people feel about gratitude. Some clamp down on gratitude, absolutely not understanding its meaning in their lives. Others happily and sincerely thank you for every little thing. It is extremely difficult for someone to accept it, while someone openly demands gratitude to restore balance. But almost always the winner is the one who easily thanks and gratefully accepts. Why is this happening?

“Gratitude (from“giving thanks”) is a feeling of gratitude for a good done, for example, for the attention or service rendered, as well as various ways of expressing this feeling, including official measures of encouragement” (material from Wikipedia).

Gratitude has tremendous power and enhances feelings such as: love, friendship, respect, unity, etc., it connects people like a bridge: after expressing gratitude, we feel needed, worthy of attention, kindness, tenderness and love.

When we feel grateful, we stop focusing on ourselves and build relationships with others more easily. The moment we are filled with gratitude, we stop feeling anger and fear, because we begin to turn our attention to the dignity of other people, to the harmony of the world. Thus, gratitude is able to burn out age-old grievances between people, overcome hatred, anger, envy. Gratitude helps to direct attention to the happy events of our life and to distract from feelings of dissatisfaction, encourages us to experience positive emotions more often, drawing attention to our successes and the opportunities that open before us.

A person who sincerely wishes to thank the other transfers to him a part of his life energy, which in fact does not go anywhere - it only becomes more. This is the law of the Universe: the more we give, the more we receive (if we do not ask, do not expect and do not demand anything in return).

The feeling of gratitude arises in the earliest childhood, when the infant, enjoying the feeding, begins to feel gratitude towards the one who provided him with such a gift. Such first sensations form the ability to empathize, cultivate a sense of gratitude, responsiveness and faith in goodness, but as we grow up and develop the ego, we begin to feel a lack of resources, time, attention, etc., and the feeling of gratitude becomes weaker. We get scared that something will not be enough ourselves - why should we share it with someone else. It seems to us that the resources in the world are limited and we need to fight for them, biting our teeth into every piece in order to survive.

Fear, pride and various attitudes begin to interfere with being grateful, such as: "Everyone owes me", "This is only my merit", "What I have is normal and natural, and does not require my gratitude", "He is nothing did not do much "," This is not what I wanted "," I owe nothing to anyone ", etc.

Unfortunately, no one will teach us to be grateful - neither parents, nor grandmothers, nor nannies, nor teachers. We can only come to true gratitude, to that gratitude that comes from the depths of the soul, from the very center of our heart, by practicing gratitude every day … choosing to feed the white wolf from the parable of two wolves:

“An old Indian tells his grandson that in the soul of every person there are two wolves, between whom there is a war. One of them embodies rage, envy, pride, fear and shame, and the second - tenderness, kindness, gratitude, hope, joy and love. The alarmed boy asks: "Which of the two wolves is stronger, grandfather?" To which the old Indian replies: "The one you feed."

After all, the ability to feel gratitude is a skill (i.e. the more often we find a reason to be grateful, the easier it will be for us to do it each time). And the following exercises will help develop this skill:

Exercise # 1: A Diary of Gratitude. Buy a separate notebook for this that you like. Every evening, write down 5-10 events, for which you are grateful to the past day, and we can talk about the simplest things - good weather, delicious food, a smile from a passer-by, etc. Regular performance of this exercise makes you pay attention to the most seemingly insignificant things around, leads to a positive outlook, allows you to become happier. This exercise can be expanded over time, finding 3 reasons to thank also the unpleasant situation that happened during the day.

Exercise # 2: Gratitude to People. During the day, thank at least 5 people for what they did for you (even if it is their job) - a waitress, a taxi driver, a beautician, a doctor, a man who missed the elevator, etc., paying attention to how the energy gratitude spills over the body. Also, before going to bed, choose 5 loved ones and thank them for those qualities that you especially value in them.

Exercise # 3: Revisiting. Write on a piece of paper 30 negative events in your life that have influenced you. Find a positive meaning for yourself in every event that happens. It was an experience that carried an invaluable lesson for you. Answer yourself 2 questions:

What is this lesson? What was it for?

By doing this exercise, you will recapitulate your life and be able to let go of situations that draw on emotional energy that you may be missing.

It also happens that people know how to be grateful, but they are absolutely incapable of accepting gratitude from others, brushing it off and devaluing themselves. (“I can’t accept it”, “You shouldn’t have to buy it!” This is caused by a psychological wound that sounds like: "I am not good enough," "I am not worthy of this," "I have no right to be," etc. It is she who makes you feel flawed and constantly correspond to this idea, strive to be anything but yourself. In this case, we need to learn to accept gratitude, at least so that the energy circulates and balance is restored, not to mention the fact that the more often we allow ourselves to accept gratitude, the easier it is to believe that we deserve it. It is important not to deprive others of the joy of expressing their gratitude. And by receiving, we discover new opportunities and make life happier and more successful.

After all, when we easily thank and accept gratitude with pleasure, we begin to vibrate with new energy, changing the direction of life in the direction of our dreams.

It may be time to honestly answer yourself the following questions:

How often do I actually feel grateful?

Or am I taking it for granted?

Do I know how to thank?

Is it easy for me to do this?

Do I appreciate what life and people give me?

Why is it difficult for me to sincerely accept gratitude?

And if you are interested in exploring the topic of gratitude in more detail, I invite you to play Cash Flow, where, on your own experience, you can feel the magic of gratitude and see what effect it has on your life.