Open Your Mind and Heart to Gratitude
Replace your envy with gratitude and turn your life around today! I often get asked why I am so happy when someone buys me the smallest of gifts, or when someone gives up their time to spend with me, even if it is only an hour, the answer is simple – how can I not be happy when I fill my heart with gratitude. The mere idea that someone thought of me for just a moment is enough to make me feel content, no matter how small the gesture, it has still been a gesture, often showing their gratitude towards me. Any form of gratitude should always be returned with further gratification. Those who feel less fortunate than others will often become envious of those who they believe to be better-off than them. The family with the five-bedroom detached house or the one with the posh city centre penthouse, then there is the one with the Jaguar f type, the person who always looks so happy, or the person who seems to have money to burn, the one who looks perfect, who is the perfect size, the list is endless I am sure. It is so easy to become so wrapped up in what we do not have in our lives, we can forget to be grateful for what we do have. However, the key to ultimate happiness is gratitude! By learning to be grateful for what we have we will not only attract other things into our lives to be grateful for, but we will also improve all major areas of our lives, which overall will lead to a life of definitive happiness. Gratitude improves our health, relationships, emotions, personality, and career. Having a grateful heart will improve your relationships with others and will instantly make you more attractive, opposed to someone who is riddled with envy, who can appear ugly despite their visual appearance. Relationships on all levels become deeper and healthier when you use gratitude to show your appreciation of others. It is almost impossible to be unhappy when you approach everything with gratitude. Rid yourself of depression, anxiety and unnecessary stress, by changing your outlook – look for something in your life to be grateful for every day. It is impossible not to smile as you think of a person you are grateful to know, it is impossible to feel depressed when you feel gratitude deep within for the small things in life and it is impossible to feel stressed about not being the right size, etc., when you look in the mirror and become grateful for the person staring back – you are beautiful just the way you are, so be grateful for every inch of you. When gratitude takes over, feelings of envy, which can ruin your relationships with others, will disappear and not only allow you to become content, but it will naturally make you more optimistic, less self-centered and increase your self-esteem. Overall, it will make you a happier, nicer person. By cultivating the habit of gratitude, you not only open the doors to the many possibilities that await you, but you will also live a happier more fulfilled life. It is simply impossible not to like someone who shows gratification in every area of their life. Wake up feeling grateful, and say it out loud “thank you, thank you, thank you!” Be thankful for the day, be thankful for every inch of your body and mind, be thankful for everyone you will meet that day, be thankful for each experience, be thankful for your job, be thankful for the money you will receive and be thankful you can see the beauty in each new day. As you show gratitude watch as the universe automatically gives you more things to be grateful for, watch as you receive the things you were once envious of. I am grateful for everything in my life, I am grateful for each person I know and each person I am yet to meet, I am grateful for you and your time you have given to reading my article and I send you love and happiness. By Hayley Elizabeth.