With so much talk about how “gratitude is lifting”, do you ever wonder if you’re grateful enough (or rather expressing your gratitude enough or in the right way) for it to help lift you in your personal life?  I will tell you all you need to know about that!

Gratitude here, gratitude there… in every crowd there’s bound to be someone telling you how great it is to be grateful!  And does it ever seem like it’s all a bit much?

Maybe you’re not so familiar with what I’m talking about, so let me give you a quick run-down of the gratitude hype.

It is said that Gratitude can:

• Improve your mood
• Give you better sleep
• Increase your physical health
• Enhance your happiness
• Attract more positive things/people toward you
• Make you a millionaire

Ok, I’m joking about that last one… but kinda not, haha.

If being grateful is that powerful, then why are you not seeing those results?  I’m sure that you’re a very thankful person, so what’s the deal?

Let’s look at the opposite, if you were to become an ungrateful person, in what ways would you see your life decline?

If you took up a new habit to complain about everything all the time, do you suppose that it would put you in a worse mood?  And then would that lead to your general level of happiness decreasing? 

Probably.

And since your body is all intertwined with your feelings, it would definitely take a toll, which then makes sense that your health and quality of sleep would be affected as well.

Of course you don’t want to go that direction, but now that we’ve taken a look, you can see that you can move UP or DOWN.

So right now, if you’re not seeing any improvements in your life, it’s because you have plateaued.  You’re just sitting nicely in the middle (wherever the “middle” is for you).

Let me explain…

Do you ever just feel so grateful for “everything”?

Like you just give a big blanket expression of thanks?  That is something I do all the time.  The only thing about it is that most of the things under that blanket are in your subconscious. 

By listing each individual thing out, you raise your awareness of things you didn’t even realize you’re grateful for.

If you were to write down 10 things you’re grateful for every day, for 10 days, there may be only a slight change in your mood.  Maybe so slight that you don’t even notice.

Why?  Because quickly writing 10 things doesn’t take too much thought or time, and 10 days is not really long enough to see major results.  Like starting a new exercise program… how likely are you to see major results within the first 10 days?

Also, your first few lists would probably be the things that you regularly express thanks for anyway, so it’s nothing new for your brain to process (which is this middle ground I’m talking about). 

Just like the person who already has an active lifestyle, probably wouldn’t feel any different at first if they started walking a couple miles each day.

Now, if you were to keep up this habit of writing 10 things you’re grateful for every day, and you did it for say, 30 days…. That’s still not a super long time to see life-changing results, but let me tell you, it DOES start taking a lot of thought (if you are not repeating things on your list).

After you go through all the “easy things” like family, friends, pets, utilities, nature, vehicles, material possessions, etc., you might get a little stuck and you have to start getting to all the nitty gritty things you usually take for granted.  And by taking the time to list them out, you’re raising your awareness of them, which increases your conscious level of gratitude!

When is the last time you were consciously grateful for a breath of air?

Perhaps the last time you jumped off the diving board, and it took a while to come back up to the surface??

In survival situations, the “rule of three’s” is that you can live 3 weeks without food, 3 days without water, 3 hours without shelter, and 3 minutes without air.

It is so common to express gratitude for the first three things, but whoever says they’re grateful for air??

You do, now!  Haha.

By taking time in this very moment to realize how important air is for you, you have just taken a little baby step toward a better mood, greater happiness, physical health, and better sleep!

Go ahead, take another deep breath!

So to sum it up, if you think you are a grateful person but are not seeing any benefits of gratitude in your life, it could be because you’re used to what it feels like. 

You may not be increasing your level of gratitude, and you’re probably not decreasing it either… you’re just kind of floating in the “I’m so thankful for everything” boat—which, don’t get me wrong, is a great place to be!

It’s just that if you want to move forward, it’s time to simply raise your own awareness of how grateful you really are.  Dive into the DETAILS—the tiniest little details of each thing you’re grateful for, and you will reveal unto yourself just how much gratitude is inside you.

Another way to increase your awareness of your own gratitude is to learn to see things differently.  For example, when you think of bills (mortgage, rent, utilities, etc.), do you generally feel negatively toward them?

I sure used to!  Those darn bills!  Haha.

However, I have learned a new perspective that has positively changed my experience when I find them in my mailbox.

I know you’re so thankful to have a warm place to live, complete with electricity, internet, and a phone!  I also know that you would never expect to receive all those things for free, right? 

So do you think you could focus more on what you’re receiving rather than feel like you’re just handing all your money over?

When the bill comes each month, use it as a reminder of how blessed you are to be able to flip a switch and light up a room.  And how grateful you are to have a refrigerator/freezer to help preserve so much of your food!

When it’s time to pay your housing bill, take a look outside and be grateful that you have a place to call home.  Say “thank you” to your lender/landlord for the fact that you have four sturdy walls around you and give them the money you owe with a happy grateful heart.

Somehow that utility bill always manages to get paid, so also be grateful that you have the means of paying for the wonderful electricity that you enjoy so much.

If you say thank you to the provider of service for allowing you such comforts, and say thank you to God for the money you have to pay for them and the job you have that gives you such money, you can have quite an enjoyable experience the next time you pay your bills.

This sort of thinking can be done with anything that you have a tendency to be ungrateful for.  Such as sickness (be thankful for the rest you’re receiving), messy house/clutter (feel grateful for your abundant life, and that you even have all the things that are making the mess), not getting the job/house/opportunity you wanted (know that you’ll get something better!)

You can find more details on how to do that here.

If you feel ready to take your gratitude to the next level, then I have a simple challenge for you!  It will take about 15 minutes of your time each morning, and will set you up for attracting more good things throughout the day.

(It comes from the book, “The Magic” by Rhonda Byrne.  Page 35.)

Here it is:

Count Your Blessings:

1. First thing in the morning, make a list of ten blessings in your life you are grateful for.
2. Write why you’re grateful for each blessing.
3. Go back and read your list, either in your mind or out loud. When you get to the end of each one, say the magic words, thank you, thank you, thank you, and feel the gratitude for that blessing as much as you possibly can.
4. Repeat the first three steps of this magical practice every morning for (28 days).

 Rhonda says “To help you feel more gratitude, you can be grateful to the Universe, God, Spirit, goodness, life, your greater self, or any other concept you are drawn to.  When you direct gratitude toward something or someone, you will feel it even more, and your gratitude will have even more power, and create even more magic!”

For this challenge, like anything else in life, you get out what you put in.  It’s all up to you how much thought and energy you put into it.  As Rhonda says:

 “…how good you feel is your measure of how much gratitude you felt.  The more gratitude you felt, the happier you will feel, and the faster your life will change.  Some days you will feel happy really quickly, and other days it may take a little longer.  But as you continue to Count Your Blessings every day, you will notice a bigger and bigger difference in the way you feel each time, and you will see your blessings magically multiply!”

I would suggest you to take your time during step #3.  If it starts to get a little boring, just redirect your focus to your true grateful feelings.  When you say “thank you”, be sincere each time.  If it helps you see how much you truly care, you can think of how you would feel if you woke up the next day and that thing you’re currently giving thanks for was gone.  

In conclusion, I will officially answer the question of “How to Know if You’re a Grateful Person”…

You look in the mirror and ask yourself!

Are you grateful?  I know you are.

To what degree do you express your gratitude?  That is up to you!

Take me up on my challenge and let me know if you notice any changes in your life!

Tell me in the comments!  (I always get excited for a new comment, haha!)

I love you, and wish you well,

Empowering you to embrace your agency and liberate yourself through conscious choice!

To take this one step further, did you know you can change any outcome in your life, just by changing your thoughts??

What does it mean to “Show Up for Yourself“?