Gratitude - The game changer

It's funny how we overlook the simplest of practices that shape our life. Whether we experience misery or contentment just depends on how we perceive things. I do not mean to get all philosophical about this but 'GRATITUDE' has been a life changer for me. It has completely changed how I look at the same situations now (well, most times. There are still times when I cannot see through tough situations but that will get better with time and practice).

I was introduced to this concept 8 years ago and have since then been practicing this quite consistently. It is a practice that has the ability to see you through unfavorable, uncomfortable situations. It helps you develop an eye for opportunity in every challenging situation while keeping you grounded during the highs of life. I, personally have been practicing gratitude by using writing as a tool of expression as that comes to me most naturally. Someone may find it easier to say it out loud while someone else could just find peace in expressing gratitude during meditation. Each one needs to find their mode and express because I can vouch for the benefits of this simple yet extremely effective practice. Through this article, I wish to share with you all how I began and made it a part of my life & of course, how it helped me:

I began expressing gratitude in my journal about 8 years ago when I was going through a low. I was confused, lost and desperate to make life better. Honestly, everything about me and my life is completely different today just because of this one practice that takes hardly 5 minutes of my day. Most of my reading about this practice has involved a very spiritual take, almost like a prayer.

However, to put it practically, gratitude is a tool that helps:

1. Stay in touch with reality
2. Realize the positives in every situation, thus keeping the motivation levels high
3. Improve long-term relations with people as you value the little things that your family, friends and team do for you
4. Develop patience as you literally get so busy being grateful for things that you actually have, rather than fretting over things that you are yet to achieve
5. Develop mindfulness or awareness of your present situation. This will prevent the 'I don't know where life is going and I have absolutely no control on its direction'.

 My journey has been something like this:

1. I started by dedicating a section of my journal to this practice
2. Initially I had to remind myself to write everyday
3. I started noting 5 things that I was grateful for and visualizing how my day would go by
4. There were times I would stress out about being grateful too. On a few days I felt like there was absolutely nothing to be grateful for. Those days I would remind myself to be grateful for the simplest things like a warm meal. Those days then turned to days where I was overwhelmed with reasons to be grateful for.
5. Today, I can proudly say that not only the things to be grateful for have multiplied, my ability to find things to be grateful for has also expanded to a great extent

 As minuscule as this may seem, I urge you all to start on this journey of looking at the same day, same family and the same surrounding with a different perspective, a perspective of "Gratitude".

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