Gratitude is the Attitude – And Here’s Why

October 18, 2016 Happiness| Spiritual Practice

I often say that gratitude is the key that unlocks the door to the flow of abundance in your life.

Sounds like a pretty bold statement, right? It is. But I stand by it.

The energy of gratitude is the catalyst for experiencing abundance in all areas of our lives —- in love and relationships, health and vitality, and, yes, even in our finances.

Let me tell you about what’s been up for me lately. Those of you who know me fairly well know that I have a much-loved, little old lady Jack Russell Terrier named Alan. (Yes, Alan is a girl, and she is my world.)

Over the past several months, I’ve been experiencing some of the unique challenges that come along with owning a geriatric pet. Namely, girlfriend has not been sleeping at night and it is wearing on me. I won’t go into the details, but let’s just say it has resulted in many sleepless (and exasperating) nights for both of us.

This morning, instead of feeling frustrated by my lack of sleep and the fact that I had a headache that all the coffee in the world wasn’t going to fix, I decided to focus on what I could feel grateful for:

First off, I love my dogs. And with Alan having been with me the longest (I adopted her nearly 10 years ago!), she holds a special place in my heart. As I connected to all of the reasons I love her, I picked her up and hugged her tightly to my chest and I could feel my heart instantly swell with gratitude for having her in my life. I could also feel grateful that on this particular day, I didn’t have to be at work. So even though I was tired, I could take my time waking up sloooooowly while enjoying my morning coffee and an inspiring book. By the time I sat down to sip my coffee and crack open my book, I was smiling.

With just a few simple shifts, I turned my cranky attitude about a (let’s face it) crappy situation into one of love and gratitude for what I do have in my life. Yes, I was still tired but I had moved into a space of joy.

Do you see how simple and effective this is? I could have (very justifiably) spent my entire day in bad mood. Instead, I chose to allow gratitude to help get me out of my own way so I could experience joy instead.

Here’s why gratitude is awesome:

It breaks the cycle of lack, negativity and low vibe thinking so that you can open yourself up to a space of creativity and joy. (Important to note here, being in a “low vibe energy” is not a bad thing per se. We all have ups and downs and sometimes our negative thoughts warrant exploration. However, often they’re just on an automatic repeat loop in our head and we simply need to jump the track to get back to better vibing thoughts. This is the type of cycle I’m talking about breaking.)

It works instantly. Seriously, give it a try! The shift in energy you experience by focusing on gratitude is available to you within minutes, and the effects linger throughout the day. I like to compare the rush we experience form gratitude to a mega dose of post-workout endorphins. It’s (dare I say) even a better mood-lifter than coffee. (Insert shocked face emoji.)

It puts you in an energy to attract more good. When we’re in gratitude, we’re putting forth positive vibes out into the world. (Try being grateful and not feeling good. It’s literally not possible.) And since what you send out you receive, when you’re feeling good you can’t help but attract more good into your life as a result. How can you not love that?

Adopt this as your new mantra as you bring the practice of gratitude into your life: Gratitude is the key that unlocks the door to the flow of abundance in my life. Tweet this!