I think lots of us have heard ‘you should be grateful for…’ coming out from our friends or family. ‘’I should be grateful? For what?’’ – you might ask – ‘’For a broken heart? For having a million loans? For….?’’

I think we all can fill that blank with loads and loads of endless stuff. Sometimes when we think about our life we can’t find anything to be grateful for. Everything around us is breaking apart, we don’t have a dream job or newest car or don’t know what to do or whatever else is there.

Everyone has their own struggles and it’s an absolutely normal thing tho. Being grateful itself would not solve this ‘I don’t have’ problem, but it might lead you to find yourself in a better place.

I remember when I first came to England I noticed communication differences between the locals and Lithuanians. Here people are saying thank you for everything that you do (huh?!).

I got to say that I found it very interesting to get into this new culture where you have to say thank you even for not being run over by a lorry driver. And I remember I thought ‘’Wow, these people are so grateful for everything, they are way much better than Lithuanians’’ (no judging).

After some time I understood that this was just a cultural thing and in general English people are polite, but just that. Most of them are not really grateful and they don’t mean it when they thank you. And if I can go deeper (get ready for it) – this sucks.

It made me think that we (yes, all of us) don’t really appreciate others and what they do for us and even worse – we don’t appreciate ourselves enough. It’s not only about saying thank you to the waitress when she brings your pizza or when your partner (finally) has done the laundry this week.

It’s about being grateful for being in this life in general. It’s about those small little things that we tend to ignore and take it as normal.

By being grateful for the things that happen in our life we send positive energy out of us and believe it or not that positive energy is coming back.

Look, when you say honestly thank you to your friend for helping you out, he feels amazing that he could help, and you feel amazing that he feels amazing, then he wants to help you out more because you made him feel amazing, and you feel even more amazing because he offers his help without even having to ask and then he feels ten times more amazing that he can help you out more.

And that’s the never-ending circle of awesomeness just because you had an attitude of gratitude. It’s the same with everything that is happening in your life.

The more you are thankful, the more you attract things to be thankful for.

You might be interested in exploring similar topics: How to Overcome Limiting Beliefs and Healing Your Inner Child.

I know that there are a lot of situations in life which leave you standing and wondering what the hell was it all about. But life is all about how you take everything. Life is all about how you manage to get out of ridiculous situations. Life is all about learning. If you want to completely change your life, find peace with yourself and others, attract more joy and happiness, and have more faith and light – you have to involve gratitude. I know it’s hard but you should stop and look around – you have way more things to celebrate in your life than not. And if you are still not convinced about gratitude here I wrote a few more reasons why being grateful is so important:

1. It teaches us to find a new perspective on life. We have to accept that life is full of ups and downs. This is life and it will always be. With all the misunderstandings, hiccups fails and bullshit. If you’re wrong – admit it. If you made a mistake – apologise for it. If you’ve got a slap in your face – wake up! No matter how bad it looks – we have to be grateful for a chance to learn something new about life and the world that we live in. When we start saying thank you for life – life sends us more amazing things to be thankful for.
2. It makes us more optimistic. When we focus on the good that we have in our life – we will be focusing on the good that will come in our life in the future. And when we focus on a better future – we open up ourselves to more positive things. 
3. It increases our self-esteem. Being grateful for who we are might be the biggest challenge for us. It takes lots of time to accept yourself with all the flaws and cracks that we have. But learning how to say thank you for yourself might be one of the best things that you will ever do. Accepting, appreciating and being grateful for who you are will increase your self-esteem one million times and that is the beginning of your new and much better life.
4. It reduces negativity.  When we think more positively about our current life and future, when we feel thankful for all the lessons and we trust in ourselves – we minimise the negative thoughts and emotions. And when we don’t have why to complain – we live a much happier and more joyful life.
5. It makes us reduce materialism. Would it be nice to wake up one day and realise that you have everything that you want and need in your life? Gratitude helps to achieve this feeling. By being thankful for what you have now instead of thinking about what you don’t have you realise how lucky you are that you have everything that you need to live your best life. And realising it will definitely reduce your expenses on the things that, I think, society wants you to have and helps you to enjoy your life.

Now if there was a moment while you read it when you thought that you want to find a little bit of (more) light in your life, to find a little bit more happiness, start enjoying your current life and practise at least a tiny little bit of gratitude here are a few ways how you can get it:

1. Write your blessings. Start or finish your day (I recommend both actually) by writing down at least 5 things why are you grateful. In the beginning, it might look hard but it will get easier with time.
2. Say ‘thank you’ more often. I mean real ‘thank you’ that is coming from the bottom of your heart. This not only shows how you appreciate others but also makes you feel better to have things to be thankful for. And when you have why to be thankful for life will definitely send you more things to be thankful for.
3. Take a daily picture of what are you grateful for. This doesn’t have to be an Instagram-worth picture of your amazing life. No. These should be small little things that happen in your life and that you are grateful for. Like a grainy picture of a cup of coffee or your clean kitchen (because your partner cleaned it). Whatever fills your day with joy. This will make you focus on finding that light every single day.
4. No more complaints. Yes yes. Run away from all the complaints and negative thoughts about your life. In the beginning, it’s going to be hard, but whenever you feel the need to cry about your shit life try to think about three things you are grateful for. It can be anything – sunshine, rain, your amazing partner or a friend who always checks on you. Train your brain to notice small but good things in your life.
5. ‘’This is good because…’’. In every situation, no matter how bad it is, try to find something to be grateful for. ‘’This is good that he left me heartbroken because I deserve a better man who would treat me and love me the way I need’’. ‘’This is good that I’ve got fired because now I can focus on finding a better job that I like’’. This exercise will help you to think about positive things even if it seems like the worst situation ever. And these positive vibes will make you feel better, brings you more joy and happiness, and that will attract even more positivity in your life.

Being grateful helps you to see what it’s there instead of seeing what it isn’t. 

I hope you will find things to be grateful for. I hope you will find that happiness that comes with gratitude.

Remember to be kind to yourself.

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