I have a neighbor who gives a constant string of complaints every time I see him. (possibly we all have “that” neighbor)
My neighbor’s complaints often are aimed at the city. They let the sidewalk get cracked, they didn’t take the entire pile of yard debris, they should change the shape of the corner at the top of the street….
After all the proclamations of what is going wrong, he launches into a string of grumpy assumptions. The workers are lazy, nobody cares, you can’t find anyone to do a good job anymore….
Wow, we couldn’t live in more opposite worlds.
While he complains to me, the dialogue inside my head is saying,
“man, I am so grateful the city picks up yard waste every week, and I don’t have to haul it to the dump!”
Plus, there was that time the city sent some workers to collect a dead opossum from my driveway, that was pretty awesome!
And dang, people are so courteous and friendly down here in the south! The workers always wave or say hi when I see them!
We live in an amazing world with unbelievable luxuries.
But we still gripe about things every. single. day.
Giving off the vibe of being continually ungrateful does a lot more than turn other people off.
It chips away at your health, both physical and mental.
It gives off an energy that repels things away from you instead of attracting them to you.
As people and opportunities avoid you, your life begins to look like nothing can go right.
Next thing you know, you have beaten yourself down into such a gloomy heap that everything seems to be going wrong.
Your gratitude muscle has gotten so weak that it is hard to even find anything to be grateful for.
When a muscle gets weak, it takes focus, work and discipline to get it strong again.
But it’s worth the work because what could your health and well being look like if you really paused to be grateful every day, especially for the common things that you take for granted?
Here’s a very short list of just some of the common things I’m grateful for:
hot water that comes into the house
the internet
a washing machine
toothbrushes
refrigeration
eye glasses
Life would be really hard without these things.
We all want more health and happiness in our lives. You can easily do that by getting radical about being grateful.
Gratitude gives you a sustained boost in happiness because it isn’t filling an instant gratification. It is a frame of mind.
Gratitude can lower blood pressure, improve immune function, and help you sleep better.
The stress hormone, cortisol, is lower in grateful people.
People who are grateful have better heart health. They have less inflammation, and healthier heart rhythms.
Starting today, get radical about saying thank you.
- Feel your gratitude throughout the day, every day. Be grateful for the little things that you take for granted. Go out of your way to say thank you to people.
- Catch yourself when you feel tempted to complain about something. Be grateful for what is going right instead of complaining about what is going wrong.
- Make your own list of the things in your life that you would miss if they were taken away. These are the things to be grateful for.
Oh, and I am grateful for my dear readers and all the great people I follow me!
As always, I wish you all the best!
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Visit me at www.christinebradstreet.com
Originally published at theascent.pub