A grateful attitude develops a kind of “emotional immune system.” Although it can be difficult to be thankful for the difficulty, the benefits make the effort worth it.
Life brings its share of pain. Nobody likes to feel pain, but in many cases, pain is essential to prevent a greater evil. Or to make us value what we took for sure.
However, just as pain is inevitable, as an adage goes, suffering is optional. And that’s when used pianos sounds act like gratitude and can be an extraordinary resource to overcome painful situations, the infamous trials of life.
Gratitude as a tool
We tend to think that our circumstances should be “a certain way.” These thoughts create an emotional expectation that, when contrasted with reality and its effects, make us feel disappointed, sad, or unable to change those circumstances. Many times, we cannot change the facts, but we can always correct our perception of the facts. It is there where gratitude appears, as a perception correction tool.
In times of difficulty you can use the following tools to correct your perception (in psychology this is called reframing).
1.Count your current blessings:
Build a list, in writing is ideal, where you list all the reasons you currently have to feel grateful. Do not leave anything out: it can be something very important, like having your family, partner and children; be healthy, have resources to maintain your health and that of your loved ones. It also lists the simple things, the ones that we always leave out, like warm water to shower, sunlight, your ability to read and understand this article.
2.Reconnect with another difficulty:
Remember a circumstance in your past that has been particularly challenging. What did you do to get over it? You learned? What did you gain from that experience? Think of everything that you have grown, changed, and positively transformed in your life as a result of that difficulty. Give thanks for your ability to overcome difficult situations and think “If I have been able to do it before, now I will also overcome this crisis!”.
3.The three transformation questions:
Once you have been able to give thanks for your current difficult circumstances, I invite you to answer the following questions. Take the time and focus. As I told you before, it may not be easy to be thankful for the negative. But I can assure you that it is possible. There are thousands of scientific studies that prove it. And millions of people who have achieved it: I am one of them. Here are the three questions: What can I learn from this difficult situation? How can I change or fix this difficult situation? Finally, if I cannot change or solve it, what can I do to live with this situation?
Gratitude and self-discovery
To overcome any difficulty, be it minor or major at the trauma level, it is essential to combine the narrative or recollection of the events, with the reflection that leads you to self-discovery of a new perspective. Hence, asking yourself these questions, in any case, is key to developing your capacity for recovery.
Resilience is an innate ability, but one that can be strengthened through practice. Through mental / emotional habits that you repeat with a certain frequency. It is like a “fitness” routine for the mind and heart. Obviously, as with physical exercise, repeating the routine keeps you in shape.
Give him so much emphasis on the topic that he regularly writes, lectures, and workshops on resilience. Because I consider it a fundamental skill for life.
Personally, gratitude is my main tool to strengthen myself and prepare for the trials of life. There are other tools to strengthen resilience that I will be talking about, so I invite you to follow me on my social networks, to read me on my blog and on other portals with which I collaborate.