I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a year that has changed every single person whether good or bad, better or worse, wins, losses, and everything in between. Many people have said that 2020 was their best year ever, regardless of outside forces that were around. Others have said that 2020 has been their worst year ever.
Regardless of what has happened to you, where you have come from, or where you are going, there is one thing that can (and should) remain constant… Gratitude.
The age-old question of “is your glass half empty or full” comes to mind, that mindset of optimism vs pessimism is prevalent, however I believe that gratitude trumps that.
Infusing Gratitude, No Matter What
Here is where gratitude takes the reigns from optimism. Gratitude is not looking at the bright side of every situation… solely… it is only a part of it. Gratitude is being thankful for the situation. Notice the difference. Whereas optimism/pessimism is a mindset, gratitude becomes a filter. When we filter the situation around being grateful for the situation no matter if it was good or bad, we become able to extract lessons and lifestyles that can fuel our mindsets.
Gratitude allows us to hold space
What does that even mean? Holding space means that we are permitting ourselves to step out of the internal, immediate, intimate setting and view it from a wider, wiser, worldview. Alternatively, this is often referred to as a big picture view rather than a small picture view.
Using The Big And The Small
One of the best processes to implement gratitude into any situation is to look at it first from your own small world perspective. This is where we often ‘sit’ with the junk of life and process it all. Now, most people stop there, and this is when a shift must happen. That shift is to the big picture view.
When we allow ourselves the space and time to see what is going on in our own worlds from a bigger picture, we begin to see things we never realized before. There is a large amount of interconnectedness in the world which goes unnoticed too often. A big picture view consents to the fact that life is never only about us. We still need to be careful to not get into the head space of a “look how much better I am than this person” type of thinking but seeing how we show up and what we go through has significance to other people and other places.
Tying It All Together
Gravitating towards an ability to see both big picture and small picture views in any situation sparks healing. Sometimes, that healing is within us and sometimes it is with other people or other situations. Nevertheless, gratitude produces growth.
Gratitude produces growth
Growth produces healing, and healing produces a changed perspective. We can easily say here that when nothing changes, nothing changes. True statement. Change can only occur when we take an action. Gratitude is an action. It is primarily an internal heart – mind connective action, yet it demands for something to move. That movement can be as simple as a thought or it can be as complex as international move.
Moving It Forward
Since gratitude requires action, the only possible solution to implementing gratitude is to create momentum. A new thought, a fresh perspective, a new word, or a physical step; momentum drives action, which sanctions change.
Gratitude as a lesson teaches us. Gratitude as a lifestyle moves us. No matter what kind of 2020 you or I have had, being grateful for having it empowers us to take new steps. Take them.