Using Gratitude to Transform Your Perspective

Sometimes, the world can feel less than wonderful. And when you’re having a bad day or a bad week, it can become easier and easier to focus your attention on the things that aren’t going your way. I know, personally, the more I get caught up focusing on the bad things in my life, the more quickly and easily I notice the bad things happening around me. Then, I start looking for or expecting the bad things to find me. It can become a constant cycle of negativity that over time, colors the way I see the world. Have you ever heard people say that happiness is a state of mind? It’s true. How you respond to the world around you really does color the world you live in. You can see the same stimulus and choose to either react negatively to it or positively to it. I’m not saying it’s easy to just ‘be happy,’ but with a little bit of effort and a healthy meditation routine, I think it’s very possible to shift your perspective and learn to live in a happier headspace, one full of gratitude.

Recently in my life, I’ve been going through quite a rough time. It’s hard to just ‘feel better,’ ‘be positive,’ or respond happily to the negativity that is circling around me. Things just aren’t going my way. Things are painful, and I have to take life one day at a time. But the silver lining is that I’ve been focusing on the gratitude I feel and the good that exists around me every day. Each morning, when I wake up, I take a few minutes to breathe. I go into a light meditation where I reflect on what I’m most grateful for. For instance, I’ll conjure images in my mind of my family, my friends, my work, the accomplishments I’m proud of, anything that brings a smile to my face that can bring forth true gratitude. And I live in that happy feeling for a few minutes before I get out of bed. I say it a lot, but a little bit of gratitude really can go a long way. It can put that pep in my step to kick-start my day. And then, I find that as I am in a better headspace, the more things that come my way throughout the day, the more easily I see the silver lining in each situation. The more my mindset falls into a positive response to anything that may arise.

A Simple Morning Gratitude Practice:

1. Before getting out of bed, take 3-5 deep breaths
2. Ask yourself: “What am I grateful for today?”
3. Visualize 3-5 specific things, people, or experiences
4. Feel the emotion of gratitude in your body
5. Carry this feeling with you as you start your day

As I end my day, I try to have a meditation session that is a silent reflection of the day that pairs with my morning exercise closely. I’ll follow up with my day in my mind by reviewing stressors that may have been introduced to me, and I’ll think about how I reacted to them. I’ll try to take each issue or unplanned event and see the silver lining in it. I’ll see the good that happened throughout the day, and I’ll try to reflect on what I was most grateful for that occurred over the course of the day. We all have things to be thankful for even if we haven’t had a great day. Perhaps your family cheered you up? Maybe you ate your favorite meal? Finding the good things in the day is an essential exercise for me, because sometimes I don’t even think to appreciate things I may take for granted if I don’t go back and review the course of the day. And finding that gratitude for it when the day is done, it’s the perfect way to end my day meditating on gratitude and feeling that happiness that comes with it.

An Evening Gratitude Review:

1. Reflect on your day without judgment
2. Identify challenges you faced and how you handled them
3. Find silver linings in difficult situations
4. Acknowledge small wins and positive moments
5. Express gratitude for lessons learned
6. Appreciate support you received from others

Starting and ending your day with gratitude may surprise you. I find it surprises me regularly. It helps me to instinctively respond to things positively instead of negatively. It shows me that there’s always something worth fighting for, and it allows me to fall asleep and wake up in a good headspace. Living in happiness and positivity, it all starts with a shift in perspective. How you respond to the stressors of daily life are all on you and you alone. Encouraging yourself to come from a place of gratitude and respond in a positive way can be a learned behavior. We create the world we live in, and it can all start with a shift in perspective.

When Gratitude Feels Difficult:

Sometimes gratitude feels impossible, especially during hard times. If you’re struggling to find things to be grateful for, try these approaches:

• Start incredibly small: grateful for your next breath, for having shelter, for access to clean water
• Focus on your senses: grateful for the ability to see, hear, taste, touch, smell
• Appreciate basic functions: grateful for your heart beating, your lungs breathing automatically
• Acknowledge support systems: grateful for one person who cares about you
• Find beauty in nature: grateful for sunshine, trees, birds, or even houseplants

Remember, gratitude is a practice, not a performance. Some days it flows easily, other days it feels forced. Both are normal and part of the journey toward a more positive mindset.