The Power of Gratitude

Thanksgiving has popped up again! I know it isn’t widely celebrated in Singapore but for those who do celebrate Thanksgiving it is a time of year where we take the time out to count our blessings and appreciate our loved ones. This is mostly carried out over a delicious turkey meal where everyone comes together, reunites, catches up and give thanks. For some of us, it is a great time to be reminded about what we feel grateful for, however, feeling thankful once in a while isn’t enough.

Today, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Did you know that incredible things can happen to you when you feel and practice gratitude on a daily basis? Ever wonder how some people always seem to be so content in their lives even though they may be going through some kind of hardship? That no matter what happens they’re able to face challenges while still being appreciative of what they have at the same time? What is their secret?

I have learnt that to be content is to be grateful and to be grateful is to recognize the love and blessings in everything around you. The secret you are searching for is the power of gratitude. For some of us, feeling grateful comes naturally and we are thankful for every single thing we have. We take time out to appreciate the beauty of the world and we choose to see the good things we have in our lives. On the other hand, there are some who find it harder to feel grateful for many different reasons. Some feel incomplete and that they never have enough, while others feel like they are undeserving of anything good in their lives. There are also some who fear that what they have may be taken away from them, therefore being unable to appreciate what they have at the present moment.

Energy talk coming up! When you can’t appreciate and absorb the blessings around you, you are creating an energetic blockage between yourself and the universe. You are cutting off the flow of abundance. The ‘lack’ you feel? You are only attracting more lack to you. It is therefore good to know that gratitude can be cultivated and turned into a habit. You want your channels of abundance that is connected from you to the universe to be always OPEN and feeling the emotion of gratitude will do that for you. It is more powerful than you think.

Gratitude is Energy

Gratitude is a form of energy. Remember that our emotions are energies in motions and that our feelings and thoughts are very much alive. You are constantly creating your reality with what you give out every second of the day. Everything you think, feel, say or do is transmitted energetically to the universe and you will receive the same energies back in return.

When you are feeling grateful, you are giving off an energy to the universe saying ‘Hey, I am fully satisfied with everything that I have, thank you!‘ and the universe will respond with a ‘Hey, awesome! I will continue giving you much more of that!”

It is a wonderful cycle of infinite blessings and it is as if the universe is rewarding you just for appreciating what you have. Gratitude undoubtedly puts you in alignment with the loving energies of the universe.

Know that the power of gratitude is directly connected to the laws of attraction and to the positive energies of the universe. Remember that we are living beings of energy and having an ‘attitude of gratitude’ draws in positive energies that we can all benefit from. These can come in the form of abundance, blessings, love, prosperity, success among others. It is with this positive energy that can eventually transform your life.

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”

Oprah Winfrey

10 Life-Changing Facts about Gratitude you Need to Know

• Gratitude changes your attitude towards life
• Gratitude allows you to see the value and grace in everything
• Gratitude reduces materialism where you become less attached to material possessions
• Gratitude opens your heart to the universe, inviting infinite abundance and blessings
• Gratitude boosts happiness by increasing self-esteem and levels of optimism
• Gratitude aligns you with the flow of divine energy
• Gratitude induces compassion and empathy, increasing sensitivity
• Gratitude shifts your focus to the present moment
• Gratitude aids in healing and overcoming past trauma
• Gratitude reduces levels of anger and aggression

Easy & Effective Ways to Practice Gratitude

Find simple ways to exercise gratitude below:

• Count your blessings. I know we tend to overlook the things that have so much value to us that we don’t usually appreciate something until it’s gone but when we do appreciate everything we have, we are already abundant
• Look at the loving relationships you have around you and nurture them
• Go for a walk in nature in solitude and appreciate the beauty around you
• Show your gratitude to someone you love by surprising them with something they like or with small gifts or little notes
• Feel grateful on the inside and feel the shift in your emotions when you do this, feel your heart open
• Be thankful to everyone, even to strangers.
• Reach out a helping hand to someone in need, go out of your way to help someone
• Stop complaining. Remember that someone else is happy with less than what you have
• Give out compliments. A beautiful gesture that is lovingly felt by both parties
• Create a gratitude journal. Write down some grateful affirmations that you can repeat to yourself daily.
• You can access my full page of affirmations here 20 Powerful Gratitude Affirmations!

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” 

Gratitude Contributes to Healing

An important thing you need to know is that gratitude can promote healing. Reaching a point where you fully accept where you are and content with what you have is when you can finally move forward in your healing journey.

When you are consistently grateful for what you have and you focus on what you love, you will automatically attract more things to love and be grateful about. The reward of this power is so great compared to the amount of effort you actually need to put in. Feeling thankful allows you to see that everything else that comes by is a bonus. It should feel so natural to you. You must feel the emotion of gratitude from the depths of your core. You must radiate that feeling until it pours out of you and until it becomes a part of who you are. The power of gratitude is real and it is with this power that you can transform yourself and at the same time invite wonders and blessings into your life.

Being happy with what you have doesn’t mean you can’t have dreams and aspirations in life. It doesn’t mean you can’t have more of what you want. Continue to work towards your goals in achieving whatever it is you want to achieve without losing awareness of how blessed you already are.

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Lasting Thoughts

Gratitude is a spiritual discipline. Make it a daily habit and over time you will gradually go through an inner transformation. Do this consistently and you will never be able to go through a full day without feeling grateful. The universe will then provide you with what you need and so much more. I know I say this over and over but trust that all of your needs will be met!

We are always chasing after something we don’t have in life and it is with this feeling of ‘lack’ that causes us to continuously feel unfulfilled. Break out of that cycle of feeling like you never have enough. If we all choose to stop for a second and look around us, we can already see that we have enough, more than enough. We are incredible blessed to even be here, alive, breathing, moving and living.

We can be surrounded by everything we want, but if we are not appreciative of what we have, we can never be fulfilled. You will then be stuck in a situation where you are always unfulfilled because that’s how the universe is reading you. That’s what you’re giving out energetically by saying “Hey Universe, I don’t have enough, I feel incomplete” and the universe will respond with a “Hey, that’s great! I will continue placing you in situations where you feel you don’t have enough!”. And the cycle continues. It’s the basic law of attraction, that’s just how it works!

I hope you can take something useful away from this post. I will now bid you adieu and end this article with the below quote!

“Gratitude, like faith, is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it grows, and the more power you have to use it on your behalf. If you do not practice gratefulness, its benefaction will go unnoticed, and your capacity to draw on its gifts will be diminished. To be grateful is to find blessings in everything. This is the most powerful attitude to adopt, for there are blessings in everything.”

Alan Cohen

Have a wonderful weekend ahead! Sending you lots of love and blessings!

Shirley xx