Smiling From The Heart by Santer Marcus

Author:Santer, Marcus [Santer, Marcus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Marcus Santer
Published: 2012-08-01T16:00:00+00:00

Tool #8: Gratitude

“I was sad because I had no shoes until I met the man who had no feet .”

- Attributed to Sa’di a Persian poet

Practicing gratitude helps you to focus on what is in your life instead of what is missing. The daily practice of gratitude helps you to become more grateful for the blessings in your life. Blessings that are often taken for granted until you are consciously aware of them.

Focusing on what you do have instead of what you don’t is a powerful way to positively influence your thinking. And if you remember Tool #7: TCAR you’ll know how important that is. Even spending just five minutes in the morning before getting out of bed focusing your thinking on gratitude can have an intensely beneficial effect.

I have noticed that when I am grateful for something or someone in my life I am much less likely to take it for granted. If it’s a person I’m grateful for I naturally want to do more for them. If it’s a ‘thing’ like a roof over my head then being consciously grateful for it stops me wishing I had more toys or money etc.

Here’s a personal example of the power of gratitude.

Shortly after my son was born I was very angry. A specialist had informed my wife and I that our son had cerebral palsy and the injustice, stress and fear – a powerful cocktail of negative emotions – literally knocked me to the floor.

I was especially angry, because every day since we knew our child was on his way I had prayed for him and my wife to be healthy and safe. So when the results of his tests came through I was raging and felt let down by my faith.

Shortly afterwards whilst talking with another specialist about the way forward with our son, the specialist looked up from his notes and said: ‘You do realise how lucky you are? Looking at these results it is amazing that your son is alive’. That’s when I first became aware of the power of gratitude. I discovered that feeling gratitude for my son being alive and having a future was far more comforting and beneficial than being angry that he had cerebral palsy.

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