You always have a #choice. You are always in control. You can always consider:
How am I going to react to this?
How am I going to process this?
How am I going to think about this?
How am I going to respond?
That’s what it all comes down to: MAKING A CHOICE!
One of the choices I made at a very young age, I made almost subconsciously. Because I had so many things negatively affecting my life, because people were telling me negative things about myself so often, I decided to think about everything in my life that I was grateful for. Every night before I went to sleep, I sat in my little bunk bed and thought, I’m really grateful for my grandmother and how much she loves me. I’m really grateful for how much my parents care about me. I’m really grateful that today I got to play football.
This may sound trivial. It may sound like a little kid thinking about little things. But it’s that kind of thinking that has made me the positive, encouraging person I am today. In fact, that’s the number-one thing people say about me: that I am one of the most positive, encouraging people they’ve ever met.
The reason for that is simple:
GRATITUDE.
I’ve made a practice in my life of being grateful. #Gratitude has allowed me to be able to serve people without any expectation of them ever being able to do anything for me. Instead, I am simply grateful for the opportunity, for how good it makes me feel in my heart and soul.
We wonder why we are so discontented and unhappy and stressed; why we have so much anxiety. The answer is simple: we spend too much time thinking about what we don’t have instead of what we do have. Gratitude is like an inoculation against being discouraged, upset, afraid, or depressed. We all have those low times, but gratitude can help us find our way out of them.
When I am feeling down in some way, I stop and consider all the things I am grateful for, and to whom I am grateful. When I focus on those things, I start to appreciate them more, and they become more valuable to me. I think about God, my wife and kids, friends, clients, experiences, places, etc., and realize that I am amazingly blessed.
You can live a different life, with a different purpose, and a different intention. Start leading a life of #gratitude. Take into account – on a daily basis – everything you are grateful for. What are you grateful for that happened today?
Please share your #gratitude or how #choices have made a difference for you here.