Count Your Blessings

 Count Your Blessings                                                              
When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thought that passes through your brain? Is it one of wonder that this is the start of another day, or do you drag yourself out of bed in dread for what lies ahead? You wish you didn’t have your dull job with your dull colleagues, you wish you were taller or more attractive or didn’t need to wear spectacles. You just wish everything was… well, different somehow. These very thoughts are precisely what are standing between you and a wonderful life, and you need to develop a gratitude practice if you are ever to feel happy. You see, it’s all about perspective.
 Perspective
Ask yourself right now, what is the difference between the rich westerner who has it all but is somehow depressed and the poverty-stricken disaster survivor who has lost it all but still smiles? Perspective. If you look at everything you haven’t got and count the ways your life is terrible and remind yourself that you are so terribly unhappy, your life will be just like that. You will feel deprived, terrible and unhappy because you are focusing on what you perceive yourself to be lacking. But if instead you make an effort to appreciate the things you do have, the ways that the world has blessed you and feel thankful for everything you’ve got, you will actually feel appreciative, blessed and thankful. It’s like swapping a lens. Look for the negative and you will see negative. Look for the positive and you will be overwhelmed with the beauty of your life. Because even if you feel at this moment that you have nothing to be thankful for, I promise you that you do, no matter how small it might be. And the more you look for your blessings, the more you will discover and you will feel truly grateful.
 Becoming More Grateful 
To get started, literally count those blessings of yours. At the beginning or end of each day, take some paper and write down at least 3 things that you feel grateful for. These may be the same things every day, such as “I feel blessed that I have the opportunity to do work I love” or “I feel blessed to have a beautiful family”. Repetition is okay - the power of this exercise lies in your own thought process and not the finished result. Then repeat this for at least 30 days (or even longer) and you will notice the incredible difference in your life.