The Art of Gratitude

By Kenrick Cleveland

"It is necessary, then, to cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude." -Wallace D. Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich or Financial Success Through Creative Thought

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." -Melodie Beattie

In my workshops and classes, I talk a lot about the importance of gratitude. Why is this so important? Well, simply, when we infuse all we do with gratitude and are grateful for what we have, we draw more things to us to be grateful for.

I make it a point to bring this into my student's conscious minds each and every time I teach because I believe wholeheartedly in the power of giving thanks. This should be a constant in our lives, something that infuses everything, not just Thanksgiving Day or Sundays.

Expressing our gratitude need not be limited to when we receive gifts or favors, but is about looking at ourselves deeply and understanding how lucky we are for everything we have in life.

This is something I think about all the time. I keep a list of things to be grateful for, and my list is probably quite similar to yours -- family, friends, students, colleagues, employees, financial success, health, my home, my pets. I'm grateful when it rains, I'm grateful when the sun comes out. I'm even grateful when it snows a few days out of the year because I get to watch my children play in the snow.

I'm grateful for simple things and complicated things. And throughout my day, I stop to consider other people's situations, whether they be more challenging or easier than mine, and I am grateful for the struggles I've had to endure, and grateful for the things I accomplish with ease, both, because these are the things that have made me what I am and brought me to this point in life.

Gratitude can be especially powerful if we are experiencing something difficult in our lives. For instance, if your health is not as great as it could be, instead of cursing your body for the problems it's having, try being grateful for all the things it can do.

There's an old Irish proverb which I really love that says, 'Count your joys instead of your woes; count your friends instead of your foes.' This is ultimately about focus and what we choose to highlight and what we choose to minimize.

When you begin to take notice of all that is good in your life, this gratitude will turn your life around.

About the Author:

Kenrick Cleveland teaches strategies to earn the business of affluent prospects using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion strategies.