Gratitude

Today's focus is all about gratitude. A lot of people forgot all too often to place focus on their mental health, even though they may be in great health physically.  To stay fully balanced and to get the most out of every opportunity you gotta start taking more care of your mind & strengthening it too! Learn to keep your thoughts positive and always be grateful, no matter what life throws your way.


Many noteworthy scholars have said, "the suffering that the individual experiences is a result of that in which their mind clings.  Suffering is a result of the mind."  We must fix our minds, the way in which we experience everyday occurrences in life.   This is no easy task however if the mind has gotten used to preconditioned habits.  It takes a lot of will and a strong desire to change your thinking and essentially reprogram how you process life.  You have to start with small changes and one huge factor in a healthier mind comes from the act of gratitude.  Being seriously and truly grateful.

It's All About Perspective
If you're having a bad day or find yourself frustrated or angry, stop what you are doing and take a minute to put problems into perspective.  When you constantly are focusing on little annoyances and negatives in life,  you only attract more negativity. Ever notice how when you wake up having a "bad" day, it only seems to get worse?  This is because you are only focused on the negatives!  If you ever wonder why something isn't going the way you'd like in any aspect of life, chances are you've started to take a part of your life for granted. Study the law of attraction and this makes perfect sense being that like is said to attract like. Whenever you feel this happening in life, reverse the process as soon as possible by looking at what is going right. By doing so, the brains process to renew and reevaluate is activated.  You have more control over thoughts than you realize so learn to cling to the positives in life!

Your Body Loves You..
Think about all the functions in the body taken for granted. Every day the body works in full force to keep us healthy and to make what we think happen.  We usually don't consider this much until we are diagnosed with some sort of health problem or when a bodily function or limb is lost.  Think about what the body does nonstop all day every single day .  The lungs bring in fresh air to filter through the body, nerves and synapses are constantly firing, sending messages throughout so that everything interacts and functions properly, the digestive track breaks down food and delivers nutrients essential to various organ functions, legs allow you to get from place to place, arms the ability to carry things and feed yourself. Your heart, eyes, ears, nose, spine, every component of the body works to serve you!  Don't wait till what you have is gone.  Be grateful today, now, while you are healthy.

It blows my mind the negative things I hear people telling themselves.  The mind and body are connected.  Remember this.  Think negatively about the body and the body will feel the effects and eventually may stop operating at full potential.  Would you work for someone who has no appreciation for your work?  Maybe, but you probably wouldn't do your best job.  The cells of your body and organs react this same way.  You are made up of millions of tiny cells which all love you beyond measure, all are connected to the brain and to your thoughts, so be conscious of what you are telling these cells.  Again shift your perspective, be grateful for all the incredible things your body does for you if negativity ever creeps around. Feed your body positive thoughts to motivate and encourage your cells to operate at full potential instead of constantly putting yourself down with negative self talk.

Think of all the relationships in your life that have made an impact on you, especially those close to you.   You can learn something from every single one, whether they bring joy or pain, every relationship has helped shape you in some way. Let the ones close to you know how much you appreciate them, not just through your words but through everyday actions. We often get way too comfortable with loved ones and they are the first ones we bring our frustration out on if having a bad day, when really they have little to do with the problem, we neglect to appreciate all that they do.  Remember, when one becomes ungrateful, it is here where problems begin to arise. Taking someone or something for granted, whether it be a relationship, work, ones health or even finances, will all eventually have effects so always remain grateful. 

 
Think Bigger
Don't think just in terms of yourself and others, this is a great place to start, but there is so much more to be grateful for!  The fact that this planet even exists in the first place is amazing but it's easy to forget this if living in a heavily populated city where stars are practically nonexistent.   This universe is giant, the Earth a mere small spec, which makes us even smaller! Remind yourself of just how small we are. Often times we get caught up in our ego & we begin to put out unrealistic expectations. Become aware of this when a small problem seems like the end of the world and you will more than likely realize your problem really isn't a problem at all.

Take more time out to explore this earth while on it.  This planet has everything we need to thrive.  The land, the water, the moon which controls our tides and gravitational pull, the sun that gives us energy and light at just the right times.  And trees.  Sounds completely silly, but lately I have found a new gratitude for trees.  All they do is give.  People abuse them, cut them down and they still keep on giving fresh clean air for all to breath, shelter, and fresh fruits to eat year after year. Crazy.  Be grateful for the food this planet provides that you are able to eat.  Not everyone is able to enjoy this basic need so readily so before you eat take a minute to appreciate your food, appreciate all the people who put in work to grow and get this food to you and appreciate the food itself for all the nutrients it will bring your body.  Every time you eat is a chance to nourish and replenish the body, be more conscious of this, more thankful of all that is put into your body and next time you step outside, take a minute to really appreciate the environment.  Make an effort to shut the mind off from thoughts and just be, be content with what is and absorb what is all around.

Retrain your mind
I could go on and on about all there is to be grateful for, the list truly is endless but until you make it a habit to look at the positives in life, to truly be grateful, it can be hard to appreciate all that you have, to see all the possibilities that are available to you.  To get on the right track, get into the habit of asking yourself what you are grateful for and make a list of 10 things,  they could be anything small or big.  Sounds simple yes? But by doing so, the mind is forced to switch directions.  Do this daily for a month and see if you notice thoughts changing. The more time taken out to truly be grateful for all that you do have and have had throughout life, the more gratitude life will show in return.  You'll start finding less to complain about and spend more time feeling at ease and truly happy with what life has brought.  Expect nothing and life will often bring many great surprises your way.  Truly learn to truly go with the flow of things and don't allow negative thoughts or negative people to have any place in the mind.  Nobody has complete control over every situation but one will always have control over how they react to a certain event in life, no matter how negative that event may appear at first.

Some of the most humble people have been through more hardship than many could imagine yet they remain so happy, so grateful.  Even if there's barely a dollar to your name and find every matter to be working against you, ask yourself, do I have a home? Do I have people who care for me? Is the sun shining today? Did I get a good nights rest and awake for another day?  The reasons to be grateful are always there.

Constantly remind yourself of all the amazing things that take place in life, by truly being aware of everything that happens to create your life, your brain and thoughts themselves will become more positive, more grateful and this in itself will attract more positive outcomes. Like attracts like, positivity attracts more positivity. Sounds too good to be true but this is the universal law of attraction in the works here. Our thoughts, just as this planet does, operates on energy.  And energy operates with this law of attraction.  It's wild and under your control more than you may think! 

What are you grateful for today? 

Peace & love,

Bri