5 Days to Gratefulness, Thankfulness, And Appreciation pt4
Welcome to day 4 of the gratitude challenge. What was it like saying, “Thank you,” to so many people yesterday? Did it change the way you went through your day?
Let’s continue looking further into how being more grateful can help us in so many different ways, and of course the wonderful effects this positive attitude has on the people we come into contact with every day. I understand the difficult year we’ve had, and I’ve found myself dealing with the feeling of sadness, so to help myself and hopefully others too, I want to look at how we can focus on subjects like; thankfulness, joy and gratitude to recalibrate our lives, and live again with joy.
Today we’re going to be discussing the importance of; gratitude affirmations. Gratitude affirmations go even beyond just saying, “Thank you,” to a person or journaling. They are active, positive, enthusiastic statements of gratitude.
Gratitude affirmations are not based on you feeling grateful. That’s a key distinction. Rather, you are choosing to be grateful for things, even if you don’t feel grateful. When you repeat aloud these affirmations of gratitude, you energize yourself
There are two types of gratitude affirmations. The first is when you’re grateful for the things you already have.
You affirm that you have received an endless bounty of good things in your life and you give specific thanks for all the blessings that you have received.
The second types of affirmations are future-oriented and are when you give thanks for all the good things you are going to receive.
Both types of affirmations are critically important. The first helps you constantly be grateful in the moment for every good thing that flows into your life. The second helps you live in a state of grateful anticipation for all the good things that are coming your way.
Create both a present gratefulness affirmation and a future gratefulness affirmation. When it comes to the present gratefulness affirmation, you want to include as many things as you can think of to be grateful for.
Start your affirmation with, “I’m grateful for…” and then begin reciting the numerous things that fill your heart with overflowing gratitude. An example of a present gratitude affirmation is:
I’m so grateful for all the blessings I’ve received today. I’m grateful for my new job. I’m grateful for my friendships. I’m grateful for my children. I’m grateful for the delicious meal I ate last night. I’m grateful for the good night’s sleep I got. I’m grateful for this wonderful cup of tea I’m drinking.
If possible, try to say one gratefulness affirmation every single day. This practice will help you further develop an attitude of constant gratitude.
When it comes to your future affirmation, think about all the good things that you want to come into your life. What are your hopes and dreams and desires? What do you think about all the time? Use your future gratitude affirmation to give thanks that these things will come into your life.
An example of a future gratitude affirmation is:
I am grateful for the many blessings that are coming my way today, tomorrow, and every other day in the future. I receive them with open hands. I’m grateful for the physical and spiritual blessings. I’m grateful for the friendships I’ll enjoy and the food I’ll eat. I’m grateful for the money I’ll receive and the way that I’ll be able to use it to achieve much good. I’m grateful for all the good things that are in store for me.
Make the affirmation specific. If you desire a new job, give thanks in detail about the job you’re going to receive. Using the affirmations above along with your own will help you lead a less stressful and more fulfilling life. Spending some time with positive affirmations, while appreciating all that you have and all that’s heading your way is one of the easiest “stress relief drugs” you’ll ever take. Yet, affirmations come with no ill side effects, and they’re free.
Tomorrow we’re going to wrapping up the challenge with the practice of always finding something to be grateful for.
Until then, continue in your journal, making notes of what this experience was like for you. What does your current gratitude affirmation look like? What about your future affirmation? Share your thoughts, and you will be able to re-live these expediencies again and again.
Roy Clayton
PS If you’d like a free digital copy of my “Happiness Journal” that I’ve created to help us, as we go through this subject, you can get it from here.
