We are told to be grateful but often it seems as if gratitude is more an obligation than anything else. Another item on our already overburdened to-do list. We may end up feeling resentful when we are expected to feel grateful particularly under difficult circumstances. The key is to understand what gratitude really is and the impact it has on your life and the lives of those around you. In fact, gratitude has some hidden benefits that can improve your productivity and your life.
Why We Want To Cultivate Gratitude
Gratitude is not a feeling. It is really a way of life and a way of meeting life and all of its challenges. Gratitude is a frame for reality, which enables us to align with the good in the world as well as the evolutionary progress of the human race. It is the opposite of resentful entitlement. Gratitude allows us to accept things as they are even as we try to improve them. It enables us to see ourselves as participants in creating the good in life. Gratitude puts us in more positive relationship to life and others around us. It separates our attitude from our circumstances so that our current reality does not drag us down. Gratitude is a way of being that lets us participate fully in life without concern for rewards and status. It gets our ego out of the way. Gratitude lets us give what we can, knowing that we are one of many so that we do not have to carry the burdens of the world on our shoulders. Gratitude comes from valuing the opportunity to be here on the planet. Everything else is up for grabs.
How Gratitude Helps Us Live Productive Lives
When gratitude is the cornerstone of your life, a number of things happen:
Gratitude Helps You Enjoy Life
Gratitude is a generous and relaxed quality that lets us be with life and a part of life. It is trusting, a quality that is often lacking in our social space. Because of that relaxed trust, work and love are easier and more enjoyable. We only live a short period of time. Gratitude helps our time on earth be one of joy. Featured photo credit: Baby with a Thank You Sign via Shutterstock
