In the previous lesson, you learned some strategies for becoming laser focused as we work towards creating our best year.
In this lesson, I want to introduce you to an essential ingredient for living your potential and manifesting your dream. And that ingredient is gratitude.
I'll start with a quote by one of my mentors, Mr. Brian Tracy – he said: "Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation."
Gratitude plays an important part in attracting what you want in life.
In the book The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D Wattles, there is a whole chapter on Gratitude, where he explains that the more grateful that we are, the more good things we will receive, and the more rapidly they will come.
And he talks about the process of how gratitude brings your whole mind into closer harmony with the creative energies of the universe.
In my own personal development journey, I have absolutely embraced gratitude, and I strive to practice gratitude every single day. And I want to share with you 2 practical steps that you can take (right now) to implement gratitude into your daily routine.
Express Gratitude
You can do that in several ways. Express gratitude every morning just for being present and for having the gift of another day in our beautiful earth. You can do this before you get out bed – just say thank you… Thank you for another day.
You can also create a gratitude list and review it on a daily basis. What things and who are you grateful for?
Write it down and connect with this list. And what happens when you do that, you'll find that you have so much more to be thankful for than to be worried about in your life.
Another way to express gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal. I actually like to keep one next to my bed. At the end of the day, connect with your journal and write down the things that you're grateful for that happened that day, the things that you accomplished, or the things that you're just thankful for in your life.
Those are a few things that you can do to express gratitude starting today. So #1 is to express gratitude.
Give Gratitude
Give thanks and show sincere appreciation to the people in your life. Not only does it feel good to show and give gratitude, but it also helps others feel good, and it shows how much you truly care.
For me, letting people know how much I sincerely appreciate having them being part of my life's journey, that has been a life-changing habit that has helped me build deeper connections and stay in the energy of gratitude.
So, when thinking about giving gratitude… there are 5 layers I like to think about (in no particular order), that I learned from the John Maxwell Team, that you could take away or just make a note, and implement when practicing gratitude.
The first layer is your Higher Power... Spiritual gratitude… giving thanks, first and foremost to God. I don't mean to impose spiritual beliefs on anyone, but if you are spiritual and you do believe there is a supreme being, that there's a higher power that's there to guide you and is with you in every step of the way on this journey, give thanks to that higher power;
The second layer is the decision-makers in your life – People who you either work with or that are in your personal life that make decisions that affect you or your circumstances in some way shape or form.… it could be a manager, your boss, business partners… think about who these individuals are in your life and be thankful for them, because more often than not, we accomplish things not because of what we do, but because what others do for us… and sometimes it is people in this layer that help us get further ahead in our journey.
The third layer is the perimeter people – These are people that are close to the decision-makers we just talked about – their inner circle, people who put in the good word for you… and talk positively about you in business and in life… think about who those people are and show them sincere appreciation when you interact with them….
The fourth layer is YOUR TEAM. Whether you're in the corporate world, you're an entrepreneur, a home business owner… It takes showing gratitude in order to build a culture of gratitude – it starts with you.
When you demonstrate that you're grateful and you show an attitude of gratitude to your team members, it spreads throughout your organization – your community – tribe... no matter what field you're in.
And then the fifth layer is the support group – people who support you during the good and the bad, your spouse, your friends, your kids, those who see your vision, people who encourage you along the way.
Let them know how much you appreciate them being an inspiration for you and your dreams.
As an action step for this lesson, begin to build or reinforce the gratitude habit in your life. Be grateful for all that you have, all that's coming to you and the people in your life that make the journey so much more adventurous.
In the next lesson, we will cover goal setting in more detail, so that you can define specific goals for creating your best year ever.
