
Something happened yesterday which just bowled me over. It filled me with gratitude. So today I have to talk about gratitude. When was the last time you felt grateful?

Now, why do I say that? Because it’s easy to be annoyed. For instance, let’s say you’re sitting at your desk. You’re busy working, you’re really involved in something, and then a colleague comes over to give you something, or the phone rings and breaks your concentration. So what’s your immediate response? You’re inconvenienced at the least, yes? “Please go away and come back later. I’m busy!”
So there it is right there, an opportunity to shift from annoyance to gratitude. Don’t you have these things happen all throughout the day? You can at that moment, STOP, and recognize your ingratitude. Here’s someone coming to help you. And this is how you respond? Imagine how you’d feel if you say instead, “Thank you. That’s wonderful. I really appreciate you remembering to give that to me…” or whatever it is that the person wanted to do for you. Your whole experience shifts. You’re going to feel that upwelling, as I call it, an upwelling of joy that will come as you allow yourself to feel the gratitude.
So notice your ingratitude.
Let it hit you in your heart and awaken your self-awareness: “Look at me. I’m getting all wrapped up in my negativity. Do I really want to stay here?”
~ Be helpful to another person. Use your expertise and offer it to someone who you know really could use it. And I don’t mean you should give away the store, but you know things that other people don’t know. They are so basic and simple to you, but to them, not so much! So if you can help someone out and see their eyes light up and hear them say, “Oh, wow, that’s great. That really helps!”
Ah, there you go. That upwelling is going to wash over you again, and when that happens, it’s like all the little particles and parts of you start to tingle and you feel so incredibly good.
~ Become part of a community. If you have a passion or an interest in something, join a group so you can share your passion. Well, you’re going to have lots of opportunities to be grateful because you’ll be fulfilling a dream of yours.
It becomes easier and easier as your willingness to be grateful increases and then it becomes automatic. I won’t say it’s going to happen tomorrow. You must seek it out.
The rewards of gratitude are amazing, as I’ve been pointing out. The more you feel grateful, the happier you are. And the happier you are, the healthier you’re going to be. Seriously, because you’re inducing the happy hormones, endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin to circulate in the body/brain, not the stress hormone, cortisol, that causes havoc when you judge.
Gratitude keeps you healthy and when you’re healthier, you’re going to be more focused on your goals. And as that happens, your business improves and your personal relationships fill you with happiness. So wow, I mean, it’s worth being grateful, don’t you think?
Something else you may not have considered — You’re normally grateful for things you consider positive. e.g. “I got a new customer. I’m so grateful. I won the lottery”- whatever. You’re happy. And you feel grateful.
But what if you were grateful for something ‘bad’?
I’ll tell you my own little story to give you an example because this is exactly what initiated this discussion today.
I had hired someone to help me in my business and things were going along fine. Everything was great and then we hit a bump or two, nobody’s fault, and it didn’t work out. It just fell apart. So I lost that person’s help. I won’t lie, I was upset momentarily. I thought, “Oh no! What will I do now?”
Then I said, “Wait a minute. I remember my mom saying to me, ‘Every cloud has a silver lining.’ And then I thought, “There’s an opportunity here that I’m not aware of. And I’m just gonna let it be. I’m going to trust that I will get what I need.” And guess what?
That’s exactly what happened! Because I chose to trust and be grateful for this experience that at first didn’t seem like something to be grateful about, I was presented with someone who I really respect and admire for her expertise at doing the kind of work that I need. And she offered to work for me!
If I hadn’t lost the other person, I wouldn’t have this wonderful person to help me. Trust is a form of gratitude because you can only trust in the NOW.
So. everything that happens to you, every person you meet, offers you a chance to experience your gratitude whether you think of it as positive or negative. It’s even better if you don’t think of it either way, but simply as “Here I am at this moment in this situation. I’m grateful to be here.”
In other words, you’re grateful for everything! You’re grateful you’re alive. You’re breathing. You’re thinking, you’re creating. You’re doing your business. You’re meeting people, you’re living your life. And that’s worth being grateful for, don’t you think? I think so!
Living a life of gratitude allows me to experience the most wonderful synchronicities. I go through my day feeling loved and nurtured and cared about because I truly believe we are created by a loving Presence, whatever name you give It. Everything in this world then, is an opportunity for love. So if that’s the case and I’m not feeling loving, then who’s problem is that? It’s mine, of course. It has nothing to do with what’s out there. It has to do with what’s in here.

MarciaGrace
Everything Begins with a Thought,
So monitor your thoughts and eliminate the ones that hurt.
I’m here for you and I want you to know that you have all the answers you need within you, even if the answer you get is, “Go get help from so and so.” That answer will send you in the right direction so you can be the calm, creative, joyful, and successful entrepreneur you are meant to be!
By now I hope you know that I teach busy entrepreneurs how to start the day with intention and an Abundance Mentality. If you would like to have a 30-minute chat with me about the stress that is keeping you from the success that an abundant and calm mentality will offer you, you will find my calendar here to set up a time: www.calendly.com/MarciaGrace
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