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The key to practising gratitude and why it is so important

01 Nov 2020

 By Patrick de Kretser “The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now” – Oprah Winfrey On aggregate, I think the most popular theme that is being written about in magazines such as these centres around self-love and the importance of checking in on ourselves from time to time. To no surprise of course, since a year like this, which has been riddled with so much negativity, requires positivity to come from somewhere in order to balance it out, as a writer, I have to assume the duty of occasionally writing on topics that are designed to uplift the reader and inspire them to be more proactive in their day-to-day life. In order to be proactive, we need to derive a sense of purpose from somewhere or a sense of euphoria that drives us to work and study harder than before. When we try to seek inspiration, we look towards books, literature, television, and the pillars in our life such as our friends and family to motivate us and to drive us forward. But the common theme in all of these aspects is that while helpful, these come from external sources, which means that the motivation we often seek comes from others rather than ourselves. The message I aim to spread here is why we should not always practise that and instead practise using the ultimate tool which helps us with self-motivation, which is gratitude. “In ordinary life, we hardly realise that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer Practising gratitude is more than just telling ourselves to appreciate the little things in our lives that bring us happiness. It is a comprehensive guide that allows us to channel positivity into everything that we do, regardless of how bleak things may seem and regardless of whether or not we receive support from those around us. When we as writers write articles about study tips or work advice or things to do when you get bored and you feel down, we often talk about the importance of identifying those support pillars in your life and seeking comfort from them, whether they may be your friends or your family. But what if those options are not available to some of us? What if some of us do not have an active support network to turn to when we feel down on our luck? What if some of us struggle socially with the idea of branching out or seeking help from other people? It is easy to tell someone to “look for help” from a friend or family member when we do not consider the individual circumstances that the person might be facing and the issues they might be experiencing when trying to communicate with other people. But the art of practising gratitude is a universal skill that anyone can learn if they put the effort into it, regardless of the circumstances or hurdles you have in front of you that prevent you from being positive in day-to-day life. So what is the easiest way to go about practising gratitude? What is the best way to reap the rewards of being grateful so that we can apply it in our lives as soon as possible? Well, here is a short list of things that you can use to go about doing that.
  1.     Remind yourself of all the challenges you overcame
A lot of us always face the problem of believing that we are not good enough or skilled enough to succeed in life because of the struggles that we experience on our journeys. We often compare ourselves to other people such as our peers and our friends and think to ourselves that they have got it going so much better for themselves. When we seek inspiration from other people, we sometimes do not take their advice to heart because we think that they just have the strength to succeed while we do not. The point is, we do not give ourselves enough credit for the things that we have managed to do to get to this point. Life is a journey and that journey never happens on a straight and smooth road for anyone. We have already experienced a tough journey to get to this point and that is something we need to remind ourselves about when we move forward. Remind yourself every morning or evening about the hurdles you have overcome and why what you are facing right now is no different than before.
  1.                 Surround yourself with wellness reminders at home
When we feel down, we often do not even want to entertain the idea of positivity and we allow ourselves to get into a mindset where we let ourselves bask in negativity and misery. We choose not to talk to people, we choose not to leave the house, and we choose not to do anything productive which could help us distract ourselves from the things that weigh us down. That is why you should keep an array of wellness reminders around your house which will remind you about the virtues of keeping your head high and being grateful for the fact that things could always be worse than what they are right now. What I personally do is keep a wellness mug in my kitchen which has a motivational quote that will uplift me, along with a few reminders that I keep on my fridge and on my bedside table that I can look at as well.
  1.                 Remind yourself what it is you want in life and why that dream means so much to you
The worst part about negativity is the hopelessness that comes with it at times. When we feel down, we stop being productive and when we stop being productive, we start to wonder what the point is of even working hard when it feels like we are at a dead end. We cannot allow ourselves to be complacent in that train of thought. Whenever you get trapped in your own head and you feel like you have no one to talk to, battle those demons in your head and remind yourself why you want to be successful and why you do not want to give up on your dreams. A friend of mine once told me the importance of not letting ourselves down is so that we make life easier for our future selves and give our future selves the life that they deserve.  “Thank you is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. ‘Thank you’ expresses extreme gratitude, humility, and understanding” – Alice Walker Hopefully, this piece gave you some insight into the art of practising gratitude and why it can be beneficial for you if all else fails. I learnt about the importance behind this message while volunteering for a mental health organisation on social media, which had the aim of normalising the existence of the mental health problems that we face in life. I found the experience incredibly inspiring and useful, hence why I thought that writing about it here would be useful in the event you are that someone who feels down on their luck right now. It does not matter how old you are or how young you are, because if you find this useful, then you should make sure to apply it in your life as soon as you can.  PHOTOS Inc. Magazine, Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Deposit Photos


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