top of page

Gratitude is the Secret Sauce of Life!

Until August of 2014 I did not in any way understand the power of gratitude or truly what it meant to be grateful! For those who have a gratitude practice or know me well now, that may seem unbelievable. I too think it is unbelievable! In fact, my life took a major turn after I decided to jump off a cliff! (more on that in an upcoming post - My Leap to Fabulous!).

A few years prior to that fateful day, I began to hear many people talking about The Secret - the book by Rhonda Byrne where she speaks about gratitude and the Law of Attraction. They would reference how the concept of The Secret had changed their lives. I could not understand it and was not yet open to reading it. However after reading it, listening to the audio, and watching the movie, it literally changed my life. It will change yours as well! Yes, I did all three -- any one of these will make an impact. I also recommend downloading the app that shares a new message each day to your phone. I have aha! moments often when reading the message: Daily Thought

Gratitude reveals how you view your life. Are you grateful for what you have regardless of what or how much that is? Or are you unhappy because you always want more, something different. OR you will be happy when you get - a new car, a different job, a new mate, lose 10 pounds, move to a new town etc…..? You can fill in the blanks. This is referred to as abundance vs lack mentality. When we focus on what is missing in our life and what we do not have, we are living in lack. This mindset will continue and you will notice more of what is missing and actually create more of a feeling of lack. Manifesting any area of our life occurs when our thoughts become things -- we bring about what we think about it. Basically, whatever we focus on grows. So if you are focusing on what you do not have, you will raise your awareness to what you do not have and notice more and more of it. Conversely, when we focus on what we DO have and show gratitude for it, we will notice more and more of what we already have and have even more gratitude! Once I understood that, my life completely changed. The other element to gratitude is that it raises our vibration. What? I know, and I will share more in another post so stay tuned but I will say, we all want to aim to have a high vibrational energy.

BTW- I realize I may be introducing an entirely new vocabulary to some of you and believe me when I say this was all foreign to me at first. As I blog, I will attempt to explain to the best of my ability so it becomes clear but please feel free at any time to reach out and ask questions when it is not. I want you to understand so you can incorporate these practices into your life.

I heard many times to keep a gratitude journal. Of course I didn’t listen for a long time but once I did, I began to notice SO much for which to be grateful. For some, this could be very challenging and if this is you, start small. Perhaps you are thinking I do not have much at all, of course I need more! Well, if you woke up this morning, show gratitude for that. If you had food for breakfast, transportation, good health, appropriate clothing for the season then you have several things for which to be grateful. Yes, there is always more, but more isn’t always better. It just creates responsibility and necessary time to care for our belongings -- think the tiny house movement.... And if you are someone who regularly compares yourself to others, often times you are looking at their highlight reel and not their bloopers. Comparison is one of the worst things you can do, it may seem like you never measure up. You have no idea what they experience, what they feel, what they think. Inherently, none of us want to look bad so we share only the things that are working in order to make us look good. Be mindful and focus on what you have. I am speaking from experience and spent many years feeling as though I was not good enough, not smart enough, not beautiful enough, and not worthy enough compared to everyone else.

As I am typing this, millions have recently been affected by a series of natural disasters. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria destroyed thousands of homes, uprooted many, and claimed lives in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. The homes destroyed ranged from very poor to mega wealthy. A wildfire burned hundreds of thousands of acres in northern California and Oregon and Earthquakes killed many in Mexico. Status had nothing do with the destruction. While they are all mourning their losses, I am also certain they are showing gratitude for surviving the disaster. It is all perspective.

I have a friend who shares a gratitude journal with her husband -- she writes in it in the morning and he at night. They both include and show gratitude for each other every day. That sounds amazing and it is no surprise they have a fabulous, happy marriage!

I ask you, what are you grateful for? Start a journal and see what shows up, set a goal for three things each day. If you need to, write the same things over and over until you begin to notice additional things/people for which you are grateful and expand your list to ten things daily. Just before you fall to sleep at night, say "thank you" for the day and be intentional. Intention is so important in everything we do. It starts with a smile. Try it and be purposeful in your examination of your life and if you are so inclined, please share with me what you notice or what has changed as a result of being purposely grateful. You can reach me at Donna@DonnaBrownDesigns.com

I am very grateful to you for reading my first blog! If you want to learn more about me, I am including a podcast interview I did a few months ago. Let me know what you think!

More about me -- podcast interview

Have a fabulous day!

Gratefully Inspired,

Donna

I am so, so grateful!

Featured Posts
Check back soon
Once posts are published, you’ll see them here.
Recent Posts
Archive
Search By Tags
Follow Us
  • Facebook Basic Square
  • Twitter Basic Square
  • Google+ Basic Square
Crystals to Clarity_edited.jpg
bottom of page