92. Develop an Attitude of Gratitude
Do you know that if you change the way you look at the world, the world will change the way it looks at you? Think about that question for a moment. How you see yourself has a direct effect on how you see the world and how you present yourself. How you present yourself to others directly correlates to how others are going to respond. You have probably heard some version of the story about the man who was nearing a city he had not been to before. He met an old man sitting by the side of the road and said, “I’ve heard the people in this city are rude and inconsiderate. Is this true?” The old man replied, “Yes, you will find the people here rude and inconsiderate.” A while later another man approached the city; again, he had not been there before. He said to the same old man, “I’ve heard the people here are warm, friendly, and helpful. Is this true?” The old man replied, “Yes, you will find the people here warm, friendly, and helpful.” The moral of the story is obvious. If you expect negativity, you will receive negativity, and if you view the world from a positive frame of mind, that is how the world is going to respond to you. What you send out is what you are going to get back.
Performance Prompts
When you train your mind to think thankful thoughts, your self-talk will be more positive. Be thankful for everyone—and everything in your life.
Be thankful for every role you get to play. Strive to be a star in each role.
When you are grateful, you will send out positive and uplifting messages.
When you send positive messages, you will feel genuinely happy.
Developing an attitude of gratitude enables you to feel happy and contented. It also makes it almost impossible for you to feel unhappy or discontented.
And yes, you can be happy and content and still have goals for bettering yourself and your life. Being contented does not mean you are complacent. Making yourself better is going to increase your attitude of gratitude.
Strive for your goals—and—continue to be grateful for what you already have.
When you develop your attitude of gratitude, share your appreciation for others. Tell people you are grateful for them.
When This Happens ...
Some people see the cup half full, while others see it half empty. If you are one who sees it half empty, you may not understand this gratefulness thing. When you focus on the negative and things that go wrong, you will block grateful thoughts.
Try This
Everyone has things that go wrong, yet some people are able to take things in stride while others consider every wrong thing as an excuse to be unhappy. If you do not already possess the attitude of gratitude, it is going to be difficult for you, but you can develop this quality. Start by changing your self-talk. When you find yourself becoming negative, STOP! Think about someone or something good in your life. Say Thank You—and mean it. Change your self-talk, and change you. You can do it if you want to do it.
A grateful spirit = a great-ful spirit full of happiness and contentment.