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Embracing an Attitude of Gratitude

by Lyndsay Blais, Penticton

If you have been struggling to embrace some changes in your life lately, try cultivating an “Attitude of Gratitude” ~~ 

You may have heard this little tip before, adopting an attitude of gratitude is one of the most efficient and expedient ways to shift to a better feeling state, and it’s effects are immediate!

Let’s take a closer look at the power in that statement.  It doesn’t mean you must paste a smile on your face and say "Thanks...ALOT!" through gritted teeth.  It is truly about shifting your perception, or finding a gem in your current situation that you can be grateful for - yes especially in the challenging times...so that you can remove any blocks of resistance and open yourself up to support while accessing creative solutions.

When you can successfully shift your perception about the events of your life to find something to be grateful for; as in a lesson or an unforeseen positive outcome; then you literally become a magnet to what you desire.  (More on that to come next time!) 

Jeff Keller states in his book "Attitude is Everything", that Attitude is a choice!  Isn’t that great news?  Now if you are saying to yourself "Yah, right! You don’t have a clue what I have to deal with, and if it wasn’t for (my awful job, being unemployed, my challenging spouse…just fill in the blank with your best excuse for unhappiness…) then I could be grateful for something, but sometimes things just happen that set me off!  I can’t control how I feel!" then consider this; have you ever found yourself in the midst of a heated "discussion" with your partner, child, or co-worker, feeling ready to tear a strip off of someone and then the phone rings or someone comes to your door?  You manage to answer the caller with the sweetest of voices, “Hello, how are you?  Great to hear from you!”

If you have had this experience, or one similar to it, ask yourself “How does that happen?”
It is the power of choice over what you focus on in the moment...
It happens so quickly, we may not even realize that we are actually making a choice.   If you have controlled your sour mood in front of the neighbor, you can certainly learn to do it in the face of a challenge such as unemployment, or even a natural disaster.

Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is about learning to consciously choose a higher and more supportive thought when we are caught up and feeling angry, hurt, stuck, challenged, frustrated, unmotivated or simply empty and wondering - "Isn’t there more to life?"

In speaking with some residents who were evacuated from their homes due to the recent forest fires in the Okanagan, I was impressed by the sheer gratefulness that came forth.  Grateful for their lives, their families, the support from neighbors and strangers alike.  Not an easy thing to deal with, yet many people chose to focus on what they could be grateful for, instead of cursing what they could not control.  It’s a beautiful lesson for all of us.

If you want to embrace change, your first task is to look for what there is to be grateful for in the situation you are challenged by.  If that is too difficult, start with the good stuff that's going on in our life, you can be grateful for simply being here...and we will talk about the next step, next time!

Until then,
Here’s to living life more consciously!

Carpe diem! ~ Seize the Day!

Lyndsay

Lyndsay Blais, creator and facilitator of the Embracing Change Program; Assisting Individuals through Career and Life Transitions.  Contact Lyndsay in Penticton, B.C. 250-809-5399; via email

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