The Discipline of Gratitude

“The discipline of gratitude is one which seeks for greater mindfulness and awareness, that calls you to be more present in the moment, to sharpen your powers of observation, to notice what others miss, and thus to discover more layers in “ordinary” life.” - the art of manliness

Gratitude practice is training yourself to notice and appreciate the good things, then expressing gratitude for them. Sometimes this is easier said than done. One needs to take the time (not a lot of time) out of their day to fully be engaged and benefit from it. If you have been following along with our previous monthly blogs, you will have learned abundant ways to do so... But I will still list some below.

Think of it like exercise. If you are doing bicep curls and simply swinging the weight up and down, instead of fully engaging, squeezing the muscle, thinking about your form and doing so, slow and controlled… which one gets the better result?

How about consistency now? If you only take time to exercise one day a week as opposed to the consistent almost daily individual, which one do you think earns more results?

So WHY?

With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. ... Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.

I don't think many of us can argue that we wouldn’t benefit from the discipline of gratitude, the focus on the positives, lifting each other up instead of shoving each other down.

Although it is okay to be competitive, next time, celebrate your friends victory, next time join him/her with executing their health/fitness goals, next time start the anticipating good (i.e. happiness, health and success) and it is the belief that all things — situations, obstacles and difficulties — will work out favorably in the end.

And watch the transformation happen.

Quick tips from previous blogs and more to help with the discipline of gratitude.

1. Keep a Gratitude Journal.

2. Ask Yourself Three Questions. (who, what, opportunities i’m thankful for)

3. Learn Prayers of Gratitude.

4. Use Visual Reminders.

5. Make a Vow to Practice Gratitude.