The Gratitude Challenge

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it – William Arthur Ward.

Making Pearls

Pearls, the beautiful jewelry adorned by women on their necks, wrists, and ears, are formed through a unique process. When an irritant like sand works its way into a species of oysters or clams, they secrete a fluid to coat the irritant. A luminant pearl forms layers of coating that blanket the irritant. The irritant intended to cause pain to the oyster becomes a tool to produce a valuable commodity.

Unexpected Occurrences

Life has its share of irritants and circumstances that disrupt our lives and cause discomfort. Often, an irritant happens unexpectedly, making it more bothersome. However, when we choose to coat our lives with gratitude despite our circumstances, we discover that value is still present, even in the hard times we face.

Battling Entitlement

How different would your life be if you adopted an outlook of gratitude daily? My observation is that our approach to life changes when we are more appreciative and less entitled. Complainers and grumblers, more often than not, view life through the eyes of entitlement. Self-preoccupation is their default. This lens makes it difficult to release gratitude when life’s irritants strike. Contrarily, appreciators, those who see value in life, stick with gratitude. They are gratitude locators, able to find reasons to be grateful because they take nothing for granted. They view each day as a gift. To them, gratitude is both a challenge, a choice, and a commitment.

The Gratitude Challenge

Are you willing to commit to a simple challenge? Each day, write or speak about something you are grateful for. Here is a simple template to use:

Look around: Who are the people in your life who encourage and build you? Don’t take them for granted, but express gratitude. This expression will have a boomerang effect on your life. The gratitude you release to others comes back to you in the form of increased optimism and stronger relationships. 

The gratitude you release to others comes back to you in the form of increased optimism and stronger relationships. 

Look within: What has shaped you this year and made you a better person? This realization through reflection helps to reduce and eliminate depressive feelings and gives your mind a much-needed powerwash, removing toxic thoughts and replacing them with healthy ones. This gratitude challenge will affect your soul. 

The gratitude you release to others comes back to you in the form of increased optimism and stronger relationships. 

Soul Expansion

Gratitude expands and energizes the soul. By harnessing the power of gratitude, you focus more on what you have than what you lack. Spending time on what you lack cultivates a scarcity mindset. It narrows your thinking and pulls your life to instant gratification instead of contentment. Through gratitude, you may discover the little things you have are more valuable than you thought. As author Robert Brault said, “Enjoy the little things for one day you may look back, and realize they were the big things.” This realization energizes your soul where discouragement attempts to cast a dark shadow. The choice and commitment to be grateful are beneficial to every facet of your life. 

Final Thought: Don’t hold back gratitude; release it by expressing it at every opportunity you get. Like the clams and oysters, coat your life with gratitude regardless of your current situation. Gratitude is not an event but a habit that yields dividends in your life. Possessing a gratitude mindset will transform your life. Will you take the gratitude challenge? 

Keep on Keeping on

My next blog post will be published on December 7th. Thank you for reading and for your feedback.