How To Have An “Attitude Of Gratitude”.

We live in the Information Age, also known as the digital age. There’s an overload of information constantly available at the click of a button. We watch videos, movies and shows online. We are online for work and socially. We’re connected to devices more than ever before. With social media especially, we are endlessly scrolling in fear of FOMO or trying to keep up with the latest trend, celebrity news, or trying to understand the latest hashtag. It doesn’t help that social media is addictive. There is a perfect world in little squares on our screens courtesy of influencers, ads, celebrities or family and friends sharing only “Instagram worthy” shots. It can make anyone feel totally lost or irrelevant. You might start questioning if your vacation was LIT enough or if you revolved and recycled your wardrobe too much on your feed. In other words, you might find yourself constantly comparing your life to people and images you see online. Wondering if you’re enough. It may seem ridiculous but studies show that spending a lot of time on social media can affect your mental health, confidence and mood. This all takes us away from the bigger picture— our actual lives in reality not just the one online. One that is unique and special because it is ours. I find if you try these 3 practices you can start to appreciate your reality way more than the life you’re trying to live online. Here are three easy ways to start off an attitude of gratitude.

Count your blessings.

One of my favorite practices I have integrated into my daily routine is making a list of 5 things I am grateful for every morning. By doing this I find that my mind is more focused on the good in my life and less on the bad. By listing things I am grateful for, it allowed me to see that I already have what I need in life and a lot of my suffering was coming from what I thought I needed rather than what I already have. I have to give credit to the author of The Magic, Rhonda Byrne, for this tip.

2. While your pain is valid, someone is begging for your life.

Did you wake up in a bed? Did you have running water to brush your teeth? Did you have a toilet to use and remove your waste? While in America this is a common thing it is not the same for the rest of the world. Some times just taking stock of all the things you do have can help ground you.

3. Take a moment to look at all the things you have overcome.

I think we all tend to forget how many things we have accomplished in our lives so far, a lot of which were hard or difficult. Did you graduate from high school? College? Did you ever get a promotion that you worked hard for? Did you go to the gym everyday like you said? All these little things or small steps make a big difference. We have a tendency to forget that small steps lead to leaps and bounds. Every once in a while remind yourself of how much you have overcome and accomplished. You will find the courage and motivation to keep going. Get in the habit of listing your accomplishments and seeing your failures as lessons.

Being positive and grateful is not always easy, in fact it’s hard and takes a lot of practice. However, living in the age of social media makes it more important than ever before. Stop comparing your life to the ones online and start finding small ways to practice being grateful and thankful for what you have and how far you have made it even if you’re not where you want to be yet.

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