Tag Archives: gratitude quotes

The Power Of Gratitude – Not Just On Thanksgiving

pumpkin dessertIt’s Thanksgiving again, and most Americans’ thoughts turn to gratitude. Or at least they should. After all, it’s not just about turkey, pumpkin pie, and cranberries. Instead, we should remember to express appreciation for ALL the things we’re grateful for. And as a nice side effect, we’ll experience the power of gratitude.

The Importance Of Gratitude

And so, it’s time for my self help blog to turn dedicate another post to expressing gratitude and appreciation. Of course, right now, it’s the season for gratitude, and people talking about gratitude. Even Oprah writes about the Power of Gratitude, and one of her favorite Law of Attraction experts, Michael Losier, the author of “Law of Attraction.”

And Losier talks about how important it is that we’re grateful. So if you’re wondering why you should express your gratitude, just know that there are lots of reasons. Appreciation of what you have is important. Get more specifics further down on the page.

Meanwhile, you may wonder, what if you don’t have what you want? Or maybe I should put it a bit differently – what if there are things you really want that you don’t have (yet)? What do you do about gratitude then?

Sometimes, it can be a bit difficult to feel gratitude in that situation. You’ll think, well, once I get those things, THEN I’ll feel grateful. But it doesn’t work that way. You have to feel and express gratitude FIRST. And it’s not really that hard…

How To Be Grateful When You Don’t Have What You Want

So what DO you do when it’s hard to feel and/or express gratitude? Sure, I can asy, “Just look around you. You have LOTS of things to be grateful for.” And that’s probably true. But if you’re feeling frustrated, it might be challenging.

And so I’ve decided to introduce you to my online friend Wendy Betterini, a really major Expert on the Law of Attraction. Wendy has developed an exercise that will help! She asks you to go from room to room, starting on one side of each room and moving all around it, and write down in a notebook EVERYTHING that you have.

Chances are that your notebook will fill up before you’re halfway around the first room. You may say, Oh, I get it! You do have a lot, even if it doesn’t include everything you want.

Chances are also that you’re able to read this right now, which means you have your eye sight, yes, even if you need glasses to read this. And you’re probably sitting in a chair, which means you’re able to move around and you own a chair as well as a computer, plus a desk, and so on.

I think you get the idea. In fact, here’s a cool quote by a wise person from around 2,000 years ago:

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not,
but rejoices for those which he has.”
– Epictetus

How To Make The Most Of The Power Of Gratitude

The act of expressing gratitude is very powerful on many levels. It has benefits in the areas of health, both emotional and physical health, and it raises our vibration. It’s impossible to feel genuinely grateful and feel bad or depressed. And once we feel better, more things come into our lives which call for our gratitude.

One big key to making gratitude work is to express it. Don’t just feel grateful when someone does something nice for you. Tell them!

“Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.” -G.B. Stern

In addition to doing the exercise above, you can also create a very effective gratitude practice by keeping a gratitude journal. Place it on your night stand, and write in it every morning and/or evening. Just make it a point to list several things you’re grateful for in that moment, and contemplate them for a few minutes. Feel your appreciation. If you feel frustrated, just read through your previous entries. And then… add more.

Looking for the perfect gratitude journal? There’s a very cool gratitude journal I recently discovered… and I liked it so much that I wrote a review about it on Squidoo. You can find both my review and the journal here:

The Buddha Doodles Gratitude Journal

I hope you’ll enjoy it!

More Benefits Of Gratitude

Just in case you’re not yet convinced, let’s talk a bit more about the benefits of gratitude. Sure, it feels a bit odd to talk too much about the benefits of gratitude. After all, we shouldn’t be grateful in order to get things, but to express our appreciation for what we have.

Still, the importance lies in actually expressing your gratitude. Whatever makes you do it and starting a gratitude practice will help.

Also remember that it’s important to be grateful every day, not just on Thanksgiving. Yet Thanksgiving is a good time to remember the power of gratitude, and to express the appreciation of all you have to be thankful for, whether it’s your loved ones, your health (even if it’s not perfect), the great food, the fact that you’re here to enjoy it all. And lots more.

And you don’t even have to stop with the things you HAVE. Instead, there’s an interesting wrinkle… For maximum power, we should also express gratitude for the things we anticipate in our lives. It’s the principle of affirmative prayer, and it also is a power activator of the law of attraction.

So go ahead. Express your gratitude. Make that gratitude list, and appreciate everything on it. Then do more of it.

And have a very happy Thanksgiving too!

Elisabeth

P.S.: Want to find out more about (and learn more from) Wendy Betterini? Check out this really cool interview I did with her where she totally spilled the beans on how to make the Law of Attraction REALLY work for you!

CLICK HERE For More Info!

Happy Thanksgiving! Gratitude Quotes & Thoughts

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you living in the US, and a wonderful day to everyone else! And a few thoughts about Gratitude and why it’s so important. Plus some of my favorite Gratitude Quotes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Some people asked me during the last few days whether I celebrated Thanksgiving where I came from (Germany). And the thing is this…

Thanksgiving in the form celebrated in the US is a uniquely American thing. But giving thanks during harvest season is not.

In fact, when I grew up, there were all sorts of harvest festivals, which involved expressing gratitude for a good harvest: Erntedankfest – festival to give thanks for the harvest!

And I know they have them down under too – except they’re in spring, which is THEIR fall.

The Importance of Being Thankful

So no matter where you are, now is a good time for giving some thoughts to what you might be thankful for.

Don’t have much to be thankful for? Think again. If you can read this, you have plenty of reason to be thankful, for your eyesight, your health, your roof over your head, the food in your fridge, and the loved ones around you, or even those that might be a phone call away.

While I don’t want to think of expressing gratitude in a way that’s too utilitarian, i.e., too focused on the benefits it brings, it won’t hurt to be aware that being grateful is just plain good for you.

Not only is it good for your health, it’s good for reducing stress, and it raises your vibrations. Your brain cannot be upset and thankful at the same time, so focus on giving thanks and you feel better fast.

And feeling better in turn brings better things into your life.

Gratitude and Advanced Manifesting

In my last post, I wrote about Tara Springett’s book, Advanced Manifesting. Just scroll down to find it, or click on the “Last post” link at the beginning of this post.

Yes, she wrote quite a bit about gratitude. But she didn’t stop there. She had the ultimate of gratitude exercises…

Being grateful for the bad stuff. Or rather, the stuff you didn’t like. For when things didn’t go according to plan.

It’s a bit like Abraham-Hicks’s “positive aspects” exercise – no matter how much you dislike something or it rubs you the wrong way, find positive aspects about the situation or person or thing.

Expressing gratitude can be approached the same way: No matter how something is going against your wishes, find something about it that you can be grateful for.

Gratitude when things don’t go well…

I used to gripe a lot about how challenging my life was when I found/find myself in a financially tight spot. And yet, there’s always opportunity for gratitude.

Like one of my friends likes to say – these are growth opportunities. And I meet interesting people and come across valuable information I wouldn’t have found if things had been easier. I have learned new skills (and continue to learn new ones) and those new skills have opened up surprising opportunities.

So spend some time thinking about what good things might have come out of situations you weren’t very thankful for at the time.

And then express your gratitude.



Gratitude Quotes

Here are a few cool gratitude quotes I have come across over the last few days:

“Gratitude makes sense of our past,
brings peace for today
and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

– Melody Beattie

“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”
– Eric Hoffer

“Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.”
– Christiane Northrup

“Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.”
– Margaret Cousins

“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.”
– Brian Tracy

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”
– Epictetus

“Go to foreign countries and you will get to know the good things one possesses at home.”
– Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

And Another Gratitude Quote…

And then, here’s probably the most important one – the reminder that we need to EXPRESS our gratitude for it to bring real benefits:

“Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.”
-G.B. Stern

In keeping with Stern’s quote, be sure to tell your loved ones how much you appreciate them.

And I want to tell you how much I appreciate you for visiting me here and reading my musings.

Have a very happy Thanksgiving Day!

Elisabeth