Being Thankful Rather Than Ungrateful

Life is tough. That’s no secret. The way you look at life- that can be different for everyone. It’s indeed very easy to get caught up in the ups and downs in life, we just look at it as a roller coaster. What would happen, though, if all of us started looking at only the positives? That doesn’t mean ignore and turn away from the negatives of life. It simply means don’t dwell on them. Use them as tools of strength and prevail over them like a warrior. There are a million things you could list off every day why to be upset or angry at the world:

 

• I overslept.

• The dogs woke me up.

• It started raining on me while walking to class.

• My boyfriend/girlfriend dumped me.

• I lost my job.

• Someone close to me died.

 

I agree, all of those are unpleasant and upsetting events to happen. They’ve all happened to me. I’ll admit, at the time I wasn’t very optimistic or grateful for those things happening to me, but then I realized hating the world and being unsatisfied with life takes so much out of a person. We aren’t promised tomorrow. I think it’s time we start flipping the negatives into positives and seeing them more like this:

• I got more sleep than I thought I needed, but at least now I know tomorrow to try and wake up earlier so I don’t do it again.

• The dogs woke me up from barking, but now I get to watch the sunrise and enjoy a cup of coffee before I head to work/school.

• It started raining on me while walking to class, but thankfully being soaked made me cooler leaving because of the hot sun coming out of the clouds.

• My boyfriend/girlfriend dumped me, and even though I’m upset, at least it gives me more time to focus on my goals and being one step closer to the one I’ll spend the rest of my life with.

• I lost my job (for whatever reason), but now it gives me time to myself, my hobbies, my family and friends, and time to look for a more suitable job for me.

• Someone close to me died, but even though it hurts right now, I know I will learn how to move on while still celebrating their life. Plus, it will give me knowledge and wisdom on how to move on from this type of thing to help someone else out when they’re in this situation.

Learn to love the one life you have. Live by growing past the mistakes and tragedies, and gain knowledge and wisdom for your well-being as well as others. Use past devastation for the good of the future. Think of it as adding a new plate of armor to your body each time something unfortunate happens. I promise there is an upside to every situation. It might not always be visible, and we might not always have the right words at the time. However, we are alive and breathing! Be thankful for the roof over your head, the clothes on your back, the food in your stomach, the car you drive, the friends you laugh and cry with, the education you’ve gotten, etc. The list could go on and on! I highly recommend writing out the things you don’t like about your life or things that have gone wrong, and then write about the good things that bring a smile to your face and a warm feeling to your soul. My final thought I give to you is within a quote from Jean Baptiste Massieue that says, “Gratitude is the memory of the heart.”

• being thankful
• positivity