If You Struggle with Gratitude, Read This

I can feel your sigh of frustration, “Oh boy, here’s another gratitude post telling me to be grateful when I feel like crap. Pass!” But wait! Don’t pass me up just yet. I completely understand how you feel. I have struggled with feeling gratitude for most of my life. Trying to feel grateful for your life when you aren't feeling good about it is the hardest, on top of all the guilty feelings of not being more grateful for what you do have! However, When I finally understood how to truly feel gratitude, it was almost effortless for me to be grateful every day.

Before I dive into this, though, you must understand something. This way of going about feeling gratitude is NOT the traditional way. If you want to feel genuine gratitude, you must be on the path of creating your best life. All right let’s jump right in!

1. Look at your life.

What does your life look like? Do you even recognize it, does it reflect who you truly are? Chances are, to a certain degree, it doesn’t. But don’t worry, this is your golden opportunity to change all that. Look at every area—relationships, money, occupation, health, your mindset—and write down where you are satisfied or unsatisfied.

2. How do you feel?

So, how satisfied were you with your overall life? Probably not as satisfied as you thought. Or you probably just skipped #1 and were like, “I’m not satisfied!” Either way is cool because it brought up your true feelings. Were you angry, sad, confused, lost… Whatever you felt, don’t beat yourself up or drop into a depression. It’s totally normal and OK to feel how you feel: It’s part of the process.

3. Let it go (the hardest and MOST important part!).

People don’t really feel gratitude because they are doing things that don't serve them, and it’s not helping their lives nor those around them. You. Must. Let. It. Go. “But, wait, you have to do what you don’t want to do in order to do what you want to do.” … No, no, and no… Well, there is some truth to that, but nowhere near what you’re thinking! The middle ground with this statement is this: Yes, you may have to do something you are not too happy about, BUT! (and this is a big but!) You DON’T MIND DOING IT. You don’t mind it because it’s a step in the right direction—the direction of your truest most awesome life! So, if you are doing something that sucks your life out like Imhotep does his victims, you must let it go.

4. Embrace the shift.

I know it can be extremely hard, and scary, to let go of something that is creating discontent in your life, especially if it’s a huge part of it! But, if you don’t let it go, it will slowly dim you from the inside out and most importantly, keep you from experiencing a life you truly feel gratitude towards.

I know the way I’m suggesting for you to feel gratitude feels like a challenge, but this is the only way that worked for me. Personally, I had struggled badly trying to feel grateful for what my job afforded me because I wasn’t satisfied with what I was doing. So the day I finally decided to let it go, I felt genuine gratitude for myself and my life.

You have a life to live and being grateful is an integral part of it. So why not have real gratitude? Why not change your life and allow gratitude to course through your body every day? Give it a try. While I can’t promise you that everything will be smooth sailing, I can guarantee that when you experience this real constant feeling of gratitude, your life will completely change for the better!

You are so worthy of a great life! Hope this helps!

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