Growing Through Life: How Gratitude Makes Us Thrive

December 20, 2022 | Posted at 12:30 pm | by Ivette (Follow User)

We are perfectly imperfect human beings living in a broken world. Fortunately, we can change the way we think and we can also change our attitude to live a healthier and more balanced life. Life is continually teaching us lessons, and we either learn from those lessons or simply ignore them. The choice is for us to make. Realizing that there are consequences for each of our choices can help us gain a better understanding of how live our life, “growing” through it or just “going” through it.

When we choose to grow through life, we allow ourselves to go from good to great to excellent—this is how we thrive. The process of growing through life is ongoing and the results of growing through life are rewarding. It’s not simple. We don’t embark on this journey because is simple, we do because we want to make a difference in our lives and in the life of others, too. Growing is painful. However, the benefits of growing are countless and priceless.

We thrive when we choose to grow from everything that we go through in life. Adopting an attitude of gratitude allows us to grow. When we are grateful, we rarely focus on the negative aspects of our lives.

“The process of growing through life is ongoing and the results of growing through life are rewarding.”

If we want to be successful at growing through life to thrive, we must keep learning and applying, applying and learning. Making mistakes along the way is okay. Failing is okay. Our mistakes and our failings don’t define us. We are defined by our ability to keep moving forward despite what we encounter in our journey of life.

Being GRATEFUL is a sign that we are growing through life.

It’s easier to complain for the things that we don’t have than to be grateful for everything we have. Acknowledging that we don’t need to have all we “want”and learning to be okay with it is important because our “wants” come after our “needs.”

We can find true satisfaction when we focus on being grateful for what we have, not on what others have or on what we are lacking.

There will always be people who have more than us, and also people who have less than us. We must remember that what may be significant to us may be insignificant to others, and it’s okay. We are living for ourselves, not for anyone else. However, our lifestyle can greatly influence those who are close to us. Remember, growing through life is a process, we go from good to great to excellent.

We are being grateful when we find ourselves doing some of the following things:

  • Speaking more positively and complaining less and less.
  • Appreciating things based on their value, not on their price.
  • Accepting and appreciating ourselves for who we are.
  • Accepting and appreciating people for who they are.
  • Being at ease about who we are and where we are at.
  • Encouraging those who are down and feel stuck.
  • Listening to others and spending quality time with them.
  • Being thankful for our health, our time, our family and friends, our work, and so on.
  • Smiling more than frowning.
  • Forgiving ourselves and forgiving others.
  • Counting our blessings more than our misfortunes.
  • Sharing our time, knowledge, and available resources with people who need it.
  • Being kind with our words and with our actions.
  • Honoring our commitments and promises.

We need to be intentional about being grateful. Gratitude isn’t about taking things for granted. Everything in life is a process. It takes time and effort. While some people are naturally grateful, most of us need to work at it, and it’s totally okay.

Gratitude is a beautiful attitude that makes us more human and more connected to who we really are and to others, too. Gratitude is not a competition. We choose to be grateful because we know that gratitude helps us go from good to great to excellent.

Gratitude is an attitude of the heart that the mind can learn. It’s amazing to experience that when we are grateful, our perspective and our world positively change.

“Gratitude is a beautiful attitude that makes us more human and more connected to who we really are and to others, too.”

Please join the conversation by sharing your thoughts about how gratitude has helped you grow through life. Thank You! @IvetteKCM