Gratitude can turn common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” ~William Arthur Ward

 

Anxiety comes from our thoughts about things beyond our control. We can get anxious when we think about the future, what we don’t have, what we don’t want.. or What ultimately makes us happy

 

We are usually anxious about things that would happen or would not happen. But in being anxious about things beyond our control, we lose our peace in the moment. We also ignore all the things we have going for us when we choose to acknowledge what is not.

 

A few years ago, the worries you had are very different from the worries you have right now. Some blessings you prayed for, you have right now, but most times we spend too much time thinking about the bad, the negatives, and everything that does not go in our favor

I recently saw a video of a borehole installed in a remote village and you could see the joy and happiness on the faces of the villagers. The gratitude too. This does not mean they do not have troubles, but at that moment, they appreciated something new that they had (and not worrying about the millions of things they do not)

 

Contrasts that with what most of us have(and enjoy) without appreciating it. Like running water inside our houses, electricity, warmth, clothing, food, good health. These are all major blessings we take for “granted” because of something we do not currently have.

A few centuries ago, the fastest way to travel was by horse, and now that we have airplanes, people still get anxious and angry if the plane is running a few minutes late(no excuse for airlines). But in these situations where you cannot control “when the plane” moves.. Being grateful and looking at how this moment – flying in a tube without wings – is still a miracle you are experiencing.

 

But it can be easy to miss out on our blessings as we are better at looking at what we don’t have. You see it on social media, you see it on billboards, every ad is reminding you, but what you have? – rarely do you see an advert on how it is a miracle you breathe in and out with no apparatus, how you have survived a pandemic, how you still have YOU – the most important things that matter. That said. Let’s look at 3 simple ways you can keep track of your wins and be grateful instead of being anxious all day long

 

3 ways to cultivate gratitude

 

1. Keep a Journal with your wins: some refer to this as gratitude journaling. But I don’t care what you decide to call it. Once you know how it work, you can give it your own unique name but this is what goes inside.

 

This can be an 80 leave notebook where you daily write down 3 wins that happened for you. This is something you can do in 10 minutes or less.

 

Simple blessings like – a delicious meal, making it on time to work, something that made you happy, a phone call that improved your day, something you learn online that improved how you feel, anything you can call a win should go in. Just 3 a day.

 

We are constantly reminded of what we don’t have, by doing this – you have a list of things to be grateful for.

 

2. Create a List of possible blessings: It helps to write a list of all the things we are blessed with, things we usually take for granted, that in other parts of the world are not available to many people. – running water etc.

 

According to WHO, 12.9 percent of the world’s population (over 1 billion people) is undernourished and will probably go to bed hungry tonight, that is why as an organization we try to reach out and help feed as many people as we can with our collaboration with food clique.

 

You can see a few of our past work here.

 

Basic necessities and freedoms we take for granted are hard to get in other parts of the world. Women are disadvantaged in many places around the world but it is worse in certain places. Basic necessities like education and freedom to choose a spouse are not something that is universally enjoyed.

 

If you have any of this, it is a win.

 

3. Change of perception: How do you see your circumstances? Half-full or Half – empty. Instead of complaining about being single, see it as finding yourself and building yourself for the right one, instead of complaining about how little you have, be glad that you “HAVE” little.

 

Shifting your perception of things you don’t like is a way to practice gratitude and be less anxious.

 

When we catch ourselves complaining about work, we can see it as a blessing that we have one at all and do it with gratitude while in search of better opportunities.

 

We can also be grateful for small things, like good air(google china), the fact that we don’t need to be exposed to hailstorms or earthquake threats every day, like so many people in other corners of the world.

 

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with trying to achieve more or move ahead and get better out of life, but we can never be truly happy if we do not appreciate what we already have in the moment.

 

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. – Philippians 4:6