There a short cut to having more in our lives. It doesn’t cost anything and anyone can do it.

But many of us don’t.

It’s called gratitude.

No situation is too dire to not be able to find something to be thankful for. Even if it is only the fact that you are able to read this post (or to write it).

Gratitude can sound so trite. I know. For those of us who consider ourselves achievers, it can sometimes feel like an excuse for slacking on our goals.

Looking at gratitude through a difference lens however, can change our minds.

If we want to increase something, we must be familiar with it in the first place. Right? You can’t experience more love or have more money without having an awareness of how it gives you pleasure.

To be grounded in reality, we can’t expect to have what we want magically appear because we wished for it. We understand that achieving takes effort on our part. We must be responsible for creating the conditions and making the choices that lead us in the direction we want.

Gratitude is nothing other than purposeful focus on what gives us pleasure or is working well. It is the intentional choice to uncover the benefit in everything and anything. The more the better. Gratitude is a magnifying glass that amplifies the advantages we have right now.

When we focus on what is working, pleasurable or beneficial to us, we are inspired to do more that will produce more of the same. Even if we can only appreciate the lesson learned in a moment of disappointment, the lesson becomes our saving grace from ever having to endure the pain of that mistake again.

Gratitude is a magnet for more. It is an empowering habit to cultivate.

There is nothing weak or lazy about appreciation. It is the key to staying motivated especially when we reach periods of plateau or missed expectations.

It is so easy to be grateful when we see real progress in our lives towards what we want. Or when we suddenly become aware of how we have changed for the better or how we are living with more authenticity and meaning.

But the days we have missed the mark and have yet again, maybe for the umpteenth time made the same stupid mistake – these are the moments that the gratitude habit can prevent a backslide.

Gratitude is a function of an expanded awareness. When we are present to our thoughts and feelings, rather than operating on autopilot, we have the ability to shift our perceptions when needed towards what is beneficial in any situation. Without this awareness, we can easily succumb to dis-empowering beliefs rooted in victim hood, scarcity and unworthiness.

Gratitude is more than a choice; it is a way of living that makes having more of what we want – more attainable.

Today is a day to have more by being thankful for what already is.

Jo-Aynne

Today’s action item-Take a few minutes and write down what is working in your life today. Now think about what isn’t working so well. Find a benefit in it and write that down too. What we focus on, increases. Make sure you keep your eye on what is good and bountiful. Don’t worry about what isn’t so good. It will make itself known without your help. Build the habit of gratitude.