One of the most powerful lessons I have learnt in my journey is the importance of being grateful for ourselves, grateful for the people in our lives and grateful for the things we have. It is easy to focus on the negatives but sometimes requires more work to focus on the positives.
The negative mindset focuses on what it means for me, rather than stepping back and seeing the world as it is.
The attitude of gratitude is not about being overly optimistic and seeing everything through rose coloured glasses. It is critical that we are realistic about the world, but that we seek out what is positive.
We all have frustrations at work. In consulting we are constantly in a boom bust cycle, and we live from hand to mouth. This can be challenging. However on the positive side we get to learn, we are constantly growing personally, and there is a lot of satisfaction which comes from meeting and helping others.
We would all love to live somewhere else. In my case I would love a large block where I grew up near the foot of the Adelaide Hills. But I have nothing to complain about living not far from the sea, in a great community with great infrastructure.
We all wish we had made different decisions at points in our life. The fact is we didn’t. So showing regret and looking at the past does little for the future.
We all have times when we don’t see eye to eye with our partner. But if you have someone who loves you, and who you enjoy their company then that’s pretty good. Plus chances are they get just as frustrated with you as you do with them.
We would all love to be in the bright lights of New York City, but for those of us in Australia we generally have it ‘heaps’ good.
We all have things about ourselves we would like to change. But I am sure there are lots of qualities about ourselves that we can be very proud of.
We all at times get frustrated by our kids behaviour. But we love them dearly and they love us. It will be okay.
To me learning the attitude of gratitude was the most powerful thing I learnt. Appreciate yourself, appreciate others, and appreciate your life.