GRATITUDE- THE KEY TO A REWARDING LIFE

I used to complain about everything. I was always focused on the negative and this was ruining many aspects of my life.

Then I got a partner whose peaceful nature and positive outlook on life are so infectious that they rubbed off on me. Whenever I was crying and tossing and turning in bed, he would look at me and point out calmly the positive side of whatever I would be grumbling about.

He taught me that no matter how bad things are, there is always a flickering light at the end of the tunnel, and when you focus on that, it will guide you towards the end of the tunnel.

When our son was sickly and was diagnosed with a heart condition, I almost cried my heart out. Newbold held me and kept calm. Later he told me the story of an old woman that was at the same hospital as us who clearly had no coin on her but had been told by the doctors that her heart condition needed an operation from overseas. He then added that no matter how bad our situation looked at that moment, we ought to be grateful that at least, we could afford to pay for the operation and that our son’s heart condition would be fixed at the same hospital.

I started applying this lesson to many aspects of my life and things turned around for the better. First my marriage: I started focusing on my husband’s good qualities and intentionally appreciating him for those and our marriage improved tremendously. Then I applied it to work: I chose to focus on the great things my team does and I intentionally and genuinely appreciate them. This has promoted team cohesion, trust and improved my relationship with my team. Gratitude, I learnt, is a powerful tool for repairing emotional bonds.

And as we cultivate appreciation for what is around us, we should also be thankful for what’s inside of us. We should delight in our own unique talents and strengths. We can start by thanking the Lord every day for getting out of bed and making it through the day. We can be grateful that God has given us a heart, a mind, and the wisdom to know how to live with kindness and compassion.

Today, having learnt to be grateful, I am a source of encouragement to many. Bad situations come, and I cannot always do anything about it but they never put me down because I chose to be grateful.

The goal is not to ignore difficulties, but to approach those difficulties with a positive attitude.

Gratitude soothes our turbulent minds by connecting us with the wonderfully ordinary things, great and small, that we might otherwise have taken for granted.