- Unrealized Purpose
- Posts
- Gratitude: An Antidote to Discontentment
Gratitude: An Antidote to Discontentment
Isaac Wooden & Dalton Howell
September 30, 2023
To the people obsessed with being 1% better everyday,
We’re taking a dive into gratitude, the practice of making things not about you.
What is it
The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
Gratitude is when you feel thankful for the good things in your life.
This could be things people often take for granted, like having a place to live, food, clean water, friends, and family.
Gratitude is taking a moment to reflect on how lucky you are when something good happens, no matter how big or small.
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others
So how can it help?
Sometimes we tend to focus on all the bad and negative around us.
It puts us in a state of feeling angry and sad most of the time.
Brian Tracy says, “The law of concentration states that whatever you dwell upon grows. The more you think about something, the more it becomes part of your reality.”
When we focus on the good and the possibilities in our life that’s all we end up seeing.
How to practice it
Take a few minutes to think about a few of the things you are grateful for:
Family
Friends
Church
Your accomplishments
Or a great time you had once
Often times good memories bring us back to a place of gratitude and happiness.
Don’t forget about the smaller things in life.
Realizing that the small things like birds chirping, the smell of the rain, the leaves flowing through the air, the smell of fresh cut grass or flowers, the small amount of heat on your back from the sun during a cold day.
It can be as simple as enjoying a piece of pie (which is one of Dalton’s favorite ways of bringing himself back to a place of gratitude).
All of these things we go through the day not paying attention to that are just given to us for free of no cost.
There is so much to be grateful for.
Acknowledge others
Expressing gratitude is important.
Life is too short, for us to not encourage and lift one another up by way of words.
Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.
Acknowledge that the creator and others owe you nothing.
If we don’t express our gratitude we are not going to stay grateful for very long.
When you speak your gratitude it shows others that you acknowledge the level of energy and effort they have given to you.
It also encourages healthy relationships with those around you.
On this newsletter we often talk about life being a two-way street.
Give and shall be given.
What are some of the things that you take for granted?
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
Until next week,
