In all things express gratitude!
“The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now. And the more grateful you are, the more you get.” — Oprah Winfrey
Tag Archives: Gratitude
Gratitude
“Integrate gratitude into your daily life.”
It’s essential to find gratitude every day.
Gratitude means thanks and appreciation for all things. It’s the state of feeling grateful — a conscious, positive emotion one can express when feeling especially thankful for something, whether intangible or tangible.
Robert Emmons, in a Greater Good essay, “Why Gratitude Is Good”, argues that gratitude has two key components:
- “First, it’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we’ve received.”
- Second, people should “recognize that the sources of this goodness are outside of ourselves. … We acknowledge that other people—or even higher powers, if you’re of a spiritual mindset—gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives.”
“Gratitude is “an affirmation of goodness and a recognition that this goodness is sourced outside the self.” This doesn’t mean that life is perfect and peaceful, but when you look at life as a whole, gratitude encourages you to identify some amount of goodness and joy in your life.” Dr. Robert Emmons
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Gratitude Research
Gratitude is “an affirmation of goodness and a recognition that this goodness is sourced outside the self.” This doesn’t mean that life is perfect and peaceful, but when you look at life as a whole, gratitude encourages you to identify some amount of goodness and joy in your life. Dr. Robert Emmons
Research indicates that gratitude can lower blood pressure, improve immune function, reduce cardiac inflammation, increase happiness, improve relationships, and decrease depression.
Dr. Robert Emmons, professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, researcher, and author of the book Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier, suggests that you “integrate gratitude into your daily life, rather than make it something you need to add to an already busy day”.
He recommends that you simply make it a point to notice opportunities that you can be thankful for and practice gratitude regularly.
Practicing gratitude can also make you better equipped to handle the difficulties of life that inevitably arise. In fact, according to Emmons, it’s an essential part of the process of healing from trauma. Even despair can be mitigated by the experience of appreciation for the good, however slight it might be.
Many survivors of the Holocaust, when asked to tell their stories, remember most strongly the feelings of gratitude for food, shelter, or clothing that was offered to them. This sense of thankfulness for the small blessings helped them maintain their humanity despite experiencing a horrific tragedy.
Additionally, many people with life-threatening illnesses also report decreased distress and increased positive emotions when they practice gratitude.
10 tips to fit gratitude in your life
Here are ten ways to become a more thankful person, according to Dr. Emmons:
- Every day, say aloud three good things that happened. It’s also extremely powerful to express gratitude aloud when you’re alone.
- Keep a gratitude journal. Jot down the small things from your day that mattered to you. If you’re having a particularly rough day, you can look back through the pages of accumulated blessings in your life.
- Say thanks to your partner. Couples who express gratitude toward one another set up a powerful feedback loop of intimacy and trust, where both partners feel as if their needs are being met.
- Cool a hot temper with a quick gratitude inventory. One of the quickest ways to dispel the energy of a stormy mood is to focus your attention on what’s good. So when you’re about to lash out at someone, take a moment to do a quick inventory of five things you’re thankful for in the moment. It will help you relax and avoid saying something you’ll later regret.
- Thank yourself. Gratitude doesn’t always need to be focused on what other people have done for you! Make sure you give yourself a thank-you for the healthy habits you’ve cultivated in your own life.
- Use technology to send three gratitude messages a week. Harness the power of this technology to send out some good vibes, such as a text or Facebook comment, to tell your friends why you appreciate them.
- Savor the good moments. If you notice you’re feeling happy, stop what you’re doing and pay attention for a few minutes. Notice exactly how you feel, including the sensations in your body and the thoughts you’re having. Later, when you’re trying to inspire gratitude, you can remember this moment and experience the benefits all over again.
- Check for silver linings. Even the most difficult life challenges come with some benefit—you just have to look to find them. Making a mistake teaches you a lesson. When things feel hard, ask yourself: What’s good here?
- Look outward, not inward. Robert Emmons says people are more likely to feel grateful when they put their focus on others, rather than getting caught up in their own inner narratives about how things should have gone. Empathy for others can trigger a sense of gratitude, and people who have an outward focus tend to experience stronger benefits.
- Change your perspective. If you struggle to come up with something to feel grateful for, put yourself in the shoes of someone who is experiencing misfortunes greater than your own. It will inspire gratitude for your own healthy body and circumstances, which you may have taken for granted otherwise.
It is vitally important to your health and overall emotional well being to cultivate a sense of gratitude in your life. Research confirms that gratitude effectively increases happiness and reduces depression.
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Your Powerful Thoughts and Mind
“You will attract to you…the very things, or the very station in life, that you create in your thoughts.” —Napoleon Hill
The most powerful tool available to you is your mind and you can attract the very things you create in your thoughts and mind, writes Napoleon Hill, America’s most followed motivational author about the principles of success. “Your thoughts singularly determine your personal outcomes in life, as well as your ability to enjoy the journey,” he opines.
In order to harness your thoughts to create the life you desire, you simply need to utilize the mental resources already within your possession, Hill concluded. You must cultivate a thorough understanding of the workings of the mind and the manner in which thoughts may be transformed into their physical counterparts.
In order to create positive change in your life, you must learn to harness the power of your thoughts. In particular, you must discover how to:
- Magnetize your thought impulses with desire
- Refine your thoughts with definiteness of purpose
- Control and direct your emotions to productive ends
- Support your goals with a compelling network of motives
- Create positive thought habits through concentration and repetition
- Protect your mind from negative external influences
The more you practice, the greater control you will have over your thoughts and emotions, which will enable you to enjoy more success in the pursuit of your definite major purpose.
Essentially, Dr. Hill wrote that there are no limitations to the mind conditioned for success and achievement.
“Try as hard as you wish and you cannot be happy unless you BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
Work with all the strength at your command and you cannot accumulate more than barely enough to live on unless you BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
The one and only person in all this world through whose efforts you can be supremely happy under all circumstances, and, through whose labor you can accumulate all the material wealth that you can use legitimately, is YOURSELF!” —Napoleon Hill
By understanding and embracing the power of thought and your mind, you will be able to operate at a higher plane of thought and action, better recognizing opportunities, gaining influence, and instilling this critical quality in others.
According to Napoleon Hill (Law of Success), self-confidence is…
- the banishment of fear
- the acquisition of mental courage
- a safeguard from failure and defeat
- the foundation for high achievement
- the secret to attracting opportunities
- the impetus for taking action on your dreams
- the crucial ingredient for healthy relationships
- the key to personal freedom and joy
When you believe in your ability to succeed…you completely transform your life.
“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” ~ Norman Vincent Peale
Most people take their joys and blessings for granted. Instead of focusing on their joys and blessings, they rather focus on what they do not have; or, constantly think and complain about their problems and troubles.
But, changing your focus and thoughts from problems to joy, and from what you don’t have to expressing gratitude for your many life blessings will change your life. And, a great way to change your thoughts is to appreciate and enjoy what you already have.
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” ~ Melody Beattie
Focus on changing your thoughts and focus instead of changing the world and environment around you
It is impossible to change the world or environment around you. The best and wisest course of action is to change yourself or at least change your thoughts and attitude towards the people or situations you do not like.
“Never underestimate your power to change yourself; never overestimate your power to change others.” ~ Wayne Dyer
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Ten Critical Investing Lessons
Investing in assets is a great way to grow your money or to put your capital to work.
If there’s any lessons investors relearned in 2022, when investing in stocks, bonds, derivatives and real estate, it’s that the markets will be unpredictable, defy logic and offer unexpected surprises.
Sometimes investors can correctly anticipate what’s coming based on our past investing experience and macro economic information. Other times, investors are reminded no matter what they thought they knew, the market always knows better.
For these reasons, it’s important to remember you can always become a better, more patient and disciplined investor, whether you’re learning lessons the hard way, reminded of lessons you previously learned, but forgot, or learning from the good or bad experiences of others.
Here are 10 Critical investing lessons you wish you could teach your younger, novice self:
1) Personal finances first – Master and manage your personal finances first and foremost. Dealing with volatility is never easy, but it’s so much easier when your personal finances are rock-solid (no bad or debilitating debt, positive cash flow and net worth, emergency fund established). Know and strengthen your personal balance and cash flow statements. And, always have some cash on hand to take advantage of market dips and pullbacks.
2) Expect to be wrong often when investing – You’re going to be wrong when investing. You’re going to be wrong a lot. Your goal isn’t to bat 1.000 (that’s impossible). Your goal is to increase your odds of success. Even the best investors are wrong approximately 2 out of 5 times.
3) Sell slow – Don’t be in a rush to sell – It’s tempting to book a profit quickly or sell when you get scared. One investor sold MSFT at $24. Current price: $268. Selling a mega-winner early is the most expensive investing mistake you can or will make. And, don’t forget about taxes when you earn income or sell assets. Any income (or profit) you earn from selling assets is taxable. Before you sell any appreciated asset or take any income, make sure you have enough money for the taxes so that your gains will not be wiped out by taxes alone.
4) Watch the business – Watch the business, not the stock. The two are not linked at all in the short-term. But are 100% linked in the long-term. Always remember, you’re buying a piece of a business, do understand the business and how that business generates cash flow.
5) Buy quality – Capital is precious. Making money and putting money to work for you are hard. Saving it and growing it are harder. Buy the highest-quality investments you can find. Avoid everything else. When you focus on buying quality, opportunities can be found in any market whether it be up (bull) or down (bear). Thus, stick to your long-term plan of buying quality companies every month and forget about how everybody else is performing.
6) Add to winners, not losers – Add more capital to your winners, not your losers. “Winners” means the business is executing. “Losers” means the business isn’t. Add to the best companies you can find at better and better value points.
7) Patience above all – Your biggest edge and investing super power is patience. Don’t waste it. Compounding over the long term is the greatest power of investing. Your holding period for an investment asset should be measured is in decades, not days.
8) Do nothing is usually correct – “Do nothing” (being a long term investor) sounds easy, until you start investing your capital. Investing should be more like watching paint dry than a Las Vegas casino. More often than not, it’s the correct thing to do. Ninety-nine percent of good investing is doing nothing. It’s essential to ignore the noise and the hysteria of Mr. Market. Never Let Short-Term Volatility Dictate Your Long-Term Investment Decisions.
9) Learn valuation – Know what valuation metrics matter and when they matter. P/E Ratio is great, but it’s not universally applicable, and it only works when a company is in mature (stage 4). Consider ROIC, P/FCF, and P/Sales. Remember: Every investment is the present value of all future cash flow.
10) Network with others – Connect with other trusted long-term investors and experts. A good community is worth its weight in gold. Especially when bear markets appear.
Final thought: Have a plan – A financial plan is paramount to your financial success. During periods of volatility, you often hear that investors should “stay the course”, but there is not a course to stay without having a comprehensive financial plan.
The plan should be based upon your goals, values, purpose and dreams for the future, short and long term. It is a roadmap for your financial future and it should provide a guide for how you invest. The plan should also address other areas such as retirement planning, estate planning, risk management, asset allocation review, and cash flow planning.
In all things, be grateful! Appreciate and be grateful for all aspects for your current life and the abundance of opportunities. Gratitude influences your state of mind, your behavior, your relationships and your perspective on the world.
Roman philosopher Cicero said that, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues but the parent of all the others.”
Source: Brian Feroldi, 10 Critical Investing Lessons, Twitter, June 25, 2022.
Growing Your Gratitude
“The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now. And the more grateful you are, the more you get.” — Oprah Winfrey
By cultivating a life of gratitude, you will be able to feel joy no matter what your circumstances are. As dark as things might seem, if you can dig deep and find something to be grateful for, your whole attitude can change.
According to an article in Psychology Today, “Scientists say that these techniques (focusing on gratitude) shift our thinking from negative outcomes to positive ones, elicit a surge of feel good hormones like dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, and build enduring personal connections.”
Being grateful shouldn’t be reserved for those times when it’s easy to be grateful, either. Gratitude promotes life. It’s optimistic. Practical. It takes courage and brains to be grateful.
Gratitude clears the way for positive choice and change. It motivates and moves you into a higher place so you feel better. Hopeful. Strong.
When you appreciate things you’re kinder. Gratitude boosts you physically, mentally and emotionally.
Gratitude helps you build wealth
Nourishing yourself with gratitude makes you feel stronger, more alert and alive. It builds up and strengthens your entire body, mind and spirit.
Six strategic steps to fill up your gratitude account:
- Call it “intentional gratitude” or “conscious appreciation” but build a new habit of expressing gratitude frequently. It will make you feel fortunate, powerful and kind.
- Create a specific daily mantra for yourself — a prayer, wish, vow or commitment —
‘I am grateful for_______________’. Have it in your mind. Say it to people. Write it in notes and emails. - “Thank you” takes one second to say. Consciously look to express it and do good things often. Don’t miss an opportunity to be grateful.
- Start a Daily Gratitude Journal – Write 3 things you’re grateful for every night before bed.
- How does gratitude live in the world? Look for examples in music, art, literature, daily life, history, people you see and know.
- Acknowledge negativity and counter it with genuine appreciation and thanks.
“Gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships…regardless of the inherent or current level of someone’s gratitude, it’s a quality that individuals can successfully cultivate further.”
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Major Definite Purpose
“A man without a definite major purpose is as helpless as a ship without a compass.” – Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill emphasized in his book “Think and Grow Rich” that the first step of learning how to “Think and Grow Rich” is figuring out what you desire more than anything else – and then coming up with a plan to act on it.
Hill puts a great importance on individuals deciding on a definite major purpose. Yet, it’s not unheard of for people to get stuck on this first step.
In fact, the #1 question that most ask is: “How do I determine what my definite major purpose is? I just don’t know what it is I want to do!”
It is said widely that ninety-five percent of the people of the world drift through life aimlessly without definite purposes for their lives.
Psychological reason for having a definite purpose in life implies that one’s actions are determined by the thoughts of one’s mind. Therefore, if you deliberately hold your definite purpose in your mind with the expectation of it realization, this will permeate your subconscious mind to the point where it will automatically influence the actions needed to achieve your definite purpose.
Once you determine your definite purpose, make sure that it is well-defined. You must write it down and place it where you can see it as soon as you open your eyes in the morning and the last thing that you see before you close your eyes at night.
What is your Life’s Mission? What is the number one purpose in your life? Why are you here? What are the most important accomplishments you desire? And what are you willing to give in return for them?
What one great thing would you dare to dream if you knew you could not fail, asks Brian Tracy?
“If you could be absolutely guaranteed of successfully achieving any goal, large or small, short term or long term, what one goal would it be? Whatever you answer to this question, if you can write it down, you can probably achieve it. From then on, the only question you should ask is, ‘How?’ The only real limit is how badly you want it and how long you are willing to work toward it.” Brian Tracy
Once you know your bigger purpose, it’s easier to figure out your next actions. And, when you know your bigger purpose, it can help you funnel your time, talent, energy, and effort into something that really matters to you.
Definite Purpose:
If you cannot see the end of the journey, you cannot plot the course to that destination.
Thus, it’s essential to determine “The one goal that is most important to you at the moment. It is usually the one goal that will help you to achieve more of your other goals than anything else you can accomplish,” Tracy writes. In his, “6 Attributes of Your Major Definite Purpose,” Tracy writes:
- Your major definite purpose must be something that you personally really want, excites you and makes you happy.
- Your major definite purpose must be clear and specific. You must be able to define it in words and must be able to write it down.
- Your major definite purpose must be measurable and quantifiable.
- Your major definite purpose must be both believable and achievable.
- Your major definite purpose should have a reasonable probability of success.
- Your major definite purpose must be in harmony with your other goals and aligned with your values.
“Decide now what you desire from life and what you have to give in return.”
To achieve success, you have know exactly what you want and what you are willing to give-up in return….success and achievement are a two-way street.
References:
- https://sourcesofinsight.com/major-definite-purpose/
- https://www.mavericonsulting.com/news/2018/12/14/what-is-definiteness-of-purpose-and-why-is-it-so-importantnbsp
- https://thinkandgrowrichinstitute.com/definite-major-purpose/
Since 1937, over 120 million copies of Think & Grow Rich have been sold, and it’s the #1 book most people who have successfully built wealth credit with their success.
The Present and In All Things Be Grateful
“A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future.” –Albert Einstein
The present is also the only place where happiness and peace can be experienced. Sadly though, the past and future are where many people choose to live their lives.
Equally important is that whatever happens in the now, there is always a choice in how to respond.
How you decide respond to what happens to you will be the ultimate deciding factor as to the quality of success, peace and happiness you will have in life.
Be Grateful For What You Have Now
Part of living in the present moment is taking the time to be grateful for what you have now (not in the past or in the future). If you are constantly focused on things you don’t have, you aren’t taking the time to appreciate what you have right now at this moment.
One way to practice gratitude is to write a list of things you are grateful for and review that list on a daily basis. Try to write at least three things you are grateful for in your life right now.
Alternatively, you can write out as many things as you can think that you’re grateful for.
In short, in all things be grateful.
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Gratitude and Building Wealth
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey
Gratitude is the secret to building wealth! Why? Because gratitude turns what you have into enough. This is what makes gratitude a foundational element to wealth building. Gratitude allows you to find joy in what you already have. Keeping up with the Jones is the silent stealer of wealth. Comparison is the thief of joy.
Gratitude, the practice of appreciating all that the stuff you currently own, is an essential factor in building wealth over the long term. For example,
Gratitude allows you to appreciate and focus on the assets you already own.
“Gratitude in advance is the most powerful creative force in the universe. Most people do not know this, yet it is true. Expressing thankfulness in advance is the way of all Masters. So do not wait for a thing to happen and then give thanks. Give thanks before it happens, and watch energies swirl! To thank God before something occurs is an act of extraordinary faith. And that, of course, is where the power comes from.” — Neale Donald Walsch
The way to your best life is owning every moment and staking a claim to the here and now, according to Oprah Winfrey. “I live in the space of thankfulness — and for that, I have been rewarded a million times over. I started out giving thanks for small things, and the more thankful I became, the more my bounty increased. That’s because — for sure — what you focus on expands. When you focus on the goodness in life, you create more of it.”
Oprah says when she started keeping a gratitude journal more than 2 decades ago, it was one of the most important things she’s done. The daily practice of writing down five things to be grateful for balanced her life in subtle and inspiring ways. “It sounds simple,” Oprah says, “but when you go through the day staying conscious about what you put on your gratitude list, it shifts the lens through which you see the world.”
The practice of gratitude begins with being grateful for all the things you currently have – family, friends, experiences, and assets. Gratitude is focusing on all that you have and being thankful.
Wealth is much more than material things and owning assets. It is the presence of having a life filled with happiness in being, doing, and having what you want in life.
All too often, you fail to recognize your accomplishment because you are too busy moving onto the next task on your agenda. Yet, much of your success has to do with the people around you who have helped you focus on what’s important and helped you reach your goals.
Always remember, success, like wealth building, is a journey.
Building Wealth Takes Time
Some people are reluctant to make a wealth-building plan because they don’t want to wait 10 years. They would rather enjoy their money now.
The folly with this type of thinking is that most of us are going to be alive in 10 years. The question is whether or not you will be better off 10 years from now than you are today. Where you are right now is the sum total of the decisions you have made in the past. Practicing gratitude now can line you up for success and wealth building in the future.
Measure and focus on what you want more of. What you focus on expands.
You may think of money and wealth when you hear of measuring what you want more of, however; the same holds true for expressing gratitude. Make a list of things you are grateful for or write out what you are grateful for in a journal.
Complaining, blaming, or venting puts your focus on the negative things in life. You may wonder why some people seem more abundant than others.
To build wealth, it’s best to follow the two strategies that have the highest chances of success. And that is to practice gratitude, and to get into the habit of saving and investing early and to keep it up.
Gratitude is the key to building wealth
You might think building wealth is all about money, but it’s also very much about mindset. If you want to cultivate a money mindset that helps you build wealth, gratitude is a key component. Because gratitude can help shift your mindset from scarcity to abundance, help you spend less, and feel better.
There is so much abundance in front of you if you choose to see it. The more you intentionally work to change your mindset, the easier it will become to see the abundance in life.
Actively practicing gratitude helps you realize how much you have to be grateful for right now instead of focusing on what’s missing.
A scarcity mindset focuses on what’s missing and always wants more. It feels like there is never enough. This mindset can be harmful to your financial health because you can make poor decisions out of fear.
When you are in an abundance mindset, you realize your opportunities are limitless. You believe there’s never enough, instead you think there is always more than enough. Focusing on abundance can help you attract more money and have a healthier money mindset.
Gratitude can help build that abundance muscle. Let’s say that you have a studio apartment but you dream of having your own 2-bedroom house. You don’t have the car you want now but imagine getting a Tesla.
When you focus on gratitude, you focus on the fact that you have a roof over your head, that you’re healthy, and that your car still works instead of focusing on the fact that you don’t have a 2-bedroom house or Tesla yet.
When you focus on gratitude and appreciate what you have now, you start to realize that you need even less than you thought. In today’s culture, we are conditioned to want more, to seek bigger and better, which of course affects our spending.
Being content with what you have now can lead to less spending because you realize you have everything you need. That doesn’t mean that you can’t strive for more. It means that you can truly enjoy the journey rather than feel the emptiness of what’s missing.
When you acknowledge and are grateful for whatever you have, it allows more to be drawn to you and changes the way you experience life. The more grateful you are, the more wealth that you have.
“Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.” — Christiane Northrup
References:
- https://debrakasowski.com/2014/02/22/what-does-gratitude-have-to-do-with-wealth-building/
- https://www.goalcast.com/7-oprah-winfrey-quotes-to-charge-your-day-with-gratitude/
- https://www.oprah.com/own-podcasts/oprah-winfrey-grace-and-gratitude
- https://www.newretirement.com/retirement/keys-to-building-wealth-after-50/
- https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-become-wealthy-356376
- https://grow.acorns.com/self-made-millionaire-money-habits/
In All Things Be Grateful
God is good…All the time.
God is good in every situation and every circumstance, not just in those situations we view as good or favorable. He is with us even during challenging times and problems.
We don’t have to like everything that enters our lives, but we can be grateful for the fact Jesus is with us in whatever we are going through.
Thomas Edison once said that “I’ve never made a mistake. I’ve only learned from experience.”
“We haven’t failed. We now know a thousand things that won’t work, so we are much closer to finding what will.” ~ Thomas Edison
In all things be grateful
Expressing gratitude is an essential skill everyone needs to learn and practice to achieve success and to learn and grow.
Research shows that it impossible to be both fearful and grateful simultaneously. Moreover, it’s possible to worry and to be anxious, and be grateful.
You should be grateful for the multitude of blessings you experience in your life daily. You should as well be grateful for life’s problems and challenges; and view problems and challenges for what they are, opportunities to learn, grow and improve.
So always be grateful and always remember and embrace the adage, in life, there are either successes or learning opportunities.
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