Feeling Grateful When Life is Hard
Gratitude can certainly cause us to feel happier and healthier, but what do you do when you feel hard-pressed to find things to be thankful for? It’s easy to feel grateful when life is going well, but it can take a lot more work to notice things you are thankful for when things are not going according to plan.
When you find yourself in a tough situation where it’s hard to give thanks, here are a few ways to start shifting your frame of mind.
Focus on What You Have
Do you spend all day thinking about the things that you wish you had? Visualization is a great tool to help you achieve higher levels of success, but ruminating on what you don’t have right now can set you back mentally and emotionally. Make it a priority to express gratitude for the things that you do have in your life right now, no matter how small they might seem.
Be grateful for a quick word of encouragement from your boss, for a roof over your head, and for a ten-minute break from work to clear your head and get some fresh air. Sometimes just shifting our focus helps us to emerge from a funk we’re in.
When you feel thankful for the small things, despite circumstances that might be undesirable, you will inevitably find many more things to be grateful for. Start small and work your way up.
Put Life in Perspective
If you spend some time reflecting on the trials you recently faced, you will find that you have far more things to be grateful for in the moment. Think about some of the most challenging times in your life. How do those times compare to your present circumstances? By reflecting on where you’ve been, and realizing you were able to get through those times, you can also be assured that you will get through this difficult time, too.
Be Productive
Sometimes we just need to keep moving – especially if we’re having a hard time being grateful.
When this is the case, take action to accomplish something on your to-do list. It doesn’t even have to be anything big – it could be as small as sending an email you’ve been meaning to send if you’re at work, or loading the dishwasher if you’re at home.
Accomplishing a task, however trivial, can provide something to be grateful for, and perhaps reframe your current reality.
Help Someone
One key way to increase your gratitude also coincides with a way to be a better person and to connect with others around you. Go out of your way to help someone, such as providing a meal for a family or calling someone you haven’t spoken with in a while. Helping others causes them to feel grateful, and helps us to feel good, too.
Pray, Meditate, or Reflect
Gratitude isn’t always the dominant emotion we’re feeling – especially when things aren’t going well. Sometimes, a moment of quiet reflection helps us to understand the lesson that’s intended for us, and what we can be grateful for even in that situation. This reflection can take the form of pure silence, engaging in meditation, or – if you’re a person of faith – praying about your current situation.
If you don’t want to sit quietly or pray, then try journaling, taking a quiet walk outside, or even doing a few simple yoga stretches to ground yourself in the present moment. Find ways to introduce more play into your life, too.
It’s hard to feel grateful when life is hard. Like a muscle, though, our ability to remain grateful can be strengthened over time. Start with some of these simple techniques, and strive to find peace, joy, and contentment – in all circumstances.
