Not Feeling the Gratitude? Shift Your Focus
Guest post by Lori Saitz, the Founder and Chief Executive Rabbit of Zen Rabbit Baking Company, which makes the world famous Gratitude Cookie™. The Gratitude Cookie™ is perfect for showing appreciation for valued relationships, whether business or personal. To sign up for F.R.E.E. “Gratuities-Tips on Bringing More Joy to Your Life” and learn more about The Gratitude Cookie™, visit www.GratitudeCookie.com.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanjoselibrary/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
You’ve likely heard about all the benefits of being grateful. As someone who’s business is based on the concept of gratitude, I sheepishly admit that occasionally my attempts to be more grateful for all the situations and circumstances in my life fall short.
Then, while I am struggling with being grateful for all the amazingly good things I have in my life, I’ll add in some beating myself up for not being more appreciative of them. Intellectually, I look around and see I live a beautiful life. I have family and friends who love me so much. I have food to eat, a bed to sleep on and a strong, healthy body. I have most all the “toys” a 21st century human could want. And I ask, what is wrong with me? Have you ever been here?
Recently, I started to think that one of the reasons I’m not feeling more grateful right now is because I’m too focused on myself. I used to volunteer my time to teach illiterate adults how to read, a job that is both very challenging and rewarding. I also used to lead workshops to teach other people to be adult literacy tutors. Before that I spent time every week at a children’s shelter, playing with and feeding babies who had been taken by the state from parents who were not able to care for them.
But shortly after I started my own company, I dropped the volunteer activities to devote all my time and energy to the business. The plan was to donate a portion of profits to literacy and other organizations, so I would still be giving back. Now six years later, I’m thinking I need to get back to some hands-on time for those volunteer activities.
When you’re involved in helping someone else through his or her challenges, you’re not thinking about how frustrated you are because you want a new car. When you’re reading a story to an HIV-positive three year-old who can’t go home because his mother is a drug addict, you’re not thinking about where the money is coming from to pay your credit card this month. You’re immersed in the moment, living in the now, right where all the experts tell us our power is.
So if you’re not feeling the gratitude, even though you know you have plenty to be thankful for, see if taking the focus off yourself and putting attention to someone who needs your support is the remedy. There are plenty of people and causes out there that can use your help. You’ll discover a whole new attitude of gratitude.
