The Gratitude Attitude

There are inspirational stories and then there are those which move you in a profound way.


I love seeing how people respond to their own personal adversity and this woman, Ann Davis, has done it in a way which we haven't touched on yet on this blog.


She has surrounded herself with gratitude everyday and is now living a hugely rewarding life after the devastating news that, rather than becoming pregnant, she needed a hysterectomy. Her dream of holding a new-born child had been dashed but she decided to make gratitude her daily walk.

In this intimate blog post she shows seven ways how gratitude can transform your life and how she has followed each one of them. 

It really is worth ten minutes of your time to read and absorb the message in her post – no matter what our challenges, there is so much we can be grateful for. 

And being grateful can transform our lives and the lives of those around us.


You can click on the link here.


My own form of daily gratitude is to appreciate the little things which we could otherwise rush past. The kindness of a stranger, the blossoming of a flower, the smile of a family member or a cup of tea drunk just at the right temperature (!) are all things which feature in my gratitude. It helps me be happier and realise that even when lots of bad stuff is happening, good stuff is happening too.


What are you grateful for?


 photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/85608594@N00/11944672736">David Steindl-Rast It is not happiness that makes us grateful, it is gratefulness that makes us happy</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(license)</a>

8 Tips To Help You Make an Ally of Adversity and a Friend of Misfortune

As a summary of the blog posts so far, here are the key points.

1. Just like Viktor Frankl, you can choose your attitude to any set of circumstances. No matter how desperate you feel and no matter how terrible your situation, you can employ the last of the human freedoms - the freedom to choose your own response.
    
2. Asking yourself, "what can I do about it?" can take the control back over your situation.
   
   
3. Reflecting on previous successes in life can give you the confidence and strategies to succeed again against the odds. How far can determination and a refusal to give up take you? Do you have the belief that you can overcome your misfortune?
   
   
4. Having a why to live for can help you bear almost any trials and troubles. Can you find meaning and purpose in your suffering?
   
   
   
   
   
5. Adversity is personal to you. If you feel overwhelmed or challenged in your life and you want to move on then it doesn't have to be a crisis or disaster for you to need help.
    
6. Looking for the smallest of positives can help change your attitude to your tribulations. Can you count ten positive things about your day?
   
   
7. Growth and a new life are possible beyond our challenges. Just like the forest which regenerates after a devastating fire or people who have found whole new aspects to their lives after huge setbacks, the same is possible for you. 
    
8. You do have a choice in all things. The freedom to choose is the last of the human freedoms. You can choose your response to events. You can choose your attitude. You can choose how you behave. "I had no choice" dis-empowers us and makes us weak. 
   
   
   
   
   Do you think this is a good summary? What would be your key points from what you've read so far? Add your comments below.