Thirty eight ~ Ohh Ta!

We were all taught from a very young age to say thank you, but how many people still do it?  What if we thanked everyone when they did something for us?  What if we sat down and figured out all of the people that we didn't say thank you to? 

We are born with nothing and when we die we will not have anything.  Anything we receive along the way is really just a gift.  Even the "gift of life" is a gift.  Happiness comes from appreciating the gifts we have.  There is a simple slogan which if we were to keep it in mind would increase our happiness incredibly....

EXPECT EVERYTHING = APPRECIATE NOTHING

EXPECT NOTHING = APPRECIATE EVERYTHING

Happiness is often dependent on our expectations.  If we change our expectations of life, to not expect anything, then we will have immense appreciation whenever we are given anything.  This feeling of appreciation brings us true happiness.. If we integrated the thought, "everything in life is a gift" we would be exceptionally grateful and happy people.

Happy people anticipate good things happening, but they don't think they have a "right" for these things to happen.  Having an expectation that life owes us something leads to misery.  Having an upbeat outlook that good things will happen, leads to happiness.

Try and thank three people today.  This can be done by speaking / writing / calling or any other way you can think of.

Happy people are grateful people, and grateful people are happy people.  When you enter the mindset of gratitude, automatically your focus is positive.  The attitude of gratitude requires that a person look outside of their own selfish "I want, I need " and instead focus on "I have, I'm fulfilled"

Gratitude integrates the knowledge that others love us, into an emotion of actually feeling loved and cared for.  The more we express our thanks to another, the more WE FEEL good.  Saying thank you is good for our emotional well being.  It's not just a social nicety or a polite thing to do. 

If we can do this exercise everyday for at least 3 months, you will notice how much more you appreciate life and how more loved we feel.  This exercise is a great technique to help remold our entire personality.  It will bring amazing results that we will be so please with.  In the end, we will even begin to thank ourselves for persisting in acquiring this ability!

Warren, S. 2010, 7 Ancient Keys To Happiness, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform