When you look at your life, are the imperfections all you see? Do you focus on all the things that are wrong, do you dwell on past mistakes, do you rehash stressful situations? Do you long for the perfect life? Your mind will give you what you choose to focus on.  If you see your life as though your hopes have been crushed, your dreams have been shattered, and you are struggling with negativity and dread your life, then more of the same is heading to you, as that which you think and feel, you bring into focus and will attract to yourself.

There is no such thing as a perfect life. You may choose to create a series of situations in your mind that if came true would be the ideal version of your life. Some parts of this may come true, however there will always be something lacking which will not allow an all encompassing happiness because there needs to be a lack, in order to bring gratitude into focus.

In the beginning all being grateful does is get you out of the headspace of constant negativity and constantly thinking about what is missing in your life and who is to blame for your unhappy state. As you begin to make being grateful a daily practise, you will begin to see how many things there are in your life to be grateful for and the more you see the good there is in your life the more positive you feel and that then brings more things into your life to be grateful for and positive about.

Gratitude is saying I am aware of all that is in my life and i am acknowledging and appreciating all of it in this moment. Doing this brings you into the present moment and into the life that is present for you right now.

Gratitude also brings into your vision people who are far worse off than you are and you will start to feel compassion and understanding for others in ways you never did previously. It opens your heart in ways you never thought or dreamt possible. Gratitude opens one up to giving and helping, this is not about the amount you give, it is about the intention with which you do what you do, so give and be grateful for your ability to give, help others and share with the world not just financially but in any way you have the ability to do so.

If you view your life in a deeply negative way then you will need to begin by keeping your statements of gratitude basic at first. It would maybe just include simple thanks for a roof over your head, for the food you eat, for your health, for friends and family who are there to support you. Subsequently you can always ask for help with things you would like help with. No matter how difficult and uphill your life, there are always people worse off than you, so always try and bear that perspective in mind, regardless of your circumstances.

Being grateful is simply about saying thank you, and doing so to anyone is acknowledgement of gratitude and this action bypasses the brain and goes straight to the heart and we can all use more heartfelt actions in the world today.