Life

How I’m Learning To Be More Grateful In Life

by Olivia

It can be really hard when you suffer from a mental illness to see the brighter side of life. Your thoughts consume you and you feel hopeless. Whenever I feel this way, I try to remind myself of the good I have in this world. I remind myself of the things that bring me and joy and make me happy. I do this exercise as a reminder to my brain that things are better than I think they are.

I read a book that a therapist wrote a few years ago when I was at my lowest mentally, and it gave this really good learning technique. It was saying out loud to yourself that you acknowledge your feelings. This triggers something in your brain so that you recognise that it is just thoughts, it’s not real or present. Doing this exercise and saying out loud the good things you have in life can help in the same way. It’s like you’re talking to a friend or a family member, reminding them everything will be okay. But instead you are talking to yourself.

Today I want to share how I’m learning to be more grateful in life. Sometimes all we need to do is take a step back and realise the good and positive things around us. I hope this post is a reminder for you to do the same.

COUNTING BLESSINGS

Something as simple as making a list outlining a few things you are blessed with can be a great reminder. Alot of the time, you think there’s only a few things but once you start writing, you realise how many things you have in life. Heres my list:

  • Food on the table
  • Loving family
  • Great friends
  • Good health
  • A warm home

Whats on your list?

HAVING A STABLE JOB

Now more than ever I am so thankful and lucky to have the job I have. Ever since the pandemic started I have been able to keep a very stable job and work safely at home. I remind myself of this when work gets crazy or I feel like giving up. There are so many people out there who have had financial struggles due to losing their jobs or having their hours cut. My heart goes out to those families and people who are going through that. And thats the exact reason why I remind myself how blessed I am for my job.

REFLECTING ON HOW FAR I HAVE COME

I stand by the saying that you should only look back to see how far you have come. Years ago my mental health was at its worst, I suffered with panic attacks daily and avoided leaving my house. Only now reflecting back I realise how bad it got. I’m so thankful and happy that I’m out of that season of life. This new season isn’t what I thought was in store for me, but im thankful that I learnt from my past struggles and its made me into the woman I am today.

I encourage you to look back on your life, and notice and embrace the changes you have gone through. It will give you such a different life perspective, particularly if you have come out the other end from something bad.

EMBRACING THE BAD

Similarly to the point before, I think embracing the bad in life can really help switch your perspective. Imagine if we just never had bad days or have bad things happen to us. How would we appreciate the good times and the positive things? We wouldn’t. With everything good, comes something bad. Thats just the natural process of life. I think embracing the bad days is as simple as accepting it when something happens. Of course this cant apply to every single situation in life, but those minor inconveniences or struggles we face that are so annoying, just accept it and then move on from it.

Everyday is a new opportunity to start fresh, how amazing is that?! Every single day we get to start over and move on from the day before.

How do you remind yourself to be grateful? What are you grateful for today?

Olivia x
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52 thoughts on “How I’m Learning To Be More Grateful In Life”

  1. I also used to suffer from panic attacks and know how debilitating they can be. It’s incredible how far you have come ❤ Even though we still have bad days, we are able to see a light at the end of the tunnel, even if, at times it is a tiny flicker. I am thankful to have a loving, supportive partner and be able to live in a house that I own, it is such a privilege and one that I am very thankful for. xx

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      1. I have been medication free for the past few years, learning to control my own mental health problems is key to a happy healthy life, the more people who speak up about mental health issues the better, thank you sweetie

        Liked by 1 person

  6. I love this✨ it really does wonders for the mind to look back on our past to see just how far we have come. I remind myself to do that often when I am feeling sad or overwhelmed. If I can get through that incident, I can get through this as well.

    Right now very grateful for the scattered autumn leaves around my garden —everything looks so picturesque🧡 xx

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  7. Agreed with everything here. Even if I hate the house I live in I am still grateful to have a roof over my head and money in my account to live. Embracing the bad in our lives is also a useful point. We are who we are because of the challenges we faced as a person.

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  9. Brilliant, brilliant post Olivia. Being grateful for what you have is really important. And i think this pandemic has made thinking about this even more important. We have all been affected by the pandemic, but some people have lost jobs, lost loved ones, have had their businesses being screwed over etc. I think that puts things in perspective!

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  10. I am grateful for my career which I didn’t value in the past. Am grateful for the kind of close family am blessed with. And am grateful for the love of God, his mercy and favour upon my life.

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  11. Extremely lovely post. I’m so glad you have come this far. As for me, I’m grateful I can still see, I was diagnosed with stuff last two years and was supposed to loose my sight. That’s a real blessing for me, my sight

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  13. This post was really helpful so thank you. I agree with you, especially on the ‘stable job’ part, that would also be true for a ‘stable situation’. The basics that are a job (so no worries about paying the bills), a home and people you love are actually the most important blessings. You can have all other blessings, that is those three, at least to me, that bring the most part of all the gratitude we can get from counting blessings.
    Thanks for the post. 🌸

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  14. Taking a step back and seeing everything in a wider perspective creates a positive effect on us. Because most of the time we complain about our situation, and all we see is that and forget about all the other great things that we have.

    Such a very insightful post ❤️

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  25. Beautiful post here Olivia. Everything that you have written is awesome, I like how you are taking the time to be thankful, even in the midst of the pandemic. This is good practice. The only thing that I would suggest is that you take this list to God in prayer, and thank him. God is the one who blesses us, and when we thank him, he is motivated to do more for us. So, gratefulness is key. As the year is coming to a close, it is important to thank God for all that he has done, while praying that 2021 would be a better year for everyone than 2020.

    The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18
    “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”.

    God says in Jeremiah 29:11
    “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.

    If you or anyone interested wants more information on how to connect with God, I have a post on it here:

    https://christcenteredruminations.wordpress.com/2018/08/29/how-to-build-a-relationship-with-god/ 

    You can check out the blog post above. If the information is too overwhelming for you, then you can start slow and work your way up gradually. If you want to stay updated and you want more posts from me, you can follow my blog. I post about God, faith and Christian Spirituality. If you ever need to talk, then send me a message on the “Contact” section of my page.

    May God’s grace be with you, Amen. 🙂

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