Today I read an article about the power of Celebrating, and it just made me realize that the times I have been grateful more than other times, I’ve actually been happier, and feeling more fulfilled no matter how difficult  the circumstances were.

What about you? What are the things you are thankful for? What are your thoughts when you get up? Do you start your day feeling blessed with another day, excited about what is going to happen? or do you have the impression you’ve grown kind of “indifferent”, having the feeling that “it is just another day to go through”?

Be inspired again, Be grateful!

Sometimes, it may happen to us that we let ourselves be trapped into a routine of “sleeping-eating-working” and sometimes “complaining” on top of that, that our life does not measures up to our childhood dreams. It actually happens that we kind of “give up” and let ourselves go with the flow, or keep wishing we had this or achieved that, without even taking the time for celebrating what we have already achieved, or pausing a minute or two to appreciate those people and things we already have, that in spite of certain insatisfaction punctuate our life with moments of joy and happiness.

Pausing to celebrate and being grateful for what we already have achieved and for the strengths and talents we have already been developing actually enables us to fuel up our energy and gives us more power for the things on which we still need to work.

You may agree with me, that when we engage ourselves towards reaching some specific goals, we need to concentrate on them and gather all the motivation, strengths, and power available to support us until we reach our objectives. And, as many of us may have already experienced, there may be some harder times along the way towards our success; and there may even be times in which we question ourselves and are not sure if we will manage to achieve what we want. In the particular moments when we lack motivation, and in which our energy goes low, a great tool is to realize and seize the power of Gratitude. Whether in inspiring, and especially in less inspired times, it is really powerful to take a pause and fuel up our motivation and enthusiasm again by considering how many steps forward we have already made. Reflecting on our past and present achievements so far, and thinking about what enabled us to achieve these goals can actually transform our perspective of our present situation and enables us to identify or even create even more resources that will enable us to achieve our goals.

Be grateful: Discover your Untapped Potential !

Let me give you an example. I have recently heard the story of a very successful man, who is facing business troubles due to a change in the industry in which he is working. As I was talking to him, he was sharing his desires to go to the next level, and perfect some of his strengths so that he may be even more efficient, since he had the desire to move forward into building a successful new business and get the chance to achieve one of his long-term goals.

As this person was talking, his perspective was that of a winner, as his goals appeared completely achievable to him, yet, he still recognized keeping on working overtimes, neglecting his health and life balance, and sometimes feeling overstressed and strained from energy because he was having this little voice inside telling him that reaching his goals would probably take him more time that he would want to, because “that’s always how it had taken place before” as he faced challenges. This man actually had grown into feeding the belief in himself, that he would always have to do “more and more” and that he was never doing enough; what actually did not really contribute to support him through times of high stress or when he had to find solutions to problematic issues quickly.

I then asked this person what were the achievements he was proud of, and for each of them, to share with me what were the strengths and “winning factors” he already had as he achieved these goals, and what were the lessons he learnt as he overcame obstacles on the way. Eventually, he started seeing the power of looking with a grateful mind at the things that whether positive or not, contributed to making him the person that he was: a Successful Businessman, ready to put all his efforts and take risks to meet up challenges in front of which most people would take a step back. This man started seeing how powerful it was to pause, review and be grateful for the most helpful sides of his personality and also those that demanded more focus; to be grateful for the easy reached goals, and those more difficult to reach, because all these factors contributed to providing him with the chance to develop other strengths that proved necessary to help him get his way through the highly demanding business world.

In fact, by thinking about being grateful for the fact that it took him long years before reaching some of his most envied goals, and seeing all the creative potential it contributed to release from him, he could derive a feeling of joy from what he first thought was a cause of worry. When he started realizing this potential, he then begun to develop a more trusting perspective that enables him now to feel safe and ressourceful, and to believe that in the same way that his talents and strengths showed up “just in time” when he most needed them in the past, he is now able to let go of fears, worries or un-constructive concerns.

Shift Perspectives and be a Winner over Trying Times!

You may have noticed through this example, how powerful shifting perspectives can be, in the way that when we look at our life and experiences through a perspective of learning and training, we actually manage not to look at our limits, weaknesses or past failures as disadvantages, but actually as constructive advantages. Trying to look at these things that may have been, or may be a burden on our shoulders through different lenses, through the filter of gratitude, learning and as opportunities for getting stronger and better at what we do actually has the power to transform our mood, the atmosphere in our house, it has the power to reduce our level of stress and increase our level of satisfaction in life. When we look at the circumstances that are troubling us as constructive challengers that provide us with a positive opportunities, we are empowered to take action, and free ourselves and talents up to overcome what may have made us fall.

I really want to encourage you to try exploring different perspectives that are empowering to you? what about trying to see your limits as guards? what about seeing this person that is annoying you so much as a challenger who actually helps you fight against your own inner blocades of fear of rejection or failure? what about seeing life as “full of surprises and as an adventure when your plans may be coming short of your expectations? what about being grateful for being aware of your feeling of insatisfaction, in the way that it means you are alive, in the way it means you are still “in the race” desiring to achieve your goals, in the way it means you have not given up, and you can draw even more motivation from it to be a catalyst for change and provide you with the energy to want to “make things move”?

I wish you all the best through your journey, and hope that these reflections about being grateful trigger some constructive and empowering thoughts in your mind! I would love to hear about you and what what your objectives are, and if you think i may be able to support you through your journey, do not hesitate to contact me!

Warm greetings, naomi