“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” -Melody Beattie
My journey in life has been an interesting one. Twenty-two years of my life were spent experiencing my dream of living and working in Japan. Every day, I felt that special inspiration that comes with knowing that you are focused on what you enjoy doing.
In March 2020, I moved my family back to the United States. The primary purpose for doing this was to give my boys, four and six at the time, the opportunity to experience growing up in the United States. It was a challenging decision for me to make. I was leaving behind my dream, transferring, and focusing my effort on our family. There was some regret, but focusing on my gratitude for experiencing what I did for twenty-two years was the best path forward.
I did struggle a bit after I moved back to the United States. I had to redefine who I was and re-evaluate some of my goals, but have you ever noticed how much easier it is to improve yourself when focused on what you have rather than what’s missing? Gratitude is more than just a positive feeling—it’s a powerful mindset that can transform how you approach life.
After leaving Japan, there was a period when The Day Warrior had a pity party. Gratitude for what I had accomplished was the only true path forward, so I quickly switched from feeling bad for myself and instead focused on the valuable lessons I had learned.
As we strive to become better versions of ourselves, we often get fixated on our short-term goals and improvements. We must remember that it is not just the destinations or the places we have been but something much more straightforward. It is the actual journey for which we should be thankful. When we pause to have gratitude, we will find more joy, build more discipline, and focus on what really matters.
In this article, I will briefly explore how gratitude can shape a better, more fulfilling version of you.
Why Is Gratitude Important?
Regret, complaining, and worry are all emotions that steal your energy and distract you from the important things you should be focused on.
Indulging in complaints erodes the foundation of your self-discipline, diverting your focus from purposeful action to fruitless lamentation. It weakens your resolve, making progress toward your goals more elusive. – The Day Warrior
Don’t you hate when an author quotes himself in his newsletter?
Do not let complaints steal your energy. Instead, enjoy the rewards that gratitude can bring.
Personal Growth Opportunities. We all have things that happen in our daily lives that challenge us. The decision to face or run away from these challenges truly is a foundational aspect of building critical life experience. Each challenge or setback is and chance to learn and grow. Being grateful for these challenges helps to maintain a positive attitude. A positive attitude could be that extra push you need to turn each challenge into a win versus a loss. Gratitude can help you embrace the journey instead of running away from it.
Support Systems. I am a very solo individual. I love to take on most of my challenges by myself. Personal growth can be expedited by seeking the advice of a few trusted individuals in your closest circle of friends. The support systems we have in place, whether friends, family, mentors, or even books, play a key role in supporting our growth that is invaluable. Being grateful for and acknowledging the value of these relations will deepen your connections to the people and systems that help you.
During my years in Japan, there was a key group of friends who helped me survive and fight through all the challenges I faced. I always had gratitude for those relationships; twenty years later, they are still just as trusted.
Health and Wellness. Physical and mental health are critical to our path to success. Being grateful for our health, even with challenges, can motivate us to take better care of ourselves. Our health and physical well-being are not free things that just happen to us. Some of us are blessed with better physical health than others. Many people have to maintain a significant level of discipline to maintain their current level of health.
“It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
Appreciate and nurture your health through physical activity. It is the foundation of our overall well-being and ability to focus on everything important. Being grateful for our health reminds us to take care of it and value it as a key aspect of having a full life.
Time and Opportunity. Infinite opportunities constrained by time limits surround us. Being grateful for the time and opportunities we have makes us recognize that each day is a fresh start. It helps us make better decisions and work on the areas of self-improvement that are critical to our success.
Being grateful for the time we have creates a sense of urgency.
Being grateful for the time we have fostered a mindset of possibility and success.
Past Experience. All of our past experiences shape who we are. Our good experiences and bad experiences may shape us even more. Appreciating the lessons learned helps us turn past mistakes or difficulties and instead turn them into the building blocks necessary for our future success.
Years ago, I was going through the process of renewing my work visa and interviewing for an incredible opportunity that would ultimately become the foundation for sixteen successful years of my career. The day after receiving the letter of acceptance at my new job, I was informed that my visa application had missed the deadline by one day and that I needed to start the deportation process. This is another interesting story; the result was that The Day Warrior did not get deported.
This experience shaped me in a significant way and taught the younger version of myself the importance of time management and writing down the essential tasks you need to accomplish. It taught me self-accountability.
Discipline and Progress. Discipline is the number one measure to predict whether a person will find success or failure in life. Small, consistent efforts add up. Discipline is the tool that allows us to remain consistent in all things we do. Without it, failure lies in waiting.
Be thankful for the discipline you have. Be grateful for the progress it brings, no matter how small. These small steps add up over time. These small steps (wins) create motivation (an unpredictable emotion), but they can also give you that extra push when needed.
Be grateful for the quiet strength of discipline that helps us to transform intention into action and persistence into progress. Discipline is a compass that guides us through chaos, turning small, consistent steps into lasting achievements.
Gratitude is a gift that helps us to persevere through the challenges we face in life. Acknowledging this inner strength is critical, and gratitude for the items listed fuels a sense of purpose and keeps us focused on growth instead of failure.
Gratitude is vital in becoming the best versions of ourselves.
How Does One Find Gratitude?
Practicing gratitude may sound simple, but it can be challenging, especially when dealing with all the stress and setbacks that life can throw at us.
It requires intentionally shifting focus from negative comments to positive affirmations. A conscious effort must be made to embrace the challenges and recognize what is positive in life.
If you have time, please check out Think Yourself To Success, another article I wrote about the benefits of having a positive attitude.
Like discipline, practicing gratitude is a skill that can be developed over time.
- Shift Your Focus to What is Positive. Start each day intentionally focusing on what is positive and what you are grateful for. Even if it is small, focus on what you are thankful for. By recognizing what you are grateful for daily, you train your mind to focus on the positive versus the complaints you have.
- Practice Mindfulness. Mindfulness, in the context of recognizing complaining, involves being fully aware of your thoughts and emotions as they arise. Knowing about the thoughts is the first step in dealing with them. You need to pay close attention to your mental state to detect when you will complain or have a negative reaction. Take a moment to breathe, pause, and reflect on whether complaining will add value to the situation. Instead, refocus on what you can be grateful for in the moment. What works best for me is taking a short or long work to reframe my mental state. Walking helps to clear my mind.
- Reframe Negative Thoughts. Reframes are a powerful mental tool. A reframe is a process where you consciously change how you perceive or interpret a situation, thought, or emotion. Instead of focusing on the part that does not help you or sets you back, you view the situation more positively. This technique enhances your response to a mental challenge in a more productive, solutions-based approach. Instead of complaining about a problem, reframe it as a challenge and ask yourself, “How can this opportunity help me to grow?”
I hope these are just a few quick examples to help you practice gratitude.
I think this is one of the more difficult skills to develop because current society is making playing the victim a normal behavior.
Shifting your mindset from complaining to gratitude is a powerful step toward success and self-improvement. Conversely, complaining steals your energy and focus, often leading to failure. Gratitude and positive thinking, on the other hand, foster a positive outlook, resilience, and motivation.
By practicing gratitude, we can reframe challenges as opportunities to grow and become better versions of ourselves. When we shift to a solutions-orientated mindset, we become better equipped to remain disciplined in our pursuit of success.
If you only remember one from this article, the key to personal growth is not focusing on what is wrong but appreciating what you have and taking proactive and consistent steps towards your goals.
The Day Warrior
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