Gratitude, a word we keep hearing and reading about. Is it just a buzz word though, or does it hold a lot more merit? Well I for one am on the side of gratitude and what it can bring into our lives. On its own it is just a word, but living a life where you take the time to be grateful has been widely recognised as one of the main keys to living a happy life!  Who am I to argue with the experts and all their studies? Well actually I would actually argue with them if I thought their studies were bullshit, but after looking into this topic myself I have to say I agree. In my opinion, living with a grateful heart definitely contributes to a healthier and happier life.

It is so easy to rush through our day and miss all the nice things, the kind things, sometimes these moments are so fleeting they are easy to discount amongst the chaos of getting from A to Z. It is only when we consciously look for the good that we tend to see it. When we are focused on the negatives we actually see more negative, we almost attract it. When our brain is wired to think there are dangers around we look out for those, when our brain is convinced we are not lucky, or blessed we tend to miss the good things that are right in front of us. We become like a magnet and attract the negative towards us.

Are lucky people really lucky? Or is it just they are willing to take more chances because they have a positive outlook in life? If we believe we are a lucky person we are in fact more likely to take chances, the more chances we take the more success we are bound to have. If we feel unlucky, or unworthy then we sit back and let chances pass us by “what would be the point in me entering that competition I am unlucky’, or “what we be the point in asking out the person I like when I am not worthy of them‘. Do you see the pattern?

It is similar to our attitude and thoughts surrounding gratitude, and what we have to be grateful for. If we are busy looking for the negatives in order to support our theory that life pretty much sucks, then we will miss seeing the positives. Whereas if we live believing we are worthy of good things we are going to search for those things, and as I mentioned with my magnet analogy, we will attract the good things to us. When we live with are grateful heart we are actually more likely to overlook the small negatives in our day because our brain is actively searching for the things that support our inner belief that good things happen, and we deserve them to happen to us!

Just for a moment stop and purposely reflect upon your day, or yesterday. Search through it like a detective and look for 3 good things that happened, no matter how small, if you really put in an effort you can come up with 3! Just as if I asked you to do the opposite and look for 3 negative things, you could also come up with those. You will naturally find one task easier than the other and this will help you see how you operate on a day to day basis.

Hopefully you easily came up with 3 things to feel good about, if not, do not despair. It takes around 21 days to change a habit. But we also have to be kind to ourselves and understand that we have often spent a lifetime building these beliefs and the way we view ourselves and the world around us. So cut yourself some slack. It would be great if I suggested you all start a gratitude journal and wrote down 3 positives each day for the next 21 days, but I know that many of you won’t do it, hopefully some of you already do. If you want to take that challenge up then that is fabulous! It doesn’t have to be a pretty journal, or an expensive one, it can be on any notepad, or your phone. Try setting a daily reminder in your phone calendar that prompts you to reflect on the positives from your day. Writing them down will help make the habit form stronger, but if you don’t want to write it down just think about it. What made you happy today, what were you thankful for, what are you grateful for in your life in general, did someone do, or say something nice, or help you in some way?

It doesn’t have to be big stuff, it can be just being grateful for the sound of rain when you are cosy inside, the colour of the leaves, a warm bed, a hug, someone letting you in in the traffic queue, someone smiling at you as they passed by, the sun on your back, the dog being happy to see you.

I really hope that this post even in a teeny way will help you start to think about what you are grateful for and inspire you to start believing you are worthy of good things happening to you. Positivity does attract positivity!

As you know if you regularly stop by, I suffer from mental illness, and so I know for those of you out there who are also suffering that this task becomes even harder, but keep fighting, I know you are overwhelmed and tired, but try with all you can to see some positives, no matter how small. There are times our lives where things feel like way too much for everybody, sad times, times of loss, it is OK to see those times as bad, I am not suggesting that we can sprinkle fairy dust over these times and it’ll all be OK. If you are going through a tough time make sure you seek support! I know for me when I was at a very low point in July August that searching for those sparks of light, those things to be grateful for, they really helped me get through.

I truly believe living with gratitude is so important, when we notice the precious moments with loved ones, the kindness of a friend or stranger, the beauty in nature, then we are going to find we fill our lives with greater appreciation and joy. Have you found this to be true?

I want to mention something I am very grateful for, and that is coming across these lovely words that another blogger had so kindly said about me on her own blog, I was truly blown away. She wrote;

 

Reflections From Me

This is a blog written absolutely from the heart. It’s honest and beautifully written.

Covering a whole variety of subjects , a recent post about how to help someone going through a hard time (which you can read here ) and other recent posts about mental health I have really related to .

If you want a relatable , warm , honest blog I think you’ll find a post from this blogger that will do just that !!

 

How lovely was that of her! I can not thank Kelly from Daydreams of a mum enough for her kind words.

I would love to hear anyones thoughts on this topic, do you find you look for the negatives or positives? Do you consider yourself lucky? Worthy of good things? Do you keep a gratitude journal? Do you feel setting a reminder alert on your phone would help prompt you? Any feedback welcome.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today, love Mackenzie xx

You may also wish you join me on Instagram for the Living Fearlessly Authentic Hashtag, just use #LivingFearlesslyAuthentic to your real moment photos that you share on Insta! Each month I do a roundup of my favs and feature them both here on my blog and on my Insta feed @macglanville 

the sat sesh badge v 5