Being Grateful For What Is
While I know it may not seem apparent at times, you have everything you need to thrive.
It is a mistaken belief that having more will help you advance in life when you meaninglessly want more.
People think that if they had more money, better looks, a better job or lived in a better area of town, they would be happy.
I wish to remind you that everything comes with a price and having more money means being responsible for managing large sums. If you do not have the emotional intelligence to manage money, having lots of it can pose problems.
Thriving then is a state of mind.
"You have everything you need to thrive; you just have to plan for the race of your life. Each person's journey and process is unique," states author Jay Samit in Disrupt Yourself.
Appreciate what is in your life right now by recognising your gifts, talents and genius. It means knowing your life is bountiful as it is.
Though you have wants and needs, do not allow them to overshadow what is present.
This is the basis of this entire piece; being grateful for your goodness instead of focusing on what is lacking.
Why Sometimes It Isn't Enough
I realise it is easy to focus on what is missing when your basic needs are met. For example, if you have a roof over your head, clothes to wear and food on the table, your basic survival needs are catered for. However, millions of people do without these luxuries.
One of the world's leading business thinkers, Daniel H. Pink, states in his book Drive, "I don't think it's a Western thing to really talk about intrinsic motivation and the drive for autonomy, mastery and purpose. You have to not be struggling for survival. For people who don't know where their next meal is coming, notions of finding inner motivation are comical."
Perhaps necessities are not enough because you want more: money, fame, better relationships or a successful career.
History has shown people succeeded with the bare necessities. Several prominent companies nowadays began operations in less than desirable conditions in the garage of their parents' house.
You have all you need to thrive, but you believe it isn't enough compared to those with plentiful.
But if you look behind the scenes of those you consider rich, you will find emptiness and a longing for something deeper than material luxuries.
Whatever is plentiful in one area, will be lacking in other areas of your life.
The root cause of suffering is not appreciating what is apparent in our lives and striving to fill the void.
"Fear causes you to contract rather than open, to protect rather than connect, to resist rather than respond, to survive rather than thrive," affirms author Mary O'Malley in What's in the Way Is the Way: A Practical Guide for Waking Up to Life.
Abundance and Prosperity
Underlying this want for more is the fear that someday your needs will no longer be met. Your partner will fall out of love, you will run out of money and be homeless or forced out of your job or worse still, death.
However, this is an illusion because your thoughts are turned towards fear instead of towards abundance and prosperity.
Abundance and prosperity does not mean being filthy rich, but recognising the abundant nature of your life. Having your basic needs met is abundance. Half the world's population are without access to these luxuries and make do with less than optimal conditions.
One need only look to the current refugee crisis and see people's homes and basic needs taken from them.
For many refugees, not having food, water and shelter constitutes a significant change in circumstances. Yet, for someone living in the United States, this is a basic necessity often overlooked.
Author Linda Graham MFT states in her book Bouncing Back: Rewiring Your Brain for Maximum Resilience and Well-Being: "Survive first, thrive later: that's the motto of the lower brain. The well-documented tendency of our lower brain to encode negative, fear-based memories more readily into our unconscious memory than positive ones is referred to as negativity bias."
You will continue to suffer if you believe the source of your happiness is outside of you.
If you hang your hopes on someone or something to provide for your happiness, you will always long for more.
The moment you move your awareness to what is bountiful, you shift to gratitude to what is available.
This doesn't mean you should not have better things to enjoy. However, if your attention is fixed on what is lacking, you neglect to value if the goodness in your life.
The Source of Your Joy
Happiness must not be subject to constantly having your needs met. I assure you, not everything will go to plan and occasionally you will be disappointed.
This is no less true when a partner leaves a relationship and the other person is left to contemplate why it dissolved.
However, in time, their broken heart heals and they soon find love again. This time, they recognise their partner is not the only source of their happiness, but someone who compliments them.
To appreciate what you have, focus on the source of your joy. Write down or recite what you are grateful for upon waking up or retiring to bed each night.
A warm cup of coffee, shower, bed, family and friends to share a home with, living in a safe neighbourhood, a job that pays well and an employer that appreciates you are the unlikeliest sources of happiness.
These are basic essentials, which when magnified add to your sense of appreciation. From this place of awareness you'll create better circumstances in which to thrive.
The German born spiritual author Eckhart Tolle states: "Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance."
Appreciation enriches your life as abundance and prosperity, as long as you recognise it is always enough.
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