Many people who look for happiness won’t find it. Mostly because people look for external devices to make them happy. People of means will buy a car, and date an attractive person. Don’t get me wrong, these do make people happy at the moment, but it’s fleeting. That car that makes people feel amazing or that person they’re with becomes boring. People often look toward the future and say that they can be happy then. But the future is always the future and now is always today, meaning that day never comes.
So what’s the secret sauce that is the source of happiness? Always getting what you want? That’s just a dead end, making people frustrated and have little patience. The secret is not to love what others, or you don’t have, but to learn to love what you do have. In other words, gratitude.
Gratitude is largely a kept secret in our society. It’s not a principle I ever hear people mentioning out of thanksgiving and religious institutions. If this simple concept was taught often enough and at an early age, our society would be drastically different today.
When you learn to appreciate what you have, it triggers a cascade of positive thoughts and actions. You will shop differently, think differently, and your body will even respond differently. That health that you appreciate? Well, have more of it. That meal was awesome. Well, have some more of that!
Gratitude is a positive-feedback loop that will continue to grow the more you use it. Gratitude will eventually begin to eat away negative thoughts, emotions, and trauma. This can be overwhelming if you’re not used to it. You will begin to see paths open up you had never thought of before. Your attraction to the things you want will magnify.
Gratitude consumes negative energy and spits out positive vibes. Few things are as powerful as that. If you’re interested in clearing out your soul of negative experiences, get lost in a good cause. As you labor for a good cause with gratitude, your mind and body will be transformed positively.
It’s not a switch, though. This isn’t something that just appears out of the blue, this is something gradual that grows. It just needs to start with the simplest thing, once you can be grateful for the smallest detail, more will follow. You just have to begin somewhere and work on it. Do you have a pet? I find that the easiest way to get started is in gratitude. Appreciate your cute animal and expand from there.
This is not to say life won’t get hard at times, it always will. But when those trying times come, they will be easier. As you look back on your trials, you won’t see them as trauma but as positive experiences that helped you learn, grow, and appreciate the good times more.
Gratitude will unapologetically murder depression. Let it be the victim this time.