Why gratitude is the secret for hardship

Gratitude. It’s a scientific fact that gratitude has a huge impact on your health and fitness. Gratitude… Improves physical health. Improves psychological health. Enhances empathy. Reduces aggression. Improves self-esteem. Increases mental strength. Helps you sleep better. We all know the benefits of being grateful. But gratitude is a funny thing. It’s easy to be grateful when things are going “right”, but how can you possibly be thankful when things feel like they’re falling apart? In rough times, how do you muster up the courage to give thanks? While it’s important to be grateful for all the good in life. It is equally as important to be grateful for the “not-so-good” in life. Hardships, challenges, loss… They’re all a part of life. A life without any of challenge leads to a life of complacency and stagnancy. You cannot grow or evolve in any aspect of life if you don’t face adversity from time to time. Remember the saying that was popularized in the 80’s, “no pain, no gain”? There is truth to it depending on how you respond to hardship. In life, there are going to be situations and circumstances that are going to be rough. Sometimes, you will have tried your best and worked your hardest but things still don’t work out. These are the actual times, as impossible as it feels, that you need to turn to gratitude. Every challenge… Every hardship… Every loss… Every judgment placed on you… Every unkind word exchanged about you… It all has the power to strengthen who you are as a person and your life if you take the right steps. It enables you to reflect and see how you’ve contributed to your current circumstance and it allows you to course-correct. There’s a painful liberation in knowing that you have played a role in your situation. You can’t change what you’ve done but you can make conscious effort to “be better” moving forward. I hate saying “you have to”…but you have to find the strength internally to be grateful for things and people that have hurt or challenged you – because what you do after that will define you and your quality of life. You may think it’s easier to be bitter rather than grateful. But bitterness drowns you. Gratitude elevates you. Trust that everything in your life happens for a reason. Believe that every person you meet is either a lesson, a teacher, a user or has the potential to bring out the best in you. Understand that there is a rainbow after every storm. “To attract better, you have to become better. You can’t do the same things and expect change. Transform your mindset. Upgrade your habits. Think positive. Be hopeful and consistent with your evolution.” – Jay Shetty And most importantly, be thankful. Thank you