Let us talk about being grateful. How often do we take the chance to appreciate the life that we have? I personally do not do it enough and I hope that you are better than me at acknowledging the beauty that is, your life. To be honest, for every day that we are alive, we should be beyond grateful for our reality no matter what it is. Woke up, be grateful! Woke up with a cold, be grateful! Woke up and sulking that you are still stuck in what seems like a dead end job to you, be grateful! Woke up and you are trying to find the energy to beat your traumatic experience, be grateful...because, you might have simply gone into that gentle good night...

Our realities differ and as humans we sometimes focus our energy on the negative and down play the positives. The art of being grateful is a skill that we can all harness; focusing our energy on the brighter side has a way of attracting more positivity into ones life. When you wake up, think about your life and take time to notice your breath. I would suggest the following to avoid drifting back to slumberland. Get off your bed, take three deep breaths, sit down on the ground, take three deep breaths, and finally lay completely on the floor and take three deep breaths! You are alive! You are here with the rest of us in our dense third dimension. Be sure to make this part of your wake up routine, following this you may go ahead and continue with whatever else is part of your wake-up rituals.

There are multiple ways to be grateful for the life that you have; one sure way is to appreciate the effort that you put in to this world. Treat yourself and treat yourself right! 

Do what makes you happy! Buy yourself some good food, buy yourself a tasty drink - whatever your taste buds desire, give yourself a membership to a gym or club or society that you have always wanted to. You have to make sure that you are happy, especially after putting in the work. I would highly discourage you from spoiling yourself when you have not accomplished much as all you will be doing is reinforcing your mediocre tendencies, and that’s just sad. 

Remember we are not solitary beings, we are social beings, and thus you must also be grateful for the people around you; likewise give them a treat similarly as you would to yourself. Do not forget the people around you, lord knows that I sometimes do. I am aware of my behaviour and I am now working towards changing that. Do you have god-like skills in the kitchen - salt bae level? If yes, then cook for your loved ones. Spend time with your people. The time spent could differ from person to person or from family to family. For instance, some people prefer to spend their time together outdoors-adventuring in beach areas, camping, or travelling, whilst other people prefer to sit in front of the Television and watch their favourite programmes, NCIS, or one of the many CSIs, or a blockbuster movie or any of the many creative productions out there. Whatever the activity is, I suggest that you do it! Spend time with those people as time not spent well, is time lost.

Apart from our families and loved ones, we also have individuals that we actually spend more time with than our families. Our colleagues are also extremely important and we should be grateful for the roles that they play in supporting our work. How often do you take time to sit down and praise your co-worker, boss or subordinate for the effort that they might have put in? How often do you bounce ideas of each other and get to know the people behind the titles?

Organisations with a strong feedback and appreciation culture have been known to thrive as they often learn from their mistakes but also valuing of work done becomes motivation for people to keep on doing what they do best, and at times to do even better on the next project. 

Be grateful! 

:)