The attitude of gratitude takes you to a higher level of happiness, and this attitude is cultivated through the practice of being grateful for things, small and big, every day.
According to spiritual thought-leader and trainer of Mindvalley’s Life Visioning Mastery Quest, Michael Bernard Beckwith, it’s the ability to see what has already been given to you — all the gifts of existence.
And if you struggle to answer the question, “What are the things to be grateful for?”, here are 20 reasons why you can celebrate your life each day.
On top of that, focusing on what you already have with a sense of gratitude is the fastest way to manifest your desires.
1. Mind
Without your mind, you wouldn’t be able to think, make decisions, store memories, and come up with new ideas. It lets you make things out of the world and protects you from being overwhelmed and confused by irrelevant knowledge.
Jon Butcher, creator of Lifebook and trainer of Mindvalley’s Lifebook Online Quest, believes that the mind is the strongest human skill. He says, ”Everything we witness in our civilization is the product of the mind.”
Your mind, at large, enables you to perceive the spiritual aspect of life and everything that’s happening elsewhere in the Universe.
2. Ability to Transform
Not only are you able to learn new things, you can also transform through new experiences and important lessons.
It goes beyond the biological evolutionary process as humans are one of the most complex beings on this planet who can transcend human nature and reach higher consciousness.
This ability is your privilege, and you don’t want to take it for granted.
3. Your Uniqueness
All leaves are unique. All fingerprints are unique. All faces are unique… And you — you, too, are one of a kind.
According to Mahatria, spiritual teacher and trainer of Mindvalley’s A Journey to Infinitheism, the best thing that could happen to you has already happened — you’re created as a unique, original, one-of-a-kind self. There’s nothing like you in the entirety of the universe.
“So you cannot be anyone else — you can only be the best version of yourself. And this journey of becoming the best version starts with celebrating yourself as a unique creation,” he adds.
4. Body
Your body is your sacred vessel. It’s your best friend that has, is, and will always be with you.
There are thousands of processes happening within your body for you to live and experience your life. It rejuvenates and heals itself without you being aware of it.
Ronan Diego, head of health and fitness of Mindvalley and trainer of the HoloBody Coaching certification, affirms, “We all have the ability to create a nourishing, two-way relationship with our bodies. And when you do, it will allow you to live your fullest life possible.”
Your body knows what it requires to be happy, healthy, and radiant. The question is, are you listening to it? Be grateful for your body and create a line of communication with it.
5. Heart
Do you know how powerful your heart is? Its toroidal field is more potent than your mind – it extends 8 feet around you.
In fact, the heart is the most powerful source of electromagnetic energy in the human body, producing the largest rhythmic electromagnetic field of any of the body’s organs.
You cannot see this field, but science has proven its existence. It becomes resonant when you imagine your heart interacting with others, communicating gratitude, love, peace, empathy, and unity.
6. Five Senses
Your ability to see, hear, touch, smell, and taste – all your five senses enrich your life experiences. They allow you to see the vibrant colors of this world, hear the voices of your loved ones, smell flowers in the garden, taste different foods, and touch various textures.
Scientists conclude that you can somewhat overcome losing your sense of smell, sight, taste, or hearing. But if you lose your sense of touch, you wouldn’t be able to sit up or walk. You wouldn’t be able to feel pain.
Your sense of touch is the one we often take for granted. But it’s paramount for our survival. So you can definitely be grateful for it.
7. Parents
Parents are our first teachers in life. Some of you may even consider them the best teachers. They taught you how to walk and speak. They gave you most of all knowledge.
Regardless of what relationships you have with your parents, there will be no you if there is no them. And being born into this world is a big enough reason to be grateful for your parents.
8. Love
It may seem that love is nowhere to be found at times. But love is everywhere. Love is all there is, and it’s one of the biggest things to be grateful for unconditionally.
We all experience at least one type of love at some point in our lives, and even before that tangible experience, we long for love from the moment we are born.
It can be love for another person or entire humanity. It can be love for a child or a pet. It can be love for Mother Nature or the Sun.
If you haven’t experienced it yet, don’t give up on opening up your heart to it. If you have, be grateful for all the love in your life.
9. Friends
Friends are good for your health and well-being. Doctors prescribe friendship for loneliness, stress, traumas, losses, lack of confidence, and self-worth.
If you have a best friend at work, you’re “seven times as likely to be engaged in their jobs, are better at engaging customers, produce higher quality work, have higher well-being, and are less likely to get injured on the job,” according to Gallup. Above it all, friends are good for your soul.
10. Pets
Our pets are our true soul companions. Having a pet is pure joy. On top of that, they are our overall health enhancers. They boost our mood, reduce stress, alleviate depression, and make us more compassionate. They help us bring up our children, after all.
Scientists explain that one of the reasons for these therapeutic effects is that pets fulfill the basic human need for touch. So next time you pat your pet, remind yourself to be grateful for the special bond you have with your furry friend.
11. Fears
You may think that fear is the last thing to be grateful for, but it’s not. We tend to see fear as a negative emotion, but just like any other emotion, it exists for a reason.
It protects you from danger. So being fearless is virtually a dangerous attitude. Your fears once saved you from making a reckless choice, and you can befriend your fears by seeing them as road signs which help you navigate your life.
12. Pain
Michael Bernard Beckwith explains that we can grow through pain when we are playing too small. He calls it a kensho moment.
“When we aren’t consciously embracing our vision and our growth and unfoldment, we primarily grow through pain,” he says. “This is when the Universe pushes us out of our small worlds because we are infinite spiritual beings.”
In other words, your painful experiences allow you to transform into your greatest version.
13. Achievements
It may sound counterintuitive, but we often forget to be grateful for what we have achieved so far. Even at work, we focus more often on failure rather than success.
Vishen, founder of Mindvalley, explains that we tie our happiness to our future that makes it conditional. And if you want to untangle your happiness from any external condition, you should be grateful for all the things you’ve accomplished to become who you are now.
It will boost your state of happiness and sense of gratitude for who you are.
14. Money in Your Bank Account
You can thank your money regardless of how much you have. “Arigato your money” is one of the key principles of Money EQ — a concept introduced by Ken Honda, Japan’s #1 money teacher and trainer of Mindvalley’s Money EQ Quest.
This is your relationship with money based on the emotions and feelings you associate it with.
Ken Honda shares that thanking your money, when they come and when they go, is a shortcut to wealth. So thanking your money is a powerful tool to be more grateful for what you already have in your life.
15. Time
Eternity is a very long time. Especially towards the end.
– Steven Hawking
Time is one of the things we take for granted. But each of us exists for a short time, and only time will show how well we lived.
Even if time is an illusion, our perception allows us to manage our days better and organize ourselves. Its finite nature in terms of a lifetime teaches us to be mindful of how we spend this invaluable resource.
As long as we have time, we can change and transform. We can explore. We can love. We can enjoy the ride.
16. Modern Utilities
Modern utilities such as electricity, water, and gas are some of the things to be grateful for yet taken for granted.
According to the World Bank report,
- There are 759 million people still living without electricity, about half of them living in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
- More than 785 million people don’t have access to clean water, and more than 884 million people don’t have safe water to drink globally.
- About 40% of the world don’t have access to clean fuels for cooking.
Next time you pay your utility bill, thank your money and be grateful for having electricity, clean water, and gas.
17. Modern Conveniences
According to a 2019 study, modern conveniences save the average person 51 minutes a day, or about 13 entire days a year.
Researchers asked 2,000 people to name the top inventions that have improved our lives the most. And here is a list of modern conveniences to be the most grateful for:
- Washing machines
- Refrigerators
- Smartphones
- Online banking
- Laptops
- Wireless internet
- Microwaves
- Dishwashers
- GPS
- Keurig coffee makers
So every time you use one of these conveniences, you can practice daily gratitude.
18. Books
Perhaps, books are also one of the most pleasurable inventions. On top of that, reading a book can improve your mental health and increase your life.
Jim Kwik, one of the foremost experts in speed reading, memory improvement, brain performance, and accelerated learning, who is also Mindvalley’s trainer of Super Reading Quest, believes that thanks to books, we are able to download the decades of someone’s knowledge and expertise that they’ve put into it.
If you remind yourself of being grateful for books in our lives, perhaps, it will inspire you to read more.
A book is one of the most patient of all man’s inventions. Centuries mean nothing to a well-made book. It awaits its destined reader, come when he may, with eager hand and seeing eye.
– Lawrence Clark Powell
19. Music
Music gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.
– Plato
Music is omnipresent — you can hear it everywhere and it’s hard to imagine our lives without it. It’s like a time machine that can take you to any era and place at any given moment.
Music is our universal language that needs no translation or interpretation. We all understand it and connect with it in our unique ways. It’s one of the eternal things to be grateful for.
20. Your Journey
Your journey is unique, with its ups and downs, twists and turns, pains and gains. Just like there are no two identical leaves, there are no similar human experiences.
In the vastness of the Universe, you’re not even a speck of dust. But you are given an enormous privilege to have an individual experience of existence.
So be grateful for your journey and trust everything is working out for you. Because it really is.
Celebrating Your Uniqueness With Mindvalley
If you woke up today, you’re given another day to breathe, love, laugh, hug, express your greatness, and share your gifts with the world. Sadhguru, spiritual teacher and trainer of Mindvalley’s A Yogi’s Guide to Joy Quest, reassures you that the most important thing in your life is that you are alive.
Aliveness, like gratitude, is a skill you can cultivate. And if you aspire to learn how to develop an attitude of gratitude, a better growth mindset, unapologetic self-love, and a compassionate heart, here are Mindvalley’s Quests for you to join:
- A Yogi’s Guide to Joy with Sadhguru: Your guide to practicing aliveness daily
- The 6 Phase Meditation with Vishen: The proven method of achieving your goals and manifesting dreams
- A Journey to Infinitheism with Mahatria: Your journey to transformational spiritual breakthrough
- 10 Questions for Self-Love with Kristina Mänd-Lakhiani: A powerful quest to help you cultivate more self-love and self-acceptance
- Becoming More Loving with Gelong Thubten: A 7-day adventure to embrace the compassionate and forgiving part of yourself and unlock profound inner peace
You can sign up for an account for free and unlock sample lessons from these Quests. Welcome in.
