Are you willing to become boldly grateful? Slow self-improvement can readily make your life better. Your gift of gratitude gives you resilience and perseverance.
One reason:
Your appreciative attitude leaves clues as to what’s a useful course of action to better your situation.
You see, when you dig deep for an attitude of gratefulness in the present moment, you’ve got big hints that help you figure out what has meaning for you today. Indeed, the more difficult your circumstance, the more valuable your gratefulness becomes a clue to what’s going to work for you. What you appreciate in a difficult moment shines forth as a beacon to what you’re likely to be able to pursue successfully.
Success does take pursuit! Effort over time.
For example, notice right now what you appreciate.
You might want to take a brief moment to do so 🙂
Then, if you’ll follow up later (today or some other day!) by using this timing to ask yourself, “How can you make your life better?” you’ll know that you’ve got a bit of data already gathered.
For in your gratefulness you’ve gotten a momentary insight into one aspect of exactly that which you’ll call “better” in this phase of your life.
Knowing a few things you’re grateful for can give you how to build confidence every day to recognize what has meaning for you.
Here’s how that works:
What’s worth exploring in any particular moment of gratefulness might get lost on a better day. Yet in tough times, one glimmer might be enough to get you started in some small way that builds confidence for a path to a situation that fits you better.
When you want to make your life better, here’s the thing. You tend to notice opportunities more readily when you practice gratitude.
Here’s how to make that work for you:
Who you are changes a bit here and a bit there over time as life goes on. Partly that’s you interacting with and exploring the world… and you can adjust that based on what your gratefulness highlights.
As you begin to more boldly practice appreciation, what you encounter in life gives you clues to the directions in which you’re changing.
Your tiniest bit of appreciation might turn into pursuing a thought in a way that leads to new skills. You might not even be aware of the skills you’re picking up because you’re gently, humbly engaging in slow self-improvement simply for the joy of the moment.
Yet as you awkwardly pursue with interest what you noticed with gratefulness, you take actions in simple ways.
Those actions at times will lead you to try new approaches naturally.
In doing so, you’re open to learning.
Learning changes your possibilities.
What you’re learning is likely to be micro-skills that you can readily gain because you’re simply pursuing your interest in that smallest spark you observed.
Such moments of action and microlearning might pass without pause for that action on another day. Yet when an otherwise fleeting gratefulness prompts you to follow up with action, you’re open to being eager to do. Especially when you create a habit of allowing your action to be exploratory, brief, gentle, and simple.
How a gift of gratitude gives you resilience and perseverance is in that action you take.
When your action is prompted by meaning (in this case gratitude), you’re able to be open-minded about becoming willing and eager to act. Some days you’ve got that moment to act. Other days not so much. Yet I urge you to be boldly grateful for those moments of gratefulness.
Boldly grateful by taking a tiny, micro action!
That way you’ll increase your open-mindedness to following through on small actions associated with your appreciation.
Meaning plus action is powerful.
How you can make your life better comes from such combinations!
You won’t quit when obstacles leave you in need of rebuilding some aspect of your life.
Life tends to have bumps, doesn’t it?
Something doesn’t go as planned. Another thing falls through. Yet through it all your gift of gratitude gives you resilience and perseverance to keep making your life better with slow self-improvement.
Lovely Cynthia,
What a refreshing piece, my friend! 💙 In love with your beautiful expression “Boldly grateful”! So simple; still leaving a powerful impact!
Along with humility, courage and gratitude are my very favorite virtues of all! Result: winning me was a piece of cake! 👏💎👏
Thank you Myriam Ben Salem. I appreciate you!
blessings,
Cynthia
Sailing long distances, a small 1 degree wearing off the course you normally would set, and you might end up in a different country.
You are so right, Cynthia, being aware of what goes on inside us is such a good guide. Unfortunately, many have learned to tune the signal down if their feelings were never “important enough” to be recognized.
I can still listen to me, every cell, even if nobody else does.
That’s brilliant Charlotte. And sailing the long haul of life’s journey is where we’re all living.
You’re right about feelings. Recognizing our feelings matters.
So glad you listen to you. You are living leadership by example!
blessings,
Cynthia
Cynthia, this is so true: “You tend to notice opportunities more readily when you practice gratitude.” I have found when we are in that state of gratitude, the vibration of everything that happens around us is higher! Sometimes are easier than others when we are in a difficult space, but the more we practice, the stronger we get! #gratefulalways
Thanks Carolyn. Practicing the easier bits and pieces does indeed strengthen us by the practice itself.
It’s the process of the practice!
blessings,
Cynthia
Hi Cynthia,
This is just lovely. I agree wholeheartedly. I am pleased that I was tagged. I love microactions. Yes, slow and steady is what sustains us. Thank you for this. I appreciate it.
With a smile,
Darlene
Hi Darlene,
Thank you! Microactions, yes. Taking action in sustainable ways gives a joyful path.
blessings,
Cynthia