Five Easy Ways to Worry Less and Build Gratitude

In the current economic conditions, many people are worrying about how change will trickle down into their personal lives. If a daily exchange of fear, blame, or doom has replaced your daily affirmation, you need to say yes to the goodness life has to offer and build an attitude of gratitude. 

Living in a true state of thankfulness allows us to manage worry with ease. No matter how difficult they are, life’s lessons are always learning opportunities. Spirit is attempting to get your attention in an area that is not serving your best interests. When we acknowledge the lesson, learn from it, and add gratitude to our daily life, worrying will fall away. Let’s practice five ways to build gratitude today.

1.  Yes, You can cope. Affirm it! When the caca hits the fan, first learn to affirm your innate ability to cope: 

2.  Remember that you are made of Unlimited, Divine Spirit. Affirm that spirit is a part of your skill set. Invite the Divine Presence into each day and every circumstance and in whatever wisdom tradition or faith feels right to you: 

3.  Widen your perspective to deep appreciation. Is it possible to live in a state of deep appreciation for traffic jams, job loss, lousy weather, lost dogs, and missing luggage? Yes! Extend beyond baseline gratitude for material possessions, job security, or life accomplishments. A thankful state of mind and heart means continual acknowledgment that each experience is for your greater good, even if it is far less than ideal. By doing so, you are building trust in life and you strengthen your connection to the Divine.  

Practicing gratitude puts you in the Super Bowl of big picture thinking. You are not thanking the universe for providing bad circumstances, however; according to the Law of Attraction, this only generates more bad happenings. Instead, you are flourishing in a state of complete appreciation for what life has to offer, in all its wonder and complexity. 

4.  Use the Law of Attraction. Don’t you always feel more inclined to give more to someone when they are enthusiastic and appreciative? Consider the times you have helped a friend or employee and were overwhelmed with thanks. Did it make you want to give more? Although at a sub-atomic level, positively and negatively charged particles are attracted to particles with the opposite energy (and repelled by particles with the same energy), this is not a good model for our behavior and attitudes. The theory of the electromagnetic force does not account for the state of the heart. The truth is that Like Attracts Like, which is the Law of Attraction. Put it to work!  

If you want to be a person who is loved, continue to give unselfishly and thank others for all they do. The same is true with the universe. Life provides exactly what we continue to acknowledge. You’ve got to learn to love life and be in love with life at an intimate level. Anytime you acknowledge life as good, you are entering a state of gratitude. Be thankful you have an opportunity to challenge yourself.  

5.  Get the energy to return to you by practicing gratitude. Practice gratitude! Write thanks to yourself and to others on a regular basis. Wherever you go, show up with a compliment. Visit your family and bring something positive in the form of affection or caring. Tell your friends how much you appreciate their sense of humor or their graciousness and never assume they don’t need to be thanked. Write thank-you notes for dinners, gifts, and prospects you receive from all the people in your life—your family, your partner, your children, and your business colleagues. Quit procrastinating and learn to get the words out. Once you learn how to practice gratitude, you will be amazed at the ways that energy comes back to you. 

Living in a continual state of gratitude for being alive and well and having a chance to improve the lives of others through your words and actions turns negative situations around very quickly. When you express gratitude in your words and actions, you’ll be among the most beloved people on this planet, and your worrying will fall away. Without a thankful approach to life, we do not have as great an opportunity to explore the limits of our patience and our capabilities as loving individuals have.

Copyright © 2010 by The Goddess Network, Inc., and Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

Rev. Dr. Charlene M. Proctor is the best-selling author of Let Your Goddess Grow! and The Women’s Book of Empowerment. A Blessing facilitator and a Minister of Spiritual Peacemaking, she is dedicated to helping awaken individuals from all walks of life to the magnificence of their own Divine gifts.