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âI am happy because Iâm grateful. I choose to be grateful. That gratitude allows me to be happyâ - Will Arnett.
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Strap yourself in - this is a long one (but itâll be worth it, I promise).
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I believe gratitude is vital in this day and age.
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So many people suffer with all sorts of problems, yet they literally have the world at their fingertipsâŚ
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So why all the suffering?
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In my opinion, itâs a lack of gratitude.
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And itâs not totally your fault.
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We're continually bombarded with marketing and âsuggestionsâ as to what we should be doing, what we should be thinking and how we should be acting.
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After a while we just end up confused.
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Too many optionsâŚ
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Too many ideas coming from external sourcesâŚ
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Too much information coming our way.
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It ends up with a loss of identityâŚ
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A confusion around who we really are at our core.
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And that leads to suffering.
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We end up depressed, anxious and potentially addicted to some behaviour that makes us feel better in the moment and allows us to escape the confusion and madness.
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The only way out of that hole is to go inwards and work on whatâs important to youâŚ
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What are your core beliefs?
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Who are you at your core?
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Your âtrue-selfâ?
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Iâve drifted slightly away from gratitude here but thatâs ok, itâs all relevant.
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Back to gratitudeâŚ
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When you start to look for things to be grateful for in your life - the small thingsâŚ
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Your perception of life changes.
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You start to forget about all the tiny âproblemsâ (that are probably currently big âproblemsâ)...
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And you start to see the bigger picture.
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Eventually, you progress even further and you just become grateful (as a whole)...
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Not grateful for individual things in your lifeâŚ
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Just grateful.
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Grateful for life as a whole.
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(Thatâs something you probably have never thought about before reading this, and it may not even sink in at the moment if youâre currently suffering in some way.)
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When you get to that point thoughâŚ
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There is no more suffering.
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Life becomes joyful - NO MATTER WHAT IS GOING ON EXTERNALLY.
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The reason I say that is because I noticed this change in myself.
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Initially I started out every morning thinking about three things I was grateful for over the past twenty four hours.
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Tiny things like being grateful for having a home to live in, having food in the fridge and cupboard, and having clothes and shoes to wear (seems silly right?).
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But we tend to forget about those little thingsâŚ
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And the more we forget, the less grateful and more bitter we becomeâŚ
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And then we start to suffer - always wanting more and more and always chasing something - âwhen I get here or there or this, things will be great!â (simply not the case - AT ALL!)
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Back to my own experienceâŚ
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Then I noticed I was finding it harder and harder to be grateful for the individual things in my lifeâŚ
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And I thought to myself âwhatâs going on here? - Iâm still grateful, I can feel it, but I canât pinpoint what Iâm grateful forâ.
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And then it struck me - I was just grateful.
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Grateful for being aliveâŚ
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Grateful for the senses of sight, hearing, smell and taste (those things that allow me to experience âphysical lifeâ - yes, those things you never even think twice about).
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Grateful for life as a whole.
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And thatâs when life really changes for youâŚ
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You forget about the small (completely insignificant) âstuffâ and focus on the bigger picture.
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Life becomes joyful and you gain a feeling of inner-peace and contentment thatâs hard to break.
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SoâŚ
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What have you got to be grateful for today?
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And every day from this point forward - think about what youâre actually grateful for that dayâŚ
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Eventually youâll get to a point where youâre just âgratefulâ, and âsufferingâ will be a thing of the past!
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