“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.”

 

“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.”

Be grateful for what you have. It works better than chasing what you don't. —Andy Haynes

Gratitude is heightened by perspective

 

 

 

Gratitude is heightened by perspective. A couple perspectives which heighten for me are:

 

1) Being shocked I even exist at all.

 

What an unbelievable numerical improbability that you have a life to begin with. The chain of events for that to take place are absolutely unfathomable. Penn Jillette has a great musing on this subject:

 

""I don't know why you need more, you are the most amazing numerical aberration...the fact that you are here. The fact that you're living is astonishing...You've won the lottery. You won the biggest f**kin lottery that could ever be won in the universe."

 

That generates a feeling of just being astoundingly lucky to be living at all.

 

Richard Dawkins ha a great quote on this matter as well:

 

“We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here. We privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds, how dare we whine at our inevitable return to that prior state from which the vast majority have never stirred?”

 

2) Imagine a caveman time-traveled and woke up one day as you.

 

Through the eyes of a caveman who wakes up as you, he would be absolutely astonished and astounded beyond words. He'd marvel and be in complete wonder as to the technology and advancement the world had experienced. It would be as if he was transported to another realm, a paradise of sort, with a brilliance that his mind could never have even fathomed.

 

So it's really often a matter of perspective when it comes to life and being grateful and appreciative. And when it comes to small and mundane every-day annoyances which can set us off in a second, it's often helpful to remind ourselves, "If this is the worst problem in my life right now, I'm doing extremely well."

 

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“We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here. We privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds, how dare we whine at our inevitable return to that prior state from which the vast majority have never stirred?” —Richard Dawkins

 

"I don't know why you need more, you are the most amazing numerical aberration...the fact that you are here. The fact that you're living is astonishing...You've won the lottery. You won the biggest f**kin lottery that could ever be won in the universe." —Penn Jillette

Gratitude exercises have been proven to have tangible benefits. According to a study by researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of Florida, having participants write down a list of positive events at the close of a day—and why the events made them happy—lowered their self-reported stress levels and gave them a greater sense of calm at night. —Arianna Huffington in Thrive

Gratitude exercises have been proven to have tangible benefits. According to a study by researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of Florida, having participants write down a list of positive events at the close of a day—and why the events made them happy—lowered their self-reported stress levels and gave them a greater sense of calm at night.
—Arianna Huffington in Thrive

Gratitude for the rain

As I walk through the rain, countless drops drenching and enveloping my entire being, the subconscious reaction which often arises is an agitation. But that is typically an unconscious emotion, not one that we consciously choose to bring into our awareness. So while that still bubbles beneath the surface, and consciously am thankful for the fact that I can even experience this moment. The astronomically unbelievable odds that I even exists makes my being a lottery that infinitely vaster than any monetary prize awarded for matching six digits. I'm highly grateful I have a home to go and have shelter in, fresh clothes to replace the drenched garments, as well as warm and clean running water to renew my flesh. Things I have taken for granted close to 100% of my existence. So in the end the temporary discomfort is actually a meditation on appreciation. Appreciation for having the senses to experience the droplets falling down from above. In the end, I have gratitude for the rain.

"I get to do what I love to do for a living and that is not a common thing, so I know I'm super lucky and I try never to forget that."

Substitute arrogance with appreciation.

Substitute arrogance with appreciation.

Don't think about the past unless it's to smile in gratitude for it.

"Negativity is an ugly cell where every inmate is both prisoner and warden. But gratitude is the way to freedom." —Susan D. Hill

"Gratitude can magically turn your relationships into joyful and meaningful relationships, no matter what state they are in now. Gratitude can miraculously make you more prosperous so that you have the money you need to do the things you want to do. It will increase your health and bring a level of happiness beyond what you've ever felt before. Gratitude will work it's magic to accelerate your career, increase success, and bring about your dream job or whatever it is you want to do. In fact, whatever it is that you want to be, do or have, gratitude is the way to receive it. The magical power of gratitude turns your life into gold!" —Rhonda Byrne

"When your prayer becomes gratitude, you attract more benevolence to you. Gratitude is the ultimate prayer that can bring us more than we can imagine." —Paramahamsa Nithyananda

"Gratitude is the best approach to life in that it leads to enduring happiness. I would also argue that it is the truest approach to life." —Robert A. Emmons

The emotion of gratitude is an incredible gift that most of us have either taken for granted, or have no idea exists in a manner in which we both should and could experience it. It is impossible to feel anxious, stressed or angry whilst you are in you are in the middle of feeling truly grateful. —Maurice Decastro

"Being thankful is the key to living a satisfying life. There are feel-good neuropeptides that are released when we are thankful. They, in turn, lock onto peptide receptors on many cells of the body." —Ramon Luis Olmos

"Gratitude will make a man do incredible things." -Danny Castillo

I once cried because I had no shoes for playing football with my friends..But one day I saw a man with no feet..that day I realized how rich I am. -Zinedine Zidane

I once cried because I had no shoes for playing football with my friends..But one day I saw a man with no feet..that day I realized how rich I am. -Zinedine Zidane

The Power of Gratitude

Gratitude is actually something can enhance your performance in athletics and beyond. Gratitude can become a habit and can flow through you naturally after some time. Like riding a bike, driving a car, walking, or any other act that becomes unconscious through repetition, gratitude can become a default state which emerges effortlessly.

The one fighter in mixed martial arts which really embodied the spirit of gratitude was Randy Couture. He'd have a perma-smile on his face because he really was extremely grateful for living a dream, finding his passion, and living out what he felt was his life purpose. He had a very enhanced level of gratitude for what he did for a living and that was one of the reasons why he was able to fight until 47, and actually had some of his greatest accomplishments after the age of 40, on route to becoming of the greatest fighters in UFC and MMA history.

The following quote is from the book The Best Tennis Of Your Life: 50 Mental Strategies For Fearless Performance, but can be applied to any sport and any discipline of life: