Lately I have been finding inspiration in some unusual places. One thought that has stuck in my head was inspired by Stephen Hopson and his Gratitude Theme
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.
We all like to moan occasionally. Sometimes with good reason, sometimes not so much. Have you noticed though what happens when you get into that pattern?
I know people who seem to be on the negative all the time. They seem to take pleasure out of seeing the dark side. They fuel this habit with newspapers and television shows that are all about anger, gloom and doom. Each new article gets them all heated up with righteous indignation and political fervor. Tell them what is going on in your life and they will tell you why and how it will all turn downhill.
Unsurprisingly these people rarely achieve much, and when they do they can’t enjoy it.
Now think about people like Stephen. He made history in 2006 as the worlds first deaf instrument-rated pilot in the world. This was after being a mover and shaker in Wall Street by the way. Just let that sink in for a moment.
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Gratitude is inspiring
If you focus with gratitude on the things you have achieved and want more of, I believe you will be more motivated and better equipped. Think of the times people have said
- “I only have 100 subscribers, I deserve more” rather than “thank you to my 100 subscribers”
- “He/She doesn’t deserve that Digg front page, they must be gaming the system” rather than “I am grateful for the people who visit me”
- “This will never work for me, I don’t have so-and-so’s advantages” rather than “Other people have achieved X despite harsher disadvantages, if they can do it, so can I!”
Negative thinking drags you down, gets your brain inventing reasons why you can’t, won’t, shouldn’t. It saps your energy and makes you a pain to be around. On the other hand positivity and gratitude energize, motivate, get your brain in a creative mode and attract people to work with you. Which could you use more of?
What you focus on you get more of
When you meet Stephen you get an enormous feeling of positivity right away. He smiles, he is upbeat, and broadcasts this energy. Quite the opposite of those toxic people mentioned above who seem on a permanent downer.
I do believe that like attracts like and what you focus on you get more of. This principal holds true no matter if you think of this in a mystical way or just look at your own practical experience of life. Our moods, outlook and attitudes get reflected back and amplified. What we put out comes back.
You can test it yourself, force yourself to smile more and see how people react to you (don’t over do it out of context, people will think you are insane, heh).
Have you noticed when you get a new car all of a sudden the roads seem full of them? We tend to associate with similar people, tend to level out in all sorts of ways, to become the average of who we spend time around.
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So, what is the answer?
If we
- consciously adjust our own behavior,
- focus on the positive and on gratitude,
- keep our attitudes in check,
- stop constantly worrying about worst-case-scenarios,
- and aim to be with the positive and encouraging people
… I believe our productivity will improve.
What do you think? Does this make sense to you? Think I have lost the plot? Please share in the comments …