How to Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude When Life Seems Dark & Difficult

As you move toward creating a life you love living, or helping others to do the same, it’s very important to maintain an attitude of gratitude.

Focusing on being grateful keeps your attention and emotions aligned with what it is that you desire to create.

Gratitude helps to magnetize what it is that you want, and it also helps you stay happy and healthy as you continue along your success journey.

We all encounter unfavorable circumstances, conditions or situations from time to time… and when this occurs, it can be a challenge to maintain a state of gratitude.

Free guided audio meditation: The Power Of Gratitude

Today, I’m going to share a story of how one woman managed to stay happy and grateful, even in the midst of hard times.

The terrible, no good, very bad rollerblading accident

This young lady had recently been in a horrible rollerblading accident, which had caused her to lose 16 square inches of skin from her legs and backside.

This injury left her unable to sit, run, walk normally, or lie down comfortably for quite some time, while her injury healed.

She was constantly trying to find ways to stand, kneel or adjust her lying-down position in order to get comfortable and avoid pain… and over time, this became more and more exhausting.

For someone who was used to being very independent, and who enjoyed the freedom and flexibility of running a successful life coaching business, the limiting nature of this woman’s injury was very frustrating for her.

She was used to doing everything for herself, and she loved helping others also, but now, she could barely use the restroom without great difficulty.

Her secret to keeping an attitude of gratitude:

To help herself maintain a positive attitude — even though her situation was a literal pain in the butt — she decided to make a list of things she was grateful for, and to keep them in the back of her mind.

Here’s the list she made of things she could be grateful for, in her own words:

1. The accident happened on a Saturday, and I was able to take the weekend to recover.
2. I work from home, so I don’t have to get dressed up and drive to work.
3. I have a family to help me with the things that my body can’t do right now.
4. The image of me flying down that hill on my rollerblades, arms flailing, is hilarious ?
5. I injured my butt, not my head. Luckily, I don’t use my butt to think.
6. I was wearing shorts when the accident happened, so I didn’t have to deal with the pain of trying to pull a pair of pants off over the scrape.
7. My new style of walking is a source of entertainment for everyone around me.
8. My work is mostly computer-related, so I don’t have to perform advanced athletics without a functioning butt.
9. I have a whole new appreciation for my butt. And walking. And sitting. I love sitting.
10. I’m learning how to receive help from others, and to prioritize my own well-being and to treat myself with gentleness and love.
11. Someday soon, I’ll be able to sit again!

By looking for the things she was grateful for, and finding humor in the things that frustrated her, this young lady was able to maintain a cheerful attitude despite living with a very painful injury.

Can you find humor and an attitude of gratitude in your situation?

I invite you to take a Gratitude Challenge right now.

Take 5 minutes, and write down 5-10 things you’re grateful for in any area of your life.

Then, whenever you notice that you’re indulging in negative or limiting thoughts of how “bad” things are, remember the good things you listed… and focus on those.

As you train your mind to focus more and more on what you’re grateful for, the easier it will be for you to maintain a positive attitude automatically — and the more quickly you will be able to move in the direction of your dreams.

BONUS: “Grateful: Happy, Healthy & Wealthy” Guided Audio Meditation

• Generate an instant wave of gratitude for yourself and your life – even if it’s only the ability to walk through this day, to see the sky, or to see the smile on a stranger’s face. A grateful heart is a wealthy heart!
• Shift your focus away from what seems to be missing or wrong – so that you’re more easily able to direct your awareness toward what you would love to expand and experience more of in your life.

Free guided gratitude meditation available now >>