Ep7: Episode 7 - Attitude of Gratitude - a podcast by Raina Jain

There’s no happier person than a truly thankful, content person. -Joyce Meyer (American author and speaker)

This topic is extremely close to my heart and this is something that I live up to every single day of my life. Let the world turn upside down, but not even a single day goes by without being grateful for where I am in my life today.

Earlier, when things would get rough, I have questioned myself about a million times – Why is this happening to me? Why me? Why are my emotions getting out of control? Why do I feel stuck? I have spent time dwelling, over thinking, expecting the worse case scenarios. I have done all of that; but it simply felt like a mental block. I tried resolving difficulties from a space of fear, impulsiveness and anxiety which always made me feel better – only for a moment however eventually led to feeling even more anxious and hence became a pattern for every time I felt stuck I would act out of impulsiveness.

I realised there was something that wasn’t feeling right. Something that wasn’t fitting in, something that would take away ‘myself’ from feeling whole and complete.

People have always seen me as fortunate even when I was struggling with issues that have drained my mental capability because of the way I dealt with situations. I was always told this one thing my entire life that ‘life is not what happens to you but its about how you respond to it and what you choose to make out of it’

We are all afraid to express that we are vulnerable, but why? When we were kids we used to be open, expressive, and free. But as we grow old, we mature and realise that we live in a painful world, a world where people give pain in return of pain, hatred for hatred, and revenge for revenge. We were never really taught to give love for pain, love for hatred or love for revenge. Ultimately, we build walls, close ourselves, try to protect ourselves which leads to self-destructive behaviour, beat ourselves up for the mistakes that we make, engage into emotional defences such as projection and gradually by the time you are fully ready to feel love, you realise that the entire system of functioning has been a confusion.

You just don’t understand what is happening.

For a moment just keep everything aside, pain, regret, hatred all the negative feelings:

Think about this: There’s so much in our lives to complain about, to crib about, to hate about or to dislike about or simply wish to change.

But when was the last time you were grateful for simple things in life?

How often do you pause to appreciate what you have in life?

Have you been thankful that you woke up today whilst millions of people in the world didn’t have that privilege?

Have you been thankful that you have the ability to feel and think whilst so many people are suffering from a developmental disorder such as Autism? Or that you’re surrounded by people who love you and want the best for you?

Or very basic things in life – like the food we eat, the shelter we have or the clothes we wear.
Or the mentors who shaped our perspectives, some people who taught us to love harder, the past mistakes that moulded us, the failures that kept us trying or the success that kept us moving.

I have a list of more than one thousand things to be grateful about, and I am damn serious about it because I maintain a gratitude journal.

Maybe you’re wondering why is there a need to be grateful for all of these trivial things, what’s going to change? My life is going on, it will still go on, but hey no!

This little thing ‘of simply being thankful’ can make a huge difference in your life.

There’s a lot of research that suggests that being grateful can have incredible benefits in our lives.
Being grateful in our lives makes us more optimistic and happier.


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