Problems are blessings in disguise. Sometimes, big opportunities come to us camouflaged as problems and we must learn to recognize them and make the most of that opportunity, says Sarah Abdelal.
Being grateful for problems? That’s a difficult question because the fact is we do not enjoy our problems and try to avoid them all the time and escape them in any way possible.
But first let’s define gratitude or what it means to be grateful. The feeling of being grateful is simply the ability to recognize your blessings, appreciate your benediction, and acknowledge your good fortune. You can be grateful to have won the lottery or just humbly be grateful to experience happiness by having an ant walking on your foot.
It’s the same…. you don’t need to experience miracles to be thankful in life!
Gratitude or thankfulness has been mentioned many times in all religions and sacred scriptures.
In Islam:
“If you are grateful, I will surely give you more and more” (Ibrahim 14:7)
In Christianity:
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Col. 4:2
In Judaism:
“Who is rich? Those who rejoice in their own portion “Pirke Avot 4:1
In Buddhism:
“Good men and bad men differ radically. Bad men never appreciate kindness shown them, but wise men appreciate and are grateful. Wise men try to express their appreciation and gratitude by some return of kindness, not only to their benefactor, but to everyone else”
Gautama Buddha
In Confucianism:
“It is better to light one small candle of gratitude than to curse the darkness”. Confucius
In Taoism:
“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” Lao Tzu
Oh, it’s all so easy when we have a life filled with butterflies and unicorns and of course sunflowers! A loving rich husband, the perfect healthy bikini body, a successful business, well-mannered children and supportive parents and friends!
But guess what! This is the reality of just a few! And might not be yours and that’s still ok!
Understand that your problem, your disease, your disappointment; your pain and suffering is also a blessing! It is a precious gift for which you can be grateful and appreciate it.
Your problems are good problems if you compare them to the problem of a refugee without money, without shelter and most probably without dinner tonight!
Your problems are only buttons of opportunities for action plans to be manifested, for your soul to heal, grow and evolve, for your personality to thrive and your reality to glow.
When you reach to a state of consciousness of accepting your problems, struggles and worries: face them, evaluate them & become grateful of having them!
I am sure you know someone who chose a new healthy lifestyle only after having a terrible disease.
Or someone who lost his business tragically only to become closer to his family.
Or someone who failed continuing university only to become a recognized artist.
All of them had two choices: Complaining about their problem and becoming a victim of their own circumstances OR accepting the challenge, turning the challenge into a blessing, seeing the opportunity and as a conclusion embracing their gift!
How to actually cultivate this attitude of gratitude in your life?
Even if you love complaining and enjoy playing the victim (so that you can feel less responsible for your misery) or strongly believe that everything in your life is out of your control (which is actually true but you are still in control of what you feel and how you react and respond!)
The following tips will still help you become a more grateful human being
Smile! (because you know it’s good for you!)
1-Create a Journal of Gratitude (Where every day you write down everything you are grateful for! And yes… the problems you are grateful for too!) In one of Dr. Emmons research studies, he found that people who kept a gratitude journal for just 3 weeks measured 25 percent higher on life satisfaction afterwards. You have really nothing to lose. Just Try!
2-Practice Mindfulness by becoming more aware of all your senses.
You can only be grateful for the soft breeze in the afternoon sun, the sweetness of a red cherry melting in your mouth, the smell of freshly brewed coffee if you can actually feel it too! (By practicing to be completely aware, activating your senses through mindfulness)
3-Gratitude Meditation or Prayer
During meditation or a prayer, we are closely connected with our heart, our deepest emotions and feelings! If you remind yourself of all the blessings you have been blessed with in your life. The feeling of gratitude and happiness is amplifying. Which sometimes can really bring you a feeling of natural drug free high!
4- Say “THANK YOU”
Start expressing your gratitude by simple saying the magic words “Thank you”! To yourself when you are proud of yourself, to your car after reaching safely to your destination, to your meal satisfying your hunger, your bed serving you to sleep in comfort and so on! You will be amazed how many “thank yous” you can express per day!
5-Find a gratitude stone/bead/piece of wood….
The Monkey has only learnt to crack the coconut by repetition and so have we learnt to sit on a chair, to surf and even to have good sex! So, find a simple tool like a stone, a bead or any small object that can be used as a constant reminder of being grateful. And thereafter allowing us to master that art only through repetition.
I hope this all helps to make gratitude part of your life!
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About Sarah Abdelal
Sarah was born and raised in Germany. The multicultural home she came from, her Father is Syrian and mother is French, was a blessing that gave her exposure from a young age to many cultures, traditions, religions, and languages. This was complemented by her curious sense of exploration with many demanding questions about life and death, the soul with all the unknown universe that shields it, the true essence of love and peace within. Sarah is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, Aura abd Chakra Reader, NLP Practitioner, Reiki and Pranic Healing Practitioner and Mind-Body-Spirit Wellness coach. Most of her workshops on Vision board are conducted at the Soul Art Center, Downtown, Dubai.
See more on www.hypnotransition.com