Gratitude Can Transform Your Life
Before you read on, we’ll like to first explain why we emphasize practicing gratitude in our daily lives, and why this is such a big part of Super Farmers’ ethos. This is not another post about thanking people for the sake of doing so; It is a paradigm shift that has created mind-blowing breakthroughs in our own lives and we can’t wait for you to experience a transformation in yours.
"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy and change ordinary opportunities into blessings." – William Arthur Ward
Everyone knows ‘Gratitude’, but is everyone grateful?
We’ve met our fair share of nasty people in this modern dog-eat-dog world, and it is very easy to fall into the trap of following suit and treating others the same way. However, that is creating a vicious cycle that will repeatedly attract the same kind of toxicity into our lives, so we took matters to task and did an emotional and behavioural audit on ourselves.
Putting ourselves under the magnifying glass can feel unnatural at first, because we’re often led by our egos and adhere to cerebral thinking. What is an ego? It is a combination of arrogance and ignorance. This power combo can completely deprive a person of life’s wonderful experiences and beauty. Their worlds become filled with anger, and they’re always on the lookout to blame others. Problems pile up because negativity attracts negativity, and they often gripe, “my life sucks”.
So, what is Gratitude anyway?
Gratitude is ‘the quality of being thankful; A readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.’
“Gratitude is an affirmation of the goodness in the world. Life is not a bed of roses – bad things happen, there will always be complaints, discomfort and burdens. But gratitude is what encourages us to look for the silver lining and realise that there is still some good in our lives. Gratitude is also being able to recognise that some of these goodness comes from somewhere else other than ourselves. We may feel grateful towards other people, animals, and the world. We have to not only recognise the goodness in our lives, but also who we have to thank for it.” Dr. Robert Emmons - the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude, professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, and founding editor-in-chief of The Journal of Positive Psychology.
In essence, this is a mindset shift.
So, how has practicing gratitude transformed our lives? For one, it has slowly led us to more business opportunities, and serendipitous connections with people who have helped us and also built meaningful friendships. The universe conspires to make things happen for us, when we are prepared to receive them - both good and bad. When good things happen to us, we know we've been paving the way to receive them (by practicing Gratitude, for example). And when bad things happen to us, we always refer to them as lessons to learn from, never as punishments.
Our friend Daniel had a stress-induced Mind Body Dissociation that took him a few months before he could regain his bodily functions. (Read our interview with him here) When asked what he would’ve done to prevent this, he actually thanked the illness for waking him up, “On hindsight, it was the best thing that had happened to me; I needed a breakdown in order to have a breakthrough.” Daniel is now focused as a business and life coach - to help others make money while being happy.
For a start, here are some simply ways to practice gratitude:
- When faced with a challenge, zoom out of your body, and take a bird’s eye view of the situation - was it really that bad? Look at the positive things that happened. Worse things could’ve happened, but they didn’t!
- Pay it forward. Kindness begets kindness, and your single act of kindness can infect thousands of people and before you know it, you’ll be surrounded by positivity and good things yourself!
- Smile to at least one stranger who has crossed your paths each day. It could be a waiter who served you, or a cleaning person who cleaned the toilet that you've used at the mall.
- Write a gratitude journal every single day. You don’t need more than an app in your phone. After a month, notice how your ‘fate’ has improved, and how much better you feel about yourself.
Check out these 3 Gratitude apps you can easily download and use on your phones:
- Grateful: A Gratitude Journal (Available on iOS only)
- Delightful - 3 Good Things (Available on Android only)
- 365 Gratitude: Diary, Journal (Available on both iOS and Android app stores)
Written by Jessilin Hong
Edited by Cynthea Lam