Gratitude And Contentment: How To Cultivate Happiness With What You Have

By Author: Chaitanya Kumari
Total Articles: 64
Comment this article

Human beings possess the characteristic trait of complaining about everything and comparing achievements with others. This comparison makes them feel low and pushes them to achieve even more so that she/he can beat the competition. This leads to an endless race and pursuit of money and power.

Most of us are trapped in this vicious circle trying to fulfill all our desires, and as a result, we end up accumulating much more material wealth than we need. We often mistake material wealth as a security for life, but in reality, it is not. With more money and power comes more worries and tension.

The best way to alleviate stress and unhappiness is to cultivate gratitude. Practicing gratitude every day will shift our focus from material pursuits to spiritual pursuits. Every day, when we practice being thankful for whatever we have, the level of stress, tension, and over-ambitious nature of anyone gets curtailed. Instead of negative emotions and overdrive for achievements, we find inner peace that teaches us to be positive, open, and empathetic.

Once we become sympathetic, we can lead a sensible life. Instead of ...
... focusing only on our achievements, we will become helpful and responsible. We can find the inner strength to help others who do not have what we have. We will be happily able to help the needy without complaining about our lives anymore.

How to Practice Gratitude?
Practicing gratitude every day will make you much more thankful for the life you already have, which is probably better than people existing on this earth. You can practice gratitude by journaling or by making a gratitude list. You can also practice gratitude by leading a good life to make the creator happy. How can practicing gratitude help you lead a more contented life? The answer is to enhance your awareness of the here and now. You will not be worried about your future or sad about your past experiences. You will only be present at the moment and utilize it optimally.

Gratitude encourages you to find happiness and appreciation in all that you own. Doing so helps eliminate comparisons. It makes you focus on your strengths which will make you more capable of achieving more. When you focus on your strengths, you will naturally tend towards setting realistic goals for yourself that would be achievable without compromising on your personal life and relationships. Gratitude also helps you stay true to yourself and add more value to your life.

Practicing gratitude will make you more empathetic and open towards relationships. This will develop close bonds and maintain those bonds for the rest of our lives. Having loved ones around can boost your self-esteem and make you happy and positive. After all, humans cannot survive alone. You will be able to take care of your health and also let go of your past which will help in having good mental health as well. Gratitude instills a feeling of positivity which helps in taking up challenges easily.

Living smartly covers helpful topics for being wise, healthy and financially sufficient and other aspects like cultivating wisdom gifting, gift ideas, health protection, hindu dharma among other topics for smart living.