3 Steps to Tap into The Power of Extreme Gratitude – Episode 488
Extreme gratitude is being grateful for everything you can possibly be grateful for.
Gratitude is important because it enhances mental and physical well-being. Gratitude makes relationships better. Gratitude promotes a more positive outlook on life. Gratitude can improve mental health by reducing stress and increasing happiness. Gratitude can improve physical health through better sleep and a stronger immune system.
Imagine what Extreme Gratitude can do for you!
In this episode, Ted shares three simple and powerful steps to begin to have all the benefits of extreme gratitude. A life of gratitude is only one thought away.
Listen, like, share, or review!
Listen to this podcast episode now:
The Story:
This morning, I went for a walk around the lake like I try to do every morning.
We’ve had rain and cold recently but today was a beautiful day. After, I went to the market and when I went to pay, I realized that I didn’t have my wallet.
I immediately panicked. I had lost my wallet once before while I was walking in the park around the lake. I had put my wallet in the back pocket of the athletic joggers that I had been wearing. I had put my phone in the same back pocket. I pulled out my phone while I was walking, and unbeknownst to me, the wallet came out with it.
I drove back to the park to retrace my steps. I called the park headquarters and a very nice lady offered to send a maintenance person to go see if they could find it. I went to where I thought I had lost it, but it wasn’t there. I was upset with myself.
It occurred to me that perhaps I had left it at home or dropped it. I called my wife and sure enough, my wallet was there. It had fallen out of the little back pocket of the joggers that I was wearing before I left to go walking.
I was overcome with gratitude. Losing a wallet is a huge inconvenience, not to mention the fear that someone with nefarious motives might find it. The last time I lost it though, someone turned it in to the park headquarters.
I started walking back to where I parked my car. The day was warm and beautiful. Just then the nice lady from the park called me to ask where specifically I had been walking. I told her I had found my wallet. I also expressed to her how grateful I was for her concern and time and effort. I also told her how much I loved my park with the lake. She said, “We love it too and we are all grateful that we work here.”
Even though I had a bit of a panic, I was grateful that the Universe gave me an obvious poke to tell me to make sure that I put my wallet where it would not fall out.
Extreme Gratitude
The American Psychological Association defines gratitude as a sense of happiness and thankfulness in response to a fortunate happenstance or tangible gift.
I would suggest that extreme gratitude is being grateful for everything you can possibly be grateful for.
- Gratitude is important because it enhances mental and physical well-being, Gratitude makes relationships better. Gratitude promotes a more positive outlook on life.
- Gratitude can improve mental health by reducing stress and increasing happiness
- Gratitude can improve physical health through better sleep and a stronger immune system.
- Gratitude fosters empathy for others, strengthens bonds, and encourages behaviors such as helping others.
In addition, the power of extreme gratitude lies in its ability to reshape your brain and improve your overall well-being by boosting happiness, strengthening relationships and not only enhancing but improving mental and physical health. It does this by increasing the release of “feel-good” neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, helping regulate stress, and shifting your focus from what you lack to what you have.
If there is one thing I tell my clients over and over again, it to shift focus from what you don’t want to what you DO want and what good stuff you have now.
Practicing gratitude is a choice, and while it may not erase negative emotions, it provides a perspective to cope with difficult times and build resilience.
How do we tap into the power of extreme gratitude?
- Take responsibility for your ability to feel grateful now. Realize that nothing outside of you needs to change or be different for you to feel grateful.
There is a great article on PositivePsychology.com titled “What is Gratitude and Why Is It So Important?”
According to the article:
“The two stages of gratitude comprise the recognition of the goodness in our lives and then how this goodness came to us. First comes the acknowledgment of goodness in one’s life. In a state of gratitude, we say yes to life. We affirm that, all in all, life is good and has elements that make it worth living. The acknowledgment that we have received something gratifies us, both by its presence and by the effort the giver put into choosing it.
Second, gratitude is recognizing that sources of this goodness lie outside the self. One can be grateful to our creator, other people, animals, and the world, but not to oneself. At this stage, we recognize the goodness in our lives and who to thank for it.
The two stages of gratitude comprise the recognition of the goodness in our lives and then how this goodness came to us. Through this process, we recognize the fortune of everything that improves our lives and ourselves”
A paper published in 2016 asserts that:
“As expectations have changed, gratitude has diminished in western society. Possessions and health are expectations for many individuals rather than considered personal ‘blessings’ that are appreciated. “Gratitude has, for many, been replaced by disappointment, anger, and resentment when these expected ‘blessings’ either do not appear or they disappear” (Passmore & Oades, 2016, p. 43).
- Affirm gratitude daily by being mindful of and looking for the blessings in your life.
Get out of your head and stop thinking about what’s going wrong or what you don’t have and look for the good stuff that surrounds you. Notice objects, shapes, colors, designs. Be aware of how things reflect light, how they are constructed, how things wear down. Notice without judgment, only with perception.
God is in the details. Take time to look closely and deeply into things. Feel the surface of something and get present to the textures and what that does for you (or not). Really look into peoples’ faces; notice eyes, hair, and how they use their hands.
Take time for things. We have been hypnotized into believing we should cram as much as we can into each day. Productivity to achieve goals is a worthy aspiration, but taking on too much and running around all the time becomes a grind. Do less better so that you can enjoy life.
For me, getting out into nature is an essential way to cultivate extreme gratitude.
- Express gratitude every chance you get.
As often as you can, tell someone “I appreciate you.” Text someone. Send a card, send a letter, send an email. You’re creating a powerful vibration here, an energy that is powerful and impactful.
When something goes right in your life, say thank you.
When something goes wrong, say “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to figure this out.” I was grateful for the scare of possibly losing my wallet because it taught me something.
So much of living from gratitude comes from letting go of our ideas of how the world should be, ought to be, could be or how we would like it to be.
We should try to make the world a better place in whatever way we can. We should be concerned during those times when world is not a good place. But to avoid becoming cynical, resigned, frightened and shut down, we also need to detach and affirm that the world is also a beautiful place and that most people are good. Try to do this regularly for just a short period of time. The idea is to get to the point where you can say truthfully “It’s all good.” This takes practice. Plant the seeds of extreme gratitude and cultivate them daily. Gratitude is a mindset we can develop. If we work at it, gratitude becomes a trait of our being.
Here is a quote by Meister Eckhart, a German theologian, mystic and philosopher who lived in the 13th century:
“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was thank you, that would be enough.”
Did you know that you can watch this podcast on YouTube?
Or listen to this podcast on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Soundcloud or TedinYourHead.com.?
Is an attitude of Gratitude a habit you want to cultivate? Tired of being cynical and resigned? Request a complimentary consultation to talk with Ted. Click on https://Tedmoreno.com/contact.
Ted will get back to you within 48 hours to discuss your challenges, answer your questions and schedule your first hypnotherapy session.
Thank you for listening and may you always be present to the blessing that you have been given so that you are able to live in extreme and powerful gratitude.
I’m grateful to you.
Ted
