Gratitude Unlocks the Fullness of Life




“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” William Arthur Ward (Writer). I believe that gratitude changes how we look at life and the opportunities that it offers. Life can always be better, however, gratitude shows an appreciation for the way it is now.  Gratitude allows a person to understand that there is good in life in every situation. I have found that looking at the positives of life improves my success in it more times over. If you have two people who are in the same situation of a lost job. One person looks at the current situation and beats themselves up. And another person who looks at their current situation and find ways to appreciate this moment in life. I find that the person who has a high level of appreciation always go further in life than one who continuous to beat themselves up.

Melody Beattie, an author, put it best, “gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” Deciding to be grateful does something to a person. It opens a world of opportunities that other seem to ignore. I have achieved a lot of success in life simply by noticing the small opportunities that others were too blind to see. I’m referring to the moments in life where a person has a choice to do more on the job, but decide not to because it isn’t in their job description. Or the moments where the professor assigns a group project and a person decides to submit subpar quality work.  

Brian Tracy, a speaker, stated well, “develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.” For example, a supervisor may decide to give you a promotion after seeing your quality of work improve. Or your professor decides to recommend you for a scholarship due to high quality of work on the group project. These examples I have seen firsthand. So developing gratitude for your current situation whether it be as a student, employee, or care giver is important because it may determine your ultimate level of success in life. 
Ronnie O. Rice, Ph.D.  

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