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Gratitude

Gratitude is a simple act of showing appreciation and being thankful. It doesn’t take up a lot of our time or effort to be thankful but why is it that people are not showing appreciation for the things that they are receiving in life? Do you say thank you to your parents/spouse whenever they make you your meals or when they cover you up with blankets?

When we are accustomed to things that seem to happen frequently and naturally, we wouldn’t show much appreciation to it.. Gradually we will take things for granted and grow accustomed to receiving benefits from others without being thankful.

Why Show Gratitude When We Can Be Selfish?

It is true that even when we are not showing gratitude, there is nothing that can hurt us directly but showing gratitude does has it benefits. Here is one research done by others that prove that showing gratitude does have benefits.

-Rind and Bordia found that restaurant patrons gave bigger tips when their servers wrote “Thank you” on their checks.
- Facts from Wikipedia

This is just a simple act of showing appreciation to customers attending to their restaurant and they got a positive result out of it. Is it even hard to write a thank you note or even say thank you?

By showing gratitude, we are focusing our mind on things that are pleasant in our life and it also help to bring our mind back to the present moment. It will also help to sharpen our awareness so that we can appreciate things that are happening around us which we fail to notice in the past. All these factors then ultimately help to increase our level of happiness.

By slowly cultivating the habit of being grateful, we will gradually become a more positive person with positive attitude instead of someone who complained about everything about life. One more bonus about being grateful is it  doesn’t only help to make us happier. It help people around you to be happier and you will attract more friends as a result.

How To Show Gratitude And Be Happier

1. Be aware

Be aware of little things happening around you. Whenever someone did a small act of kindness for you, return the favor by saying thank you. A smile will definitely make it more sincere.

2. Privilege, not entitlement

Sometime we often have the mentality that we are entitled to little things in life. This cause us to be ungrateful and think that things should happen in a certain way for us. Life doesn’t work that way. We need to learn that what we have is a privilege to us and we should be grateful for things that we had received.

3. Stay in the present

By staying in the present, we appreciate what we have now instead of feeling frustrated over what we don’t have. Whenever our mind start to think about what we lack, it goes into a “future mode” which will bring us frustrations and anger. By staying in the present, we can savor the moments in life and enjoy the beauty of the present.

Bonus point

Keep a gratitude journal and note down what are some of the things you are grateful for and keep on adding to it everyday. It is definitely a great way to constantly remind ourselves of what we have now and be grateful for it. Start showing gratitude and you will immediately feel that the world is a better place to live in.

Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger

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Why Show Gratitude When We Can Be Selfish?

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Human Nature

Have you ever met the situation where you kept thinking that there are better opportunities out there compared to your current one you are having? Take an example, you have a girlfriend/boyfriend and the thought of settling down always make you feel uneasy because you think that there are better girls/guys out there. This is the syndrome when one is always looking at the other side of the grass and think that the grass is greener on the other side and is also what I call the “greener grass” syndrome.

Why are we like this?

Uncertainty and curiosity plays a big part in creating the “greener grass” syndrome. It is because we are uncertain of whether what we are holding onto now is the best for us and whether are there any better alternatives out there. This uncertainty cause us to keep looking into alternatives and sometime it is doing us more harm than good because consistently looking out for the “greener grass” will sap us of our energy and attention and ultimately what we get will be an angry partner.

Human are also curious by nature and we love new things. We mostly prefer new over old because new things intrigue us and our curiosity will keep prompting us to explore the other side of the grass. These are the 2 factors that cause us to feel unsatisfied with what we have and always harboring the thought of finding the greener grass at the opposite side.

The Bad

So what is so bad about having the “greener grass” syndrome? If you have this syndrome, chances are you are missing out lots of things you currently have now. When we are always focusing on other opportunities, sometime we tend to squander the opportunity right in front of us.

There are lots of great people out there in world who can be your potential partner and sometime the best partner for you is just right in front of you but you did not put in enough effort in developing the relationship because you are spending your energy on searching for other people who seems to be better than the relationship you are having currently.

The Truth

The grass is always greener on the other side, AND the other side is always greener no matter which side you are. Have you seen some of your friends changing their girlfriend or boyfriend frequently because they say that their current boyfriend/girlfriend is just not good enough and there are better options out there. No matter how many times they change their partner, they are still not be satisfied and they will go off again searching for their “greener grass”.

Even when they have a 100% nice guy/girl as their partner, they will forsake the 100% nice guy/girl and search for someone who is 101% nice. Their life will be just running around in circles because once they found the 101%, they will want a 102% and so on and on.

How To Cure The “Greener Grass” Syndrome

The first thing to do is to acknowledge that your current partner is your best partner for you right now. Stay in the present and do not think about the hunks/babes out there who may be better than your current partner. By choosing to stay in the present, we can help to bring ourselves back from the future and preventing to have the thoughts of “what if there are better people out there” or “what if he/she is not for me” and etc.

Always apply your best effort in your current relationship. I had saw friends saying that their relationship can’t work out but from a third party point of view, what I am seeing is actually they are not putting enough effort into the relationship. So what make them think that the relationship is going to work when the effort on his part is negligible.

Last but not least, always remember that the grass is always greener on the other side, no matter which side you are at. Choose a side, stick to it and make the best out of it.

Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger

**P.S**Do you think the “greener grass” syndrome benefits us or is it causing us more harm than good? See you in the comment section.

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Hit Your Goals Home|Personal Development Blog

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Smile Smile Smile

What do you think of the video? It will take up 16 minutes and 23 seconds of your time but definitely it will bring a smile to your face and you will walk away with some valuable lessons too.

I walked away with a smile on my face after watching it and I hope to share it with my readers and let it bring a smile to your face too

3 Simple Lessons We Can Learn From Hugh Newman

Appreciate and Shower Others With Praises

Notice how Hugh Newman actually make others smile? It is just a simple action of showing appreciation and showering others with praises. Whenever you meet new people, find out their good points and tell them how great they are. Everybody have their great points, if we want to, we can definitely find it and when others are showered with praises, they will feel glad that they are being appreciated.

Be Sincere

Whenever you are giving praises, make sure you are giving it out from your heart. In short, be sincere! People can detect an apple polisher from miles away. Flattery simply does not work and in most cases, can backfire on you as others will have a bad impression of you when you are throwing praises without any sincerity.

Call Others By Their Name

People have a deep attachment to their name and the person’s name is one of the most beautiful voice they can ever hear from you. Do you prefer others to call you by your name or calling you “Hey”? You know the answer, don’t you?

In A Nutshell

There are so many times when we neglected the point to show appreciation to what others are doing. Show your appreciation, praise them for what they are doing and bring a smile to their face and brighten their day. Who knows, maybe you will receive a sincere praise from others today too.

Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger

**P.S**If you like this video and article,why don’t you share it with your friends and bring a smile to their face.

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Learn How To Get The Most Sincere Smile In 16 Minutes and 23 Seconds

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