
At times I find it quite challenging to grasp concepts that are more than 50% abstract. Although I have read and reflected upon the meaning of gratitude quite significantly, sometimes I find myself trying to understand the concept at a more tangible level. I would like to share an analogy that comes to mind based on a bean counter’s approach, and what can be more tangible than a bean counter’s approach?
As I understand it, the process of showing gratitude forces you at a psychological level to get best prepared for whatever is coming next in your life. If you are going through a rough patch counting your blessings becomes a process of damage assessment. The thought makes you focus on what material, social, emotional, and spiritual resources you still have at your disposal to get reorganized to overcome your problems. Digging deep and doing a re-inventory of your blessings helps you recollect yourself and gears you with an upbeat spirit. The process may also make you realize how you have under-exploited some of the assets (such as time) in the past, and helps you re-calibrate for a better asset management in future.
As I understand it, the process of showing gratitude forces you at a psychological level to get best prepared for whatever is coming next in your life. If you are going through a rough patch counting your blessings becomes a process of damage assessment. The thought makes you focus on what material, social, emotional, and spiritual resources you still have at your disposal to get reorganized to overcome your problems. Digging deep and doing a re-inventory of your blessings helps you recollect yourself and gears you with an upbeat spirit. The process may also make you realize how you have under-exploited some of the assets (such as time) in the past, and helps you re-calibrate for a better asset management in future.
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.
Melody Beattie
Likewise, when you are going through good times, practicing gratitude helps you verbalize and review all strategies that have worked for you and all mishaps that you have successfully avoided. Showing gratitude in this scenario forces you to review events and make a conscious note of what worked. The practice helps you expand your inventory of successful strategies so you can avoid leaving matters to chance and can put your resources to better use at will when needed.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
Melody Beattie
In both scenarios, the practice shields you from the defeatist psyche that tends to prevent you from taking action. Reflecting on your resources through a show of gratitude can be understood as a psychological self-therapy that keeps you realistic (damage assessment), helps you assess events (lessons learned), and above all keeps you positively engaged with taking action. The process typically is accompanied by feeling calm, in-control, and confident – consider that as a psychological side effect, which the abstract definition would define as “inner peace.” 😊
Hope this helps!
Cheers!
Dr. K
Hope this helps!
Cheers!
Dr. K