GRATITUDE FOR ALL THE PAIN, DISCOMFORT AND SETBACKS

Christmas is a time to be thankful to God for all the good that happened to you throughout the year. It is easy to be thankful for the good things but have you ever wondered why we should be thankful for all that did not turn out to be good? It is easy; gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for their setbacks. If we can find a way to be thankful for our troubles, they can surely become our blessings!!

• Be thankful for not having everything you desire because if you did, what would there be to look forward to?
• Be thankful when you don’t know something, because it gives an opportunity to learn something new!
• Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and your character.
• Be thankful for your limitations for they give you opportunities for improvements!
• Be thankful for difficult times, because it is during these times that you grow.
• Be thankful for all your mistakes. They taught you valuable lessons. In order to finally learn ‘how to do’, the mistakes you did eliminated all the ‘how not to do’ possibilities and no one knows them better than you!
• Be thankful when you are tired and weary, because it only means that you have made a difference.
• Be thankful for your lonely days. They are the reminders of who all are important in your life.
• Be thankful for the endings. They are also the new beginnings!!

True achievers never either comfortable or satisfied! Sure they are ordinary person raising kids, working hard and trying to make each day better than yesterday. They sure don't know all of the answers and are constantly trying to smoothen the rough edges of their life. But just when they think that they have it all figured out - and life is smooth sailing - another "opportunity for growth and learning" shows up in the disguise of a "problem" to make them uncomfortable, to keep them humble, to help them  elevate themselves, to keep them in balance and to remind them  that they are neither comfortable nor satisfied. So be thankful that you remain uncomfortable and dissatisfied despite your best efforts because that only means you are not stagnating…..you are still improving, you are still growing!

When we feel happy and satisfied, it is easy for us to find positive things in our lives that we are grateful for. On the other hand, it is precisely during difficult times that we may feel that certain areas of our lives are gray and bleak. When you’re at your happiest, write up a list of all the things you’re grateful for, and when you're having a bad day, pull it out and read it over. Now is the time to write a new list, a list of things you need to be thankful for because they are pulling you back .....like an arrow on a bow, only to propel you to a whole new world, which was yet unknown to you!! 

Comfort is stagnation and stagnation is the prelude to a slow and spiral downslide. Life of a professional is a hill with a peak and not table top. One is either climbing knowingly with a desire to reach the elusive peak or sliding down unknowingly, having lost the sight of the peak.

So, if there are problems in your world that keep you awake and struggling, be grateful and be rest assured you are still going uphill!