How Gratitude Can Change Your Life | Finding Happiness with Gratitude

Happiness doesn’t need to be far away. Learning to find gratitude can change your life by changing your perspective. By finding gratitude, we can find our way back to a simpler life, and with that, a life of happiness and purpose. This post is dedicated to giving you the strategies you need so that gratitude can change your life for the better.

It seems in our world we’re taught to believe that we can never just be happy.  From very little on and then into our adulthood we’re shown advertisements of toys that will make us have all the fun, tools that will make our lives easier, clothes that will make us feel more beautiful, lotions and make-up that will take years off of our faces, and cars that will make us the envy of our neighbors.  No matter what you have, there is always something out there that’s better and through the constant connected world, you’re reminded that what you have isn’t enough.  You need something else; then- and only then- will you be happy.  

Our modern world teaches us the opposite of gratitude

This feeling of need and greed comes early.  Perhaps it’s built within us, part of an evolutionary characteristic to make sure that our species can continue to evolve and grow in the natural world.  But in a world where we have everything available at our fingertips, this need to have more takes us down a never-ending cycle of unhappiness and consumerism.  It ends up leaving us with a life unfulfilled and longing for something else.  

So how do we end the cycle when we are literally constantly surrounded by people, friends, influencers, social media, advertisers, and stores telling us what we need?  Well, this is a question I still deal with, friends.  Yes, in a lot of ways, I’ve minimized my belongings and simplified my wants and needs in this life.  Yet, there are still things I find myself longing for.  If only my garden was weeded, then I’d be happy.  If only my children would listen to me, then I wouldn’t be yelling so much.  If only it rained more often, then our garden would be overflowing. It can be easy to be caught up in these lies we tell ourselves. Soon, we have changed our mindsets to believe that life isn’t as grand as it truly is, and our focus is on the negative. Our minds need some tending to in these moments.

It’s all about perspective

You might start to find yourself getting sucked into the web of lies that tells you that you should be unhappy. Suddenly, your focus shifts and changes to what is wrong with your life rather than what is good with it.

But here is the truth. Though these days seem long, the seasons are short.  Like an hour glass, each second is a grain of sand passing through, and the trouble is, you think you have time.  It’s easy to think that things aren’t going to change-to be in the season you’re in now, and to feel like it will always be this way.  But it won’t.  It can’t.  We aren’t designed to be on this earth forever, and each moment that we live brings us closer to home.

Homestead living can help

Living on a homestead helps us to recognize this in each and every moment.  It helps us to clutch each moment and remember that time is moving and to enjoy each moment.  

Homestead life is all about living in the now while preparing for the future.  It’s finding joy in the simple tasks of daily living- joy in the first seedlings of spring, joy in the harvest season, joy for the beauty of fall, and joy in the beauty of the slowness of winter.  It’s about recognizing that each and every moment is one you’ll never get back again, and remembering that each season has gifts to offer.  

When days are hard, and they’re bound to be, I try to remind myself that someday this won’t be.  When the nights are long from the baby waking up as she cries to be held, I try to find joy in the sweetness of her cuddles and remember that all too soon she will no longer be nursing and comforted in the night by me alone.  When my tired body yearns for rest, I give thanks for my youth and the strength of my body, grateful that I can garden and play with my children with ease.  And even in the joyful days, as my children run through the yard, barefoot and squealing with laughter, I think back to doing that myself, and I try to capture the memory to keep. For like me, they too will grow up and move on.    

Take the steps needed so that gratitude can change your life

So don’t wait.  Go now.  Act now.  Don’t let the world dictate what it is that you do with your life.  Instead, focus your mind and attention on how grateful you are for what you have, and soon you will find that gratitude can change your life.

Give Thanks Each Day

“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Col. 2:7

This one might be a given, but training your mind to recognize each day the things you are grateful for can help you come to realize how truly blessed you already are.  There is always something to be thankful for each day.  In any situation, in any time, you should always be able to find something.  

I was feeling sorry for myself as I worked late into the night one evening. My mind was completely focused on what I was unhappy with, and because of that, completely oblivious to how much I truly had to be grateful for.  

As my anger and frustration continued to grow, my productivity continued to decline. When my husband came upstairs for bed, I was so frustrated with my life and its circumstances. I was ready to start spilling my guts of unhappiness to him.

When he got to the top of the stairs, he didn’t notice my frustration or anger. He asked me if I had seen the Facebook post about a young woman in our community whose cancer had returned. She is young and vibrant, a mother and wife. My problems immediately became completely irrelevant, and I was ashamed at how I had let my brain lose sight of how truly lucky I am to be in this place here and now. 

To help train your brain to recognize to find gratitude, give thanks at the end of each day.

Each night as I lay in bed, I thank God for the abundant blessings in my life.  I always thank Him for the gifts of each of my family members, but then I might also add in a thank you for the time we had spent together that day, a thank you for the beautiful weather, or a thank you for the sweet snuggles of one of my little ones.  Focusing on these each night before you go to sleep can help you to rest well and be ready for another day in the morning.

Find Perspective

One of my favorite quotes from Laura Ingalls Wilder is this one:

​“She thought to herself, “This is now.” She was glad that the cozy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.”

I love it because it sums up how we feel most of our lives.  We feel like things will always be as they are, our people will be as they are, and we will be as we are  But this isn’t reality, and it’s important to recognize this.  We don’t really feel different from day to day, but as we look back we realize how much has changed.

I think it’s important to focus in on this uncomfortable topic and to confront it head on.  Things will not always be the same forever.  Someday your loved ones will be gone and so will you.  In an instant, everything could be different, and this is something you need to remember each and every day.  When you think about life as being something that is fleeting and not to be taken for granted, what you have to be grateful for becomes incredibly more obvious.

Focus on Relationships, Not Things

When you get to that deathbed we were just talking about, what will you be thankful for?  These are the things you want to invest in while you’re living.  When you’re deciding what to do, think about how it can impact relationships.  Focus your time and money on these things, as these will be the ones that bring you the greatest joy overall.  If it takes away from relationships, it might not be worth your time and investment.

For example, watching movies together as a family can be a fun way to build relationships because we can talk, laugh, and joke together about it later.  It becomes a problem when it takes our attention away from relationships and we avoid being with one another because we’d rather be with the thing than our family.  Do you see my point?  

Gratitude can change your life when you focus on how things and experiences bring you closer in your relationships.

Remove Things that Clutter Your Mind and Heart

I have found that the less you have, the more you’re grateful for.  Things won’t bring you happiness, so why do we keep buying more to try to fill that hole we have?  Removing things from your life that don’t bring you joy and happiness can be extremely powerful in decluttering your home and growing that grateful heart.  You appreciate the things you have and the work they can do for you.

And don’t limit yourself to decluttering your home- decluttering your mind is important too.  Remove thoughts, people, and memories that make you angry or sad or push you towards poor choices.  Most likely these things cannot be changed, so there’s no point in dwelling on them.  Doing so only takes up that precious space in your mind, taking away from opportunities to give thanksgiving.

Choosing to declutter your mind and heart can lead to gratitude that can change your life.

When Greed Beats Out Gratitude

Learning to be content and grateful will take some effort and work. It is a total mindset and lifestyle change that you will have to constantly work on. When you stumble and find yourself lost in greed and want instead of finding gratitude, these steps can help you to get back on the right road.

Make a Pros and Cons List

Oftentimes when we want something we think about the good things that will come from it without looking at the negatives that might come along with it too.  Consider how long you’d have to work and be away with your family to pay for it.  Is it worth it?  What negative things might happen as a consequence of this new item?  Will it take away from family time?  Will you need to work more?  Will you have this item for a long time or will it only last a year?  Is it worth that?  Evaluating the purchase from all angles is important.

Reflect on Who and What You Surround Yourself With Because it Matters

If you’re choosing to surround yourself with people who are always buying the next best thing, chances are, you’ll find yourself wanting the same.  If you are following people on Instagram who seem to have the perfect life because of (insert item here), then you may find yourself yearning for it too.  When you find yourself envying or filled with a want for something because someone else you know has it and it makes them happy, take a minute to step back and away from it for a while.  Step away from social media.  Take a short break from the person.  See if it’s still something worth the purchase after you’ve been away from the source of the need.

Can you buy it used?

If, after evaluating it, you decide you do really need something, look for ways to buy it used.  You can find some really wonderful, like new things that other people bought on impulse and buy it at a much lower price.  You might not be able to get it right away, but once you do, it will be worth the wait and savings back in your pocket.

Make do with what you have already

Is there another way you can get the job done of the thing you need without purchasing something new?  Be innovative and creative.  Imagine you can’t go to the store and buy something….what would you do? How could you still get the job done without the said object?  You might be surprised at how creative you are at coming up with solutions.

Gratitude can change your life and lead you to happiness. Are you ready to make it a priority?

I hope this can bring you peace and end some of the restlessness you might have been experiencing if you are someone who has a hard time with this. In our world, it’s easy to be overcome with the feelings of envy and a desire for more…but we don’t have to stay in that place or live there.  Learning to take back your life can be extremely powerful.

So go out today and be grateful.  Focus your attention on each moment, remembering that you’ll need to give thanks for it tonight with the Lord.  If it helps to journal, do that!  Sometimes it’s nice to go back and read through everything that you were thankful for on the days when you are having a hard time finding the good.  

Gratitude can change your life.

Be willing to make the change to allow it to happen. It will take some time to train your brain on how to believe that it can be happy with gratitude. But once you have made it there, you’ll be unstoppable.

Save this for later! You don’t want to forget it.

Would you like to see more about simple living?

Check out these posts here.