Discover the health benefits of glorious gratitude

Glorious Gratitude

“I learned about the inextricable connection between joy and gratitude, and how things that I take for granted, like rest and play, are as vital to our health as nutrition and exercise.”

Brené Brown

When you feel love, joy, gratitude, awe, curiosity, bliss, playfulness, ease, creativity, compassion, growth, or appreciation, you’re in your beautiful mind.

Your beautiful mind is in a stream of transcendence and flow. Your spirit and your heart are aligned, and your best self comes alive. Nothing feels like a hassle, everything feels peaceful. You feel no fear or frustration. You’re in harmony with your true essence.

Your Suffering Mind

When you’re feeling stressed out, worried, frustrated, angry, anxious, depressed, irritable, overwhelmed, resentful, or fearful, your suffering mind has taken control.

Negative feelings and emotions—the uglies—become the norm, even if you’d prefer they weren’t.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama reminds us, “Nothing beautiful in the end comes without a measure of some pain, some frustration, some suffering.”

Reframe your uglies. Take back control, find and prioritize the beauties—the things that spark joy, that give you pleasure and bring deep satisfaction to your mind, body, and soul. Express gratitude for these and other things that are going well in your life.

These may be everyday things you take for granted, like kind friends, or being able to walk or a warm, or a comfy bed in which to rest. Or sensory delights, like the smell of fresh coffee, or freshly cut grass, or a whiff of your favorite perfume. Perhaps a stunning photo or a painting that sparks joy or a fabulous piece of architecture. Or, the vivid blue of a summer sky.

Look for the beauty within things you may associate with ugliness. Acknowledge any pain, frustration, and suffering as a rite of passage and celebrate what’s beautiful in your life to reclaim your joy.

When you’re grateful for joy, joy spreads.

Wrap your day in gratitude.

Tell someone you’re grateful they are in your life.

Compliment or thank a stranger who sparks joy.

Every day I list my gratitudes in the notes section of my phone. It’s a great well-being boost. I also include images. See below for an example.

Today, for example, Sheree Clark, invited me for an encore performance on her upcoming summit—It’s YOUR Time: Turning the Midlife Crisis into Your Midlife Awakening

I can’t wait. I share Sheree’s story of mid-life career invention in my book, Mid-Life Career Rescue: Employ Yourself. She’s also dropped me a note to say that she wants to talk about my latest book on TV and has ordered How to Find Your Joy and Purpose: Four Easy Steps to Discover A Job You Want And Live the Life You Love.

Listen to Sheree Clark, a healthy living life coach, sharing her story of mid-life career reinvention—from despairing business owner to joyful solopreneur. Scroll to this interview here—https://www.cassandragaisford.com/podcast/

This is an edited extract from How to Find Your Joy and Purpose: Four Easy Steps to Discover A Job You Want And Live the Life You Love.

To grab your eBook or Print copy from Amazon, click here>>getbook.at/FindYourJoy

To purchase a print, hardback or audiobook version visit your favorite retailer.

Did you enjoy this post?

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Here are three more things you might like:

Interesting interviews: Listen to my best interviews on topics like overcoming obstacles, finding joy in adversity, following your passion to prosperity.

Online Course: Find Your Passion and Purpose with my best-selling self-paced course made for busy people.

Keynote speaking: Hire me to speak to your organization or team about Resilience, wellbeing, innovation, and motivation.

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Posted in: Blog, Excerpt, joy, Latest News, Mental health

Tags: joy