gratitude is an attitude

It’s amazing how much better your life gets when you change your perspective to a position of gratitude. For as long as I can remember, I’ve kept a journal in which I write down at least five things each day for which I am grateful. It’s amazing to see the different things I’ve written at various times in my life. It’s an exercise I truly enjoy, and it helps keep a lot of things in perspective.

You could be having a horrible day - the worst day of your life, even - but if you make yourself sit down on that day and write down five things for which you are grateful, I guarantee that the worst day of your life will become a little less awful. I’ve had bad days because not every day in life is good, but there is some good in every day. Gratitude is an attitude and something that is truly worth practicing. On the days that are not as good as others, I’ve looked back at some of the things I’ve written about being grateful for, and there is always mention of family and friends and the support I have from those close to me, and more interestingly, I’ve often written how grateful I was for the bad day.

And you should be grateful for bad days. It’s such a cliche, but I love the saying “you can’t make rainbows without rain.” Rain storms, which are seen as a bit of a damper (especially since we’ve been having so many of them here in LA lately!), are actually one of the most beautiful events of all. During rain storms people tend to get frustrated for a number of reasons, including not being able to go outside or having to drive slower than usual because other people on the road are driving more slowly. But if you find a way to change that frame of thinking to gratitude, suddenly a rain storm becomes an amazing thing. It forces people to slow down in an otherwise extremely fast-paced world; it makes people miss being outside and gives them a better appreciation for sunny days; and it cleanses and renews, making the world a little cleaner and greener.

When you finally change your perspective and become grateful for the bad days, the rain storms, slowing down, you gain so much in terms of your happiness. I am grateful for everything that has happened in my life: good and bad. Because, at the end of the day, even the bad ends up being good.