Nothing gets our joy on faster than gratitude. That’s because gratitude shifts our perspective, it shifts our focus, and that shifts our feelings and attitude.  When our feelings and attitude shift, that shifts our vibration, which means that not only do we see and experience things from a new perspective, we also begin to attract a whole different set of experiences to us.  Wallace Wattles had some amazing things to say about gratitude in his powerful little book, The Science of Getting Rich. Listen to this…

The grateful mind is constantly fixed upon the best. Therefore it tends to become the best. It takes the form or character of the best, and will receive the best.

Also, faith is born of gratitude. The grateful mind continually expects good things, and expectation becomes faith. The reaction of gratitude upon one’s own mind produces faith, and every outgoing wave of grateful thanksgiving increases faith.

Be as thankful for [the things you imagine] all the time as you expect to be when it has taken form. The person who can sincerely thank God for the things which as yet he owns only in imagination has real faith. He will cause the creation of whatever he wants.

Wow, that’s good stuff.  Given the power of gratitude, who wouldn’t want to be doing it?  Here are some tips to help up the gratitude level in your life…

1. Make a list. One of the most powerful things you can do is to start each morning by making a list of 10 things you are grateful for.  This gets your day started in an attitude of gratitude.  If you can’t think of anything, start with being grateful for this brand new, never before lived day. For a little extra accountability, you might want to try out Gratitudelog.com, where you can record daily the things you are grateful for.

2. Be grateful for the things you imagine. I made a simple shift in my vision statement over the past few months.  Rather than saying I am creating, or attracting something – powerful statements indeed – I started saying, “I am so grateful NOW THAT…I am living a bigger, smaller life… I am surrounded by people of passion, purpose and possibility… I am a radiant, fit, energetic 128 pounds”.   When I started being grateful for the things that as yet existed only in my imagination, it changed things.  I started becoming that person and living that life much more quickly than I had ever imagined.  Try being grateful for the things which as yet you own only in imagination, and be as grateful as you expect to be when those things actually take form… then watch how everything begins to change.

3. Create a dance floor. It has been said “There is no box, made by God nor by us, but that we can’t blow off the top, and flatten out the sides, to make a dance floor on which to celebrate life.” When something happens in your life that, on the surface seems “bad”, take time to brainstorm the opportunities that are available to you as a result of that situation or circumstance.  This exercise helps us to consciously shift our perspective. If you take the time to do this, I promise, you will find there are always opportunities for something greater to emerge from any circumstance, no matter how bad it may seem. You get to decide if your circumstances will become your box or your dance floor.  I hope you dance.

4. Be grateful for the people you hired. You know that person who just annoys the heck out of you?  The boss who talks down to you… or the aunt who’s disapproving of your lifestyle… the friend who betrayed your trust?  Alan Cohen says that our soul actually hired these people as part of our life’s curriculum for the next phase of our growth.  They usher us into the next turn on the spiral of our own becoming.  Wow, that’s a different way of looking at it.  What if this person is actually here to help me become the best ME I can be?  Now that’s something I could be grateful for.  Think about the people your soul has hired. What are they teaching you? What can you can be grateful for?

5. When in doubt, SING! Jason Mraz’s great song, Who I Am Today, was born out of gratitude.  When in doubt, put this on, sing it at the top of your lungs, and see if you don’t feel a little more joy… a little more gratitude.