Make the Grit the Pearl
Jessica Zemple is the founder of Life Shucker and helps individuals and organizations find their deeper purpose and translate it into authentic success through transformative coaching, workshops, and retreats. Jessica is also a keynote speaker and has written for Huffington Post, Inc., and Thrive Global. Jessica’s life coaching philosophies and techniques have been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, Huffington Post, and Inc. She recently led workshops at The Ranch and shared these timely tips for cultivating gratitude.
We all know gratitude has uplifting effects. It improves happiness, optimism, generosity, sleep, energy, and facilitates a healthier mind, body, and soul. So why is it so hard to stay in a place of gratitude all the time?
We can fall out of gratitude for a multitude of reasons. We forget the benefits. We get busy.
We have a terrible day. Or, we hold ourselves back from gratitude because of our mindset.
The good news is we can change.
To foster more gratitude in your life and revel in all the benefits, you can start by looking at what might be holding you back. Here are some of the mindsets that block people from gratitude. Use these as a starting point to see what
– Guilt – “How can I be grateful with so much pain in the world?”
Many people are full of compassion. When you see others living with so much grit, it can be hard to feel good about the miracles in your life. It is helpful to remember that we are all connected. When you can find gratitude in your life to lift yourself up, you can help lift those around you.
– Fear – “What could I possibly be grateful for?”
There’s so much going on in our world today. It’s easy to focus on your fears instead of what is going well in your life. This perpetuates the fear causing you to spiral downward even more. To break the downward cycle, it is important to look for what is working so you can feel the gratitude to lift you up.
– Unworthiness – “I don’t deserve to be happy.”
So many people in our world don’t think they are worthy of living in a place of peace and joy. With that attitude, it would be hard to find what there is to be grateful for. Embrace the fact that you are worthy of living your best life simply because you were born. With that shift, see what flows, including the gratitude.
– Pollyanna – “Life is supposed to be rainbows and unicorns.”
Life is gritty. It is our choice to find the blessings in even our most trying times while still allowing ourselves to feel what is real. Make the grit the pearl.
– Victim – “Nothing ever goes right for me.”
In a victim mentality, one does not see that so many things around them work in their favor. A victim mindset turns miracles into mistakes.
Blessings into curses. Flip your mentality to be empowered, and you’ll see there are so many things to be grateful for right in front of you.
– Gratitude Itself – “I should be grateful for…”
It seems strange that gratitude could block gratitude, no? People stay in undesirable places because they feel like they “should” be grateful for what they have instead of going for what they really want and truly being grateful. Make choices from your heart, and it will support you in feeling gratitude.
Remember, gratitude is a practice. It is something we need to work on every day of our lives. Other than shifting your mindset, here are a few more ways to cultivate your gratitude.
- Look for Miracles – You find what you are looking for. If you are always looking at what is wrong in the world, it will be harder to find things to be grateful for. Look for miracles, and that is what you’ll see!
- Reframe Issues as a Blessing – We cannot always change our circumstances. We can change our perspective, though. Try reframing a challenge in your life as a blessing and see how that changes your experience.
- Surround Yourself with Grateful People – Energy is contagious. If you are surrounded by people focused on the blessings in life, you’ll feel the love.
- Gratitude Journal – Write down everything you are grateful for, a minimum of ten minutes a day, and see how different you feel once you do.
Three Grateful Things – End your day by sharing with your loved ones three things you are grateful for from that day. This can be done in person or over a text message. It will help to end each day on a high note for all involved.
Write a Love Letter – When we acknowledge others, we naturally fill our hearts with love. Write a letter to a loved one or even a stranger, spreading love and practicing gratitude. Remember to write one to yourself too!
Grieve – When we grieve the loss of a loved one or a dream, it is an act of gratitude by acknowledging their importance in our lives.
Slow Down – When we are too busy, we live in a place of reactivity, making it hard to see anything other than what is next on our to-do list. Slow down and take a deep breath. It will help open yourself up to seeing the world in a new way full of gratitude.
With everything going on in our world today, it makes gratitude that much more important. Be part of the solution and practice gratitude; however, it works for you. Not only will it lift you, but it will lift all of those around you too!
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Jessica Zemple helps people shuck open their shells of fear with love to let their pearls shine, leading to a more fulfilling life!
Jessica Zemple is the founder of Life Shucker and helps individuals and organizations find their deeper purpose and translate that into authentic success through transformative coaching, workshops, and retreats. Jessica is also a keynote speaker and has written for Huffington Post, Inc., and Thrive Global. Jessica’s life coaching philosophies and techniques have been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, Huffington Post, and Inc.
This Minnesotan born yippie, yuppie hippie, now finds herself in San Diego traveling off the beaten path, hiking around the world, cycling the California coast, and spending time with the ones she loves when not shucking. Her favorite letter is “S,” she has seen four sunrises in one day and feels like she won the lottery with Bob Marley as her spirit guide.
For more pearls of wisdom and a FREE copy of her new book “Shuck This Way,” please e-mail Jessica Zemple at jessica@lifeshucker.com.
