 How to Keep Your Joy (even when things go wrong) It Seems Nothing is Going Right There comes a time when everyone experiences a terrible period of failures in their lives. Relationships crumble; they get fired and realize that they have to train for a new career. At such times, finding something to be positive about or grateful for seems impossible because the only possibility one can see is an unending chain of misfortunes. But this is exactly the kind of experience that should inspire positive change in your life and personality. Rather than think that you’re ill-fated, pull yourself together and be grateful for what you have. Be Grateful for Family and Friends  Jim Butcher once said that when everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching are your family. Not everyone is lucky enough to have great relationship with their parents or cohesive families. Nevertheless, when in difficulties, family is usually the first to comfort you through it all. Family and friends never let you down when the going gets tough. Be Grateful for the Little Things It’s hard to admire the beauty of the world when everything in your life seems to be falling apart. You forget that the little, beautiful things are all around you. The flavor of delicious cuisine, the smiles of your kids and family, the sunset and even the cool breezes; these are all little things that you should be grateful for. A small complement from your boss is a little thing that can boost your spirits and make your day better. The most marvelous things are given to us frequently and you just have to learn to appreciate them to feel better. There’s Always a Choice  The fact that you always have a choice to make is something to be grateful for. The dawn of another day is a chance to make improvements in your life. When going through a rough period, there’s one of two choices you can make; keep complaining about your life is messed up or pull yourself together and keep moving forward. Even in the toughest of situations, you always have a choice. It’s sometimes hard to understand this because it’s harder or it requires too much effort. Appreciate the Challenges and Negative Experiences Believe it or not, one of the most critical elements of handling difficulties is to appreciate the negative experiences. It’s hard to see the positivity in this but challenges make you a mature and more importantly, a stronger person. They build your perseverance, endurance and character. In fact, they teach people to appreciate the current state of affairs. And while you may not see it now, you will soon realize the contribution of challenges to new beginnings. Things Could Be Worse  Everyone tends to think that their problems are the worst and due to egoism, you’re no different. Look around you. Someone else is in a worse situation than you are and so you are lucky. With little effort and desire, your problem can be fixed easily. Like most things in life, problems are relative and right now your situation may seem like nonsense if you compare it with that of someone else. Imagine what the worst scenario would be like and you’ll soon realize that your life is not as bad as you think. Appreciate Your Health People tend to ignore good health unless they fall sick. It’s good health that enables you to accomplish daily tasks and live a great life. It’s by God’s grace that you are able to see the colors of the world, walk, breath or even move your limbs. Health is the foundation of not only your life, but also your personality. There’s no reason to be ungrateful for it because it comes at no cost. Life isn’t as bad as you perceive it to be because you are healthy so express gratitude for this even when your life seems to be falling apart.  There is Always Something to be Grateful For Gratitude is vital for coping with difficulties and hardships. You shouldn’t despair regardless of how terrible the times get. Every hardship in life comes with something to be grateful for. You just have to learn how to take not of these advantages and appreciate them to have a positive outlook on your life. After all, remember that some people out there would choose to be in your shoes right now coz their situation is even worse.
So be thankful and have an attitude of gratitude.
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 Discover 7 Amazing Health Benefits of Living in Gratitude (You probably haven't considered these) Thanksgiving isn't the only time you should practice gratitude. It is helpful every single day of the year! Many studies have found there are great health benefits in making gratitude a year-round habit. To enjoy the many mental and physical benefits of gratitude all it takes is a little bit of introspection. Here are seven surprising benefits you can gain from developing an attitude of gratitude that you might not know about. Benefit #1 – More Patience  Researchers at Northeastern University have found that people who felt grateful for the little everyday things in their lives were more patient and better able to make sensible decisions, compared to those who didn't feel thankful on a daily basis. Benefit #2 – Improved Relationships Feeling grateful toward your partner can improve numerous aspects of your relationship, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology. This includes stronger feelings of connectedness and overall satisfaction as a couple. When you express your gratitude to your partner, it will very likely be reciprocated. Being grateful for each other can significantly help your love life, and as a result, bring more romance into your life. Benefit #3 – Improved Sleep  Feeling grateful can help you sleep better and for longer. This is most likely because you have more positive thoughts before you go to sleep, which can help to soothe the nervous system. Think of your day and be grateful for all the things that transpired. Feel grateful in advance for the next day! You can journal your gratitude or count your blessings like you might count sheep. Benefit #4 – Eases Depresssion Gratitude is very powerful. Recent studies have shown that by practicing the "three good things" exercise daily, you can see considerable improvements in depression and overall happiness, sometimes in as little as a few weeks. Simply think of three good things or moments that happened during the day. It is literally impossible to be sad (or mad) while focusing on what you are grateful for. Benefit #5 – Promotes calm and less anxiety It’s so beneficial to start a Gratitude Journal and list at least 5 things you are thankful for each day. You will find if you keep up this practice, you will feel more calm, peaceful and experience less anxiety.  Benefit #6 – Experiencing better physical health Yes, it is true. As you move away from negative thoughts and immerse yourself in being grateful, your health will automatically improve. Letting yourself be free from fearful thoughts by practicing gratitude instead will improve your physical health. Numerous studies have examined the relationship between gratitude and physical health markers such as cardiovascular health, stress and inflammation, pain perception, and sleep which promotes better physical health. One study found that keeping a gratitude journal improved diastolic blood pressure. Another study found that people who kept a gratitude journal for 14 days reported fewer headaches, clearer skin, less stomach pain, and reduced congestion. Benefit #7 – Gives you happiness that lasts  Numerous things can give you a boost of happiness, from a compliment to a chocolate. Unfortunately, thesekinds of instant gratification can quickly disappear and leave you craving more. On the other hand, gratitude is something that can lead to a much more sustainable form of happiness because it isn't based on immediate gratification, but rather a sustained peaceful state of mind. If you take the time to regularly express gratitude and thankfulness for the things in your life, you are more than likely to see long-lasting happiness.
Gratitude doesn't take anything fancy to practice, but can change your life exponentially. Taking just a few minutes a day to show your thanks can have substantial benefits on both your mental and physical health.  What a bombshell it was to find myself “locked down,” in shelter, with stores and businesses closing all around me in March 2020. In the past few years, I have been in grief about so many wildfires occurring in the Pacific Northwest where I live each summer. And then last year, a horrific huge bush fire in Australia! And of course, tornadoes, hurricanes and floods galore as well. It seemed very obvious that Mother Nature had definitely had enough of humankind’s disregard for the earth, and living in a non-harmonic way. And to me, these natural disasters seemed as bad as things could get. And I lamented that they were happening with more frequency each year. Wearing
Read Deborah's latest article, Radical Gratitude: How to Turn Your Pain into Peace on Tiny Buddha. Click here  My journey to living in gratitude began in 2010. And let me say that up until that time, until I was age 45, I was a complainer, griper and a whiner, with absolutely no reason to complain! Luckily, I was saved from these very wasteful, counter-productive habits when I was given a blank journal one Thanksgiving season by a New Thought minister, who told us if we journaled 5 things we were grateful for 40 days
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