Lesson 7 In the Science of Getting Rich: Gratitude
The law of gratitude is the natural principal that action and reaction are always equal and in opposite directions - Wallace D. Wattles
Gratitude is one of my favourite subjects to discuss and an ever present attitude in my life, it is also a topic I recently discussed with one of my coaches on his podcast - The John Borland Podcast. A great discussion where I share my thoughts about gratitude and give examples of how I personally practice and incorporate gratituding in my life. So, it is no surprise that this chapter is my second favourite after chapter 4 - The First Principle in The ScienceĀ Science of Getting Rich.
For as long as I can remember I have cultivated a gratitude mindset and ritual even before I read this book and so coming across it in this book as one of the steps to getting rich reinforced my belief in the power of being grateful in all things and at all times. Yes, being a spiritual christian I also get this from the bible where it is written multiple times, to be grateful at all times and in all things - paraphrasing but that isnāt just what inspires me to be grateful. Scientific research has shown that cultivating gratitude helps to
Improve sleep
Increase psychological wellbeing
Prevent overeating
Makes us more happy and tolerant
Reduces high blood pressure
Strengthen the immune system
Improves patience and boosts self confidence
Enhances vitality and many more.
These are just a few of the many personal, relational and social benefits of practicing gratitude and so when we look at the impact of gratitude in acquiring wealth, Wallace D. Wattles beautifully illustrates how gratituding falls under the natural laws - action and reaction are always equal and in opposite directions. Such a simple yet profound principle, which has just given me more to think about and inspiration to spruce up my gratitude ritual as I write this newsletter.
The more thanks we give the more good we experience and I can attest to this. I recently launched my e-comm business, where I made sure to celebrate every milestone with thanksgiving. I looked forward to finding the right suppliers, products and then my first sale. As I ticked off one goal after the other I acknowledged the progress and gave heartfelt thanks for each time I was able to check something off my list. I didnāt wait till the products started selling before giving thanks, I started with when all legal entities for the business was established that in itself was a big one and on I continued. It wasnāt long before I realised that the goals I had set for the whole year was already accomplished in 4 months. Yes, I am in awe myself but I knew that not only focussing on the end goal but being grateful for all the little goals helped me receive more to be grateful for. Indeed, it is easy to understand that the nearer we live to the source of wealth the more wealth we shall receive.
Now, I think of how easy it is for us to complain about the inequality, the unfair treatment or whatever we experience in our daily lives and especially in our careers and businesses. Our shitty jobs, a work environment that we are tired of or whatever it is we complain about, we must realise that this currently is paying for our upkeep and giving us a sense of living as we get to do something everyday. Also it is noteworthy that this same situation weāve outgrown was once the only thing we prayed for.
I know, I for one can fall into the trap of being frustrated if a sale doesnāt go through or if I receive a big bill that I wasnāt expecting or rejected for some business opportunity but the author encourages us to not necessarily focus on the other things and people whom, we might think are working against us, for all of these are helping in our advancement. How can receiving a big bill or being passed over for a promotion be for my advancement? You might ask. Well, I donāt know why? but what I know is our attitude in any of these experiences will affect the outcome of them. I generally tend to find a meaning to the situations I encounter and then give thanks for being here and able to experience them as I believe, in all of them there is a lesson for me.
If I receive a big bill for something unexpectedly, I will get frustrated at the realisation but when I think of the why and how I am able to make use of the service that this particular business is rendering, I give thanks. Yes it might not be ideal but they have helped me in someway and at a time I needed that service. When I have been passed over for a promotion, I remember being extremely disappointed back in the day but now as I look back I am incredibly grateful I didnāt get those positions. I find a way to give thanks for the small things and little āahasā as much as I give thanks to the big āOh WOWsā that also make their way into my life.
A word of caution though - we have to be mindful so that the act of expressing gratitude doesnāt become forced or turn into false positivity. The difference here is being grateful in all things and at all times means finding the good in all things even if you have to look a little harder. It is not ignoring how bad things are or being oblivious of negatives in a situation but it is being able to focus on something good even in the bad things. This takes practice and until we have trained ourselves and cultivated this attitude for a while, I would encourage that we be gentle and kind to ourselves whilst learning this. In the same light, we can be grateful for the awareness of becoming better when we realise that we could be focusing on something better in any situation if our initial reaction was focusing on the negatives.
Another powerful aspect of gratituding is, it produces faith. When our mental attitude is of gratitude our minds are drawn into closer touch with the source from which all blessings come from. This is true, for if we look at being grateful from any perspective at all, we will be able to acknowledge that whatever we give thanks for we experience more of those things, also because the grateful mind continually expects good things and expectation becomes faith. Yes, Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things yet unseen so wouldāt you agree that as we give thanks for the things which have not yet happened but we hope for, our Faith is built and deepened? I could go on but in relation to acquiring wealth letās be encouraged to give thanks in every experience towards our goals for the more thanks we give of the good things already in our lives the more good things we will get to experience. ā¦and in the authorās own words āDraw nigh unto God and he will draw nigh unto you.ā
Journal prompt: Write 10 things you are grateful for in your current job/business.