When Gratituding Hits a Plateau
Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.” – Karl Barth
Expressing gratitude should be a natural thing to do and so why is it that sometimes doing so can be a challenge? If you are practicing gratitude daily or have it as part of a ritual there can be times when you simply can’t find things to be grateful maybe because you are going through something that has you worrying rather than appreciating. Whatever the reason this phase is normal and a reminder for us to assess what it is really, this practice means to us.
Practicing gratitude has been a part of my daily routines for over a decade now and in this time I have had more plateaus than I can count just because life happens but time and time again I have been brought to a place of reevaluating why I do this and I have always come to one conclusion to be joyful in all circumstances and show appreciation for the things in my life not only the good but the seemingly bad as well for in retrospect those bad experiences were blessings in disguise. So why talk about this now? Well to be honest I have just experienced such a period and if you’ve noticed the last few posts have been expressing gratitude for basic experiences.
Going over the goals and intentions I set at the beginning of the year, I started getting frustrated for how slow things were moving and even though I was working hard. It got me into a worrying phase because I thought I was not moving fast enough but then when I was forced to rest after working so hard I realised that I was seeing things from my human perspective and not what is actually being manifested. So I decided to go back to basics and express gratitude for the things that I already had and had in abundance. I set myself a challenge of focusing on all that I already have, all that I already am and the things I don’t even have to think about but so freely get in abundance. Then a few days after whilst talking to my business accountability partner he brought my attention to the reality of things and that is how I knew that I was looking at this from my human perspective. For he saw and acknowledged my progress in the areas I was not particularly pleased about even with a 2 week break he commented -
“Wow, it looks like a lot has happened over the 2 weeks we haven’t spoken”
“Oh has it for you” I asked because I knew that in the 2 weeks we hadn’t spoken I had done little because I was not physically on top of my game.
“No for you I mean” he responded I looked puzzled and he continued
“You set a goal to have these products by end of the month and not only have you found them and some but you also placed and order etc. that’s a lot of progress.”
I thought for a bit and realised that just because I was a week behind my set date I wasn’t acknowledging the progress but focusing on my timeline. This humbled me to go back and really express gratitude for how far I had come even if I was a week or 2 behind schedule. So I made a resolve to focus now for the next 30 days on appreciating what I already have. The very basics including the air I breathe, the clean water that flows through my taps and many more. Simple!
In writing this you might also have hit a plateau or just lack the inspiration, whatever it is I would like to encourage you to get back to the basics and actually really feel that good feeling when you think of how you have these basic things that make life so comfortable, I know I think about the air I breathe differently now. Feel the sheer joy of not struggling for air to breathe for instance and give thanks. I would love to know how you get off a plateau so please share in the comments.
Affirmation: Today I invite gratitude into my heart