Gratitude is the ability to be thankful and appreciative for all things in life. Things might be good or appear to be bad and as the Bible says…. in all situations give thanks.

Oftentimes we go through situations where things don’t go our way.  We don’t get the job we want; we don’t get a tender; we carry extra weight; we lose our friends or lovers or we can’t pay our bills etc. Those situations often invoke a sense of despair where we want to give up or even worse start blaming ourselves.

Have you ever sat and reflected on the blessings those situations bring? It could be a message to start afresh; change direction; recalibrate or simply gather more strength and tenacity to give yourself a second chance.

Here is the thing…. I believe in the saying that “everything happens for a reason” and we need to be grateful that it happened as this will make you wiser and give you another perspective. Many successful people have one thing in common they exercise gratitude and embrace the deep learning that comes with failure or a setback.

As we start 2018 I invite you to join the gratitude trip and give yourself time and permission to reflect and see the bright side of life or embrace the belief system that says, “Joy comes in the morning”. Maya Angelou (one of my favorite and inspiring poets) talks about us being a rainbow in someone else’s cloud and that someone could be you; a family member; a friend or a colleague.

Here some gratitude tips:

• Keep a gratitude journal and everyday write Keep a gratitude journal and everyday write down 5 things that you are grateful for on that day – Oprah has been doing this for at least 16 years;
• As you wake up each day say thank you to God/universe that you woke up that day (practice this daily for 42 days and it will become a habit);
• Speak your gratitude – as you find parking in a busy shopping mall; miss that accident or slow traffic on the highway; a stranger gives way in an intersection; someone offers their seat to you on the train/bus – say thank you!!!!
• Create a gratitude jar… Add slips of paper in a jar with reasons on why you are grateful (like we you used to keep a cash/money box and before we know we have saved cash). Buy the jar from Clicks or somewhere like that and use Post-it notes to write; and
• Buy or offer small tokens of appreciation for friends and colleagues to show gratitude.

These are small gestures and practices that help to refocus us towards the bright side of life. You do it consistently and consciously then your happiness bank will show a positive balance.

I am grateful that God has given me the courage to share my gifts and worldview with you through this blog and other programs that I offer.

I would love to meet you in my programs (please visit www.zenandeleadership.com) and for now let me say “Ciao”

Forever grateful

Pam Yako

Leadership and Success Coach

‘Helping women leaders to be attuned and find their inner goddess’

www.zenandeleadership.com

+27 12 998 7337 or +27 82 550 5225

pam@zenandeleadership.com

Skype: pam.the.coach

p.s. please feel free to contact me if you wanna learn or chat some more or sign up for my newsletter at www.zenandeleadership.com