Anxiety and gratitude are both outlooks, and perspectives on yourself, your life, and people in your life. One is a negative outlook while the other is positive. Both have a degree of realism.
The goal of cultivating gratitude is to train your brain to hone in on the good. Then, stick with it. Pay attention to it on purpose. Be mindfully present with it. The longer you do this, the weaker anxiety, fear, and worry become. Even better, you become increasingly more positive and appreciative of the good in your life. You don’t have to ignore reality, but you choose what part of reality you take in.
The Word of God can heal our negative emotions and transform our minds. When reading the Book of Genesis, we find that we are made in the image of God (see Gen. 1:26-27). The second-century Christian writer Justyn Martyr said this: God has planted a divine spark in each human heart, which allows us to connect with God.
So if this is true, why is the world such a mess? Why do humans behave so badly to each other? Because we have turned our back on God, rather than putting him at the center of our lives. The human problem began when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, leaving humans to think we can achieve our goals by our own efforts.
Getting to the place of no longer leading by our own efforts takes practice because anxiety is used to dictate what you pay attention to as well as your perspective. It’s a matter of patience and persistence as you develop a sense of gratitude to replace anxiety.
Here are a few tips to begin this practice:
- Find beauty and pause to simply appreciate it.
- Keep a gratitude journal, adding quick notes about your day every day.
- Pair deep breathing with visualizing an image of something for which you are glad.
- Appreciate things about yourself.
- Give yourself permission to be grateful rather than letting worry push it away.
The Bible says, “Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name” (Psalm 100:4 NIV). If you believe in God, you are already entering into a place of communication with Him because believing in God means believing He is always present and listening to what you have to say.
God allows us to sometimes feel as if we are away from him, and God does not want forced compliance. If God was visible so He is noticed, people would give forced compliance without expressing their hearts. We are stronger when we come to Jesus and replace anxiety by practicing something new and being grateful through all situations. Change your way of thinking and begin living life expressing thankfulness all day every day.
If this resonates with you, and you are having a hard time focusing on the good when something bad is always happening in your presence, I can relate, but there is Someone greater and bigger than our situations, and He wants you to reach out to Him and begin to change your mindset. If you would like support and friendship in a community of women who have been struggling with chronic pain but seeking to become healthy and whole, I invite you to join my free group as you will find no judgment there. We are all working towards bettering ourselves to become made new. So, join us now for an opportunity to learn more about gratitude.
I would love to be able to serve you on a deeper level to help you move toward the healing you are looking for so you can have a lifetime of wellness. If this is you, go ahead and schedule an Introductory Call so we can introduce ourselves to see how I can be of service to you.
Also, feel free to get my Healing E-Motions Journal so you can begin writing down your feelings in those moments where triggers rise. This will help you begin to manage and control your feelings on a greater level.
