Well hello to you my reader chums! Gratitude is the key to living your best life. I think we all get caught up in a world where we dream of this fancy life with fancy things and success, that we forget what's in front of us. Practicing gratitude is an art I've fallen into loving and something that has made me feel a lot more positive in everyday life.

Whether you're trying to have a more positive outlook on life or learning to practice gratitude, here is how being grateful can change your life.

It changes your perspective

Being grateful is a game-changer when it comes to perspective. There are many ways to be grateful and the best thing to do is name three things you're grateful for every day. Over time, you'll realise that the things you point out are the little things out of your day and it changes your perspective on what matters. You'll begin to notice you're picking out the things that mean the most such as the people around you, food, water, and all the things we take for granted on a daily basis. It changes your perspective on making you realise what the most important things are in life, and why you shouldn't strive for the things that won't bring you ultimate happiness.

You start to notice the little things more

By practicing gratitude, it'll make things crop up that you wouldn't expect. The littlest of things will start to mean so much such as appreciating the sunset, the power of kindness, and small gestures of doing things for other people. Being grateful will make you be more thankful for the food you're eating, the blue skies, the happy smiles of strangers, and the start of a new day. It'll make you realise why life is so wonderful.

The materialistic things won't mean as much

Materialism is something that kills the happiness for many of us as we constantly strive for the next best thing, the next bigger thing to live up to the rich image that Instagram provides of the 'perfect life'. But being grateful helps us understand that materialism isn't important and one of the things that can make us unhappy as we try and validate our happiness through things, rather than the existing things we already have in our life. It'll make you realise that love, connection, and our passions are the most important things to create happiness. 

Reduces your fears and boost overall mental health

In life, as we set goals for ourselves, a lot of the time, they are unrealistic or have to do with the 'norm' from the pressure of society. And, this pressure is what causes us to doubt ourselves and hate ourselves, and make our mental health take a turn for the worst. However, gratitude is something that can prevent this pressure and can help us reduce our fears, and boost our overall mental health. It can help us understand and appreciate what we've achieved and know that where we're going is just as incredible. Comparison is the killer of all joy and practicing gratitude is a positive tool to help you avoid comparing and focus on what you already have - improving your mindset.

It can be a great confidence boost

I'm all for confidence, I think it's the most important skill we can all acquire and learn to develop over time. Confidence can be improved in many ways, using various techniques and one of those things can be gratitude. Practising and mastering the art of gratitude is a powerful thing because it can aid your confidence. It helps you overlook the comparison of others and appreciate the little things, and by doing that, in turn, your confidence will boost.

It's a stepping stone to help you reach your goals

We're constantly being told by everyone around us what to achieve and when we need to achieve them, that often the pressure gets to us, and we kind of lose sight of what's important in life. Mastering gratitude will make the vision clear of what your goals are as you'll learn what you're grateful for in the process and what you're striving for. You won't be navigated by everybody else and what Instagram says.

Start each day with a grateful heart and you'll always be smiling.

I hope you enjoyed this post. What other points do you have?

Thank you for reading <3