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Jamelle Sanders

Gratitude: The Foundation for a Meaningful Life






We are just a few weeks away from Thanksgiving. My mouth is already watering thinking about the turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings. Most of all, I am grateful to be around family and reflect on what an amazing year it has been. You do not have to look very far to find something to be thankful for. With so much happening in the world, now more than ever I think it is important to cultivate a lifestyle of gratitude. I hope these insights will empower you to make gratitude a major force and pillar in your life. I know from personal experience the power of gratitude because it radically changed my life.


  1. It does not take much to complain about your life. I'm sure that you come in contact with people every day who murmur and complain about their lives. In just a few seconds of conversation, they immediately start to tell you about everything that is wrong with their lives. Honestly, it does not take much to complain. The only thing you need to complain is your mouth. If you have followed my life and work, then you know I believe in the power of words. More importantly, I believe that words hold the power to shape and shift your life. Whatever you affirm you attract into your life. If you affirm everything that is wrong or broken about your life, then you should not be surprised when more of that shows up in your life. On the other hand, if you will positively direct your words towards your desired outcome, you can realize your dreams and live your greatest life. Complaining is a downpayment on future cycles of despondency and disappointment. Complaining is the seed for a constricted life. The same energy that it takes to complain is the same energy that you can use to change your life and alter your reality.

  2. You must choose to be grateful. I will not lie to you and tell you that everything about my life has been wonderful. However, one thing I know for sure is that gratitude is a choice that you have to make in life. There is always going to be the propensity to focus on what you do not like about your life. You can get in agreement with your circumstances or you can become the architect of change in your own life. The reason I say that you have to choose gratitude is because often the circumstances surrounding your life will be contradictory to the results that you want to see. Without gratitude, you will allow your circumstances to create ceilings and limit what is possible for you. When you choose gratitude, you are making a powerful declaration that you are not a victim of circumstances or a product of your environment. The choice to be grateful is not an easy choice but a necessary choice. Choosing gratitude changes both your physiology and psychology. Choosing gratitude is being unmoved regardless of the uncertainty in your life.

  3. Find something to be grateful for every single day. At the time of this piece, I am facing a lot of pressure as I approach some important deadlines for projects. However, I have remained in control of my internal dialogue and I have regulated my emotions. I refuse to allow the pressure to create anxiety or worry. Instead, I have remained optimistic, chosen my words carefully, and offered thanks that I am getting to see my vision come to life and my dreams realized. For more than twenty years, I have kept a gratitude journal and it has both changed my life and saved my life. Every single day I write down things that I am grateful for and insights I have gained about my life. This gratitude journal has helped me learn a lot about myself, empowered me to heal, helped me process grief, and helped me to find the beauty in every day. My gratitude journal has changed me and it has ultimately changed how I see the world. I encourage you to find time in your day to reflect and articulate what you are thankful for. You will become a more grounded and appreciative person in the process.

  4. Develop an attitude of gratitude. As I said before, everything in my life is not always perfect. I go through things just like everyone else. However, the thing that makes me different is that I have made gratitude a major pillar in my life. In some of the darkest moments of my life, I have found the strength to go on and never give up. While I may not be grateful for everything that has happened in my life, I can be thankful in everything that has happened in my life. In other words, gratitude is not limited to a date on a calendar. Gratitude is an attitude and lifestyle that you must cultivate every single day of your life. It is impossible to be grateful and bitter, unappreciative, condescending, or vindictive. Gratitude opens the heart space, adjusts your paradigm, shifts your perception, expands your perspective, and adds meaning to your life. I've gained so much in life by cultivating an attitude of gratitude. I've been blessed more than I could ever imagine. I want to live my life with a grateful heart because a grateful heart is a magnet for possibilities.

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