Brian Tracy explains how gratitude crowds out negative thoughts and lists five things people take for granted: your accomplishments, the person closest to you, your home, your age, and your ability to improve. He urges adopting an attitude of gratitude to reduce stress.
Hello, I'm Brian Tracy. And today I want to tell you about some things that you should be thankful for and that you might be taking for granted. As we approach the holidays, how many of you are already beginning to feel the stress? Well, trust me, if you haven't felt it yet, you will pretty soon. It happens every year. There's the decorating and the shopping and the social events. There's business events and traveling and gift wrapping and budgeting and it just goes on and on. And it's unavoidable and it's something in our hearts we really want to do and do well. So just thinking about it, however, can wear you out a little, right? Well, I have some really good news. There's a perfect, all natural zero calorie solution to all of this anxiousness and stress. Are you ready? It is to be more grateful. Just be more thankful. Simple, beautiful, safe and effective, like a really good drug or chemical. And there's no long list of side effects, only positive. You see, when you are grateful, it's hard to focus on the negative things that are affecting you. Being thankful and placing yourself in a state of gratefulness crowds up the stress. Remember, one of the greatest discoveries in all of history is that you can only think one thought at a time. And if you're thinking about something for which you're grateful, you can't think of anything negative that could cause you stress or unhappiness. It's amazing. One thought cancels the other instantly. There isn't room for both. So we have to train ourselves to allow more gratefulness to now. Is it a permanent cure? It can be, once you begin to realize all the things that you have to be thankful for and spend more time each day thinking about those things. You know, I was talking to an airline pilot and I said, how was the flight? And he said, any flight you can walk away from is a good flight. And I find that the most successful people have that attitude. Any day where you wake up and you're healthy, that's a good day. How was your day? It was a great day. It certainly beats the opposite, which is not having the day. So I call it creating an attitude of gratitude as you go through life. To get you started, here are five things that you may be taking for granted that you should be more thankful for. First, be thankful for what you've accomplished. Far too often we take the things we've accomplished throughout the year for granted. Did you get a raise or a promotion? Did you redecorate your home or apartment? Did you buy a car or add to your savings account? Did you take a trip to see something you haven't seen before? You may not have had a major accomplishment in the past year, but I'm guessing that you are the type of person who is accomplishing worthwhile things every single day. Be thankful for that. Be thankful for the person closest to you. Some people will measure success by the number of friends they have or the quality of their relationships, and there's nothing wrong with that. What I'm suggesting here though, is that you think about that singular person who cares the most about you and about whom you care the most. The thick and thin person in your life who's always there for you. Your soulmate, your bestie, your best friend forever, if you like. How wonderful is it that you have such a person in your life? For myself personally, I consider my wife to be my greatest blessing in life and our children to be our second greatest blessing. And I never forget that. And everything else is secondary. Think about that. How fortunate are we that most of us have such another human partner? Make plans to make sure that they know how much you appreciate and care for them. Most of all, be thankful that you have that person in your life. I certainly am. Be thankful that you have a roof over your head. It's hard to imagine that we can leave our office, climb into our air conditioned cars with surround sound, stereo and GPS and pull up to our garage, push a button that opens our garage doors for us, and walk into our fully furnished, heated and air conditioned homes and be ungrateful. And there are many people who come home and the first thing they do is they complain about something petty. A little bit of traffic on the way home or something that someone said or didn't say. Isn't that amazing? All right, even if you don't have a surround sound or your air conditioning isn't working, you probably have a roof over your head. Don't take that for granted as 1.6 billion people in the world lack adequate housing. You, though, probably have a nice mattress, clean bedding, fresh water, food in the pantry and refrigerator. Be thankful. Be grateful. Be thankful that you are the age that you are. I have news for you. You will never be younger than you are today. Now, I don't say that to add more stress to your life, but when you realize that this is as young as you'll ever be, it can give you a sense of excitement and urgency to reach goals no matter what your age. Plus, look at all the almost unimaginable technological advantages we have at our disposal by living today. I remember a comic book detective named Dick Tracy, no relation by the way, who wore an amazing device on his wrist where he could actually communicate with his bosses. Today it's called an Apple Watch. Today is a remarkable time. Use your age, experience, relationships, knowledge and resources to propel you. You are only here once, so embrace your age this time and be grateful. Finally, be thankful that you can continuously improve yourself. Not only are you looking to get more out of life and expect more from yourself, you have the power to do it. You simply have to make some decisions and take the time to seek knowledge and expand your thinking. Not everyone is like this. Be thankful that you are Sometimes one new piece of information or one new idea can change the whole direction of your life in a very positive way. So do you want to go through the holidays with less stress? Take time to be truly grateful. Make a commitment to Live with an Attitude of Gratitude now before we wrap up, I'd like to leave you with a thought to share with your friends and followers. Develop an attitude of gratitude and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation. Now, I'd love to hear from you. So my question today is what do you have to be most thankful for? Leave a comment below and I'll be sure to follow up with you. Thanks for watching. And remember, if you want to change your future, take action. And take action now. 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