One of my favorite books on the power of gratitude is Rhonda Byrne, it’s called The Magic.  I usually post this at Thanksgiving – but I think we need some “thanksgiving” to come a little early this year. It’s been a rough few months – but we all still have things to be grateful for, so I want to share it with you today.

Count your Blessings by Rhonda Byrne, from The Magic

You will have heard people say to count your blessings, and when you think about the things you’re grateful for, that’s exactly what you’re doing.  But what you may not have realized is that counting your blessings is one of the most powerful practices you can ever do, and it will magically turn your whole life around.

When you’re grateful for the things you have, no matter how small they may be, you will see those things instantly increase.  If you’re grateful for the money you have, however little, you will see your money magically grow.  If you’re grateful for a relationship, even if it’s not perfect, you will see it miraculously get even better.  If you’re grateful for the job that you have, even if it’s not your dream job, things will begin to change so that you enjoy your job more and all kinds of opportunities for your work will suddenly appear.

The flipside is that when we’re not counting our blessings, we can fall into the trap of unintentionally counting negative things.  We count negative things when we talk about the things we don’t have.  We count negative things when we criticize or find fault with other people, when we complain about traffic, waiting in lines, delays, the government, not enough money, or the weather.  When we count negative things they increase too.

Rhonda Byrne goes on to give advice on how to make a daily, simple list of ten blessings in your life you are grateful for.  The key is to not only write what you are grateful for, but why you are grateful for that particular thing, person or situation.

She offers these ideas:

I am truly blessed to have WHAT, because WHY.

I am so happy and grateful for WHAT, because WHY.

I am truly grateful for WHAT, because WHY.

With all my heart, thank you for WHAT, because WHY.

Finally, Rhonda recommends that after you finished making your list of ten blessings, go back and read each one, either in your mind or out loud.  When you get to the end of each blessing, say the magic words three times … thank you, thank you, thank you, and feel the gratitude of that blessing as much as you possibly can.

As we move through this difficult time together, I am inspired to share how grateful I am for you, the ZannFan community.

Working and supporting one another, we can turn fear into faith and step into our greatness.