How to Get What You Want by Focusing on What’s Already in Front of You
It all comes down to one thing. One practice. And that’s gratitude.
Before you do the eye roll and click away, hear me out for a second. Doing this one thing literally laid the foundation for the personal growth and success I have achieved.
Promotions, working on projects above my experience level, leadership opportunities, more than tripling my income in less than 4 years — all of it.
It is not just about being more grateful. It is practicing the mindset of gratitude. There’s a difference.
Having a mindset of gratitude is like a lens that you look through to see the world around you. That lens is attuned to focus on the things that you enjoy, make you feel good and are happy to have.
How does that get you to that job you want or to a great relationship or to whatever you’re looking to achieve?
Simple.
What you focus on expands.
So if you get in the habit of looking around you and pointing out to yourself all of the things in your life that are already great, then you will hold the space to attract more of that in.
Said another way.
If we believe that everything has a vibrational frequency, gratitude has its own. When you begin to acknowledge all of the things around you that you want more of or that fulfill you, you begin to match that frequency.
By practicing this you train your brain and attune your frequency to find more of what makes you happy.
I know you know this example. But I am going to use it anyway.
It’s like when you see a super cool car and decide that it’s the one, your dream car. You look up the make and model, maybe even go on the maker’s website and build one with all the bells and whistles just to see how yours would look.
The next day and every day after, it’s like all of a sudden EVERYONE has that car.
YOUR dream car!
You see it on the freeway, in the drive-thru to get your morning coffee. You swear you are seeing every car of that type within a 40-mile radius.
The reality is that there are no more of these cars today than the day before you noticed it. It’s that you noticed it. So now, your brain is looking for everything that matches that which you gave your attention to.
So gratitude really isn’t just this: be humble and glad for what you have. It is a powerful tool of attraction that allows you to see the abundance all around you and to claim it.
Sounds cool right?
This practice is one of the easiest to implement and will make a significant impact on how you achieve and will allow you to see opportunities all around you.
I started incorporating a gratitude practice into my daily routine a few years ago. Here are the basics.
Morning or night, whatever works best for you, just get a designated gratitude notebook. And every day write three things that you’re grateful for.
They can be simple and silly. What you write down is not the point. The point is to tell your mind what to find, remember, like the car.
I know what you’re thinking. But what do I write?
Anything, literally anything. Look around you. What are you grateful to have? What makes you smile? What makes your day easier? What allows you to treat yourself? Who makes you feel great?
And when I say simple, I am not kidding. My first entries literally looked like.
- I am grateful for my dogs
- I am grateful for my apartment
- I am grateful for my coffee
Next day
- I am grateful for my friends
- I am grateful for payday on Friday
- I am grateful for my cup of coffee
But little by little, day by day. I started appreciating all of those things even more and felt good when I had them. And that feeling perpetuated the mindset of gratitude.
Don’t believe me? Try it!
Start on a Monday and write in your journal how you feel.
Your prompt is, “today I feel…” and just write down everything that comes to mind.
Now for the next 21 days, write in your journal three things that you are grateful for.
In the format, “I am grateful for…” and fill in the blank. You can always do more than three, but three is the minimum.
At the end of your 21 days, do the start prompt again, “today I feel…” and write down everything that comes to mind.
Now compare your two lists. What changed?
Remember, by pointing out to your mind on a daily basis the good things that you like and want more of, your brain will find more of the like. That, there is your opportunity to claim it!
