GRATITUDE: I cannot emphasize enough how important it is.

I’ve read many books that preach: Think yourself into a better life. I wasn’t a strong believer in this. They said strange things to chant “I love myself.” Or “I love my life.” Etc.

They said I was supposed to have full belief in this or else it wouldn’t work. Now what I did instead was something similar but not really. I started this mantra in my head: Thank you God for everything. In Arabic that line is: Alhamdullilah. So what I was doing is practicing gratitude and meditation. You go to any psychologist and ask them one thing they would want their client to implement in their life and without a moment’s hesitation they are all likely to say GRATITUDE.

Now, I am not going to start a paragraph about how my live changed drastically when I started doing it: There were flowers growing from my marbled floor and the sun never went down. Everything positive started happening to me… Not. In all honesty, things did happen but I didn’t see much difference from before and after. The only change I experienced was in me. I seem to be more at peace with myself than before. If something didn’t go my way and in my head I was saying: Alhamdullilah, it started making me feel like: you know what maybe this was the best thing that could have happened to me. I did enjoy it while it lasted. I had to stop talking to a friend because she was developing dependency on me. I was sad because of that but Alhamdullilah. This is good for her and me. I was tired of being her only confidant. (She wasn’t even listening to any of the advices I gave her. She was stuck on a loop of negativity. She refused to ask for help. She was taking up all my time as I was constantly worried about her.) By letting her go I was showing her that she has more options than just talking to me. She needed to figure out things. She needs to make up with her family. I am still sad but a part of me is keener than ever to become a better person, a better psychologist. I need to be stricter when it comes to my friends and family. I’m like a marshmallow when it comes to the people I love. This includes my clients, friends and family. So, basically everyone around me.

There are a million things you can do to practice gratitude. Be thankful for life no matter how shitty it feels. Start with little things: I am grateful for my phone. I am grateful for having a house? Or food on my table? Start with basic things maintain a gratitude journal that you write in daily before sleep and see yourself change from within.