Between personal growth courses, seminars, and books, I’ve learned a lot and found myself a long way from where I was 20 years ago. Not everything I’ve learned has stuck with me, even though I know that I should have adopted some habits I’ve learned over the years. But, gratitude comes up in almost every course, seminar, and book I’ve ever read. And, normally I do pretty good with gratitude. Lately, though, I haven’t been feeling it so I went searching for it and got a huge reminder of why it’s so important to maintain emotions like gratitude in life.
My Lesson On Why Emotions Like Gratitude Are Very Important
I can’t remember one teacher or author who hasn’t mentioned gratitude in relation to their topic. Even Jim Kwik, who teaches you how to improve your memory and read faster talks about how important gratitude is for the brain on a podcast here.
Lately, I’ve been stuck on some negative thoughts and feelings, and that’s kept me from feeling gratitude on a high level. Yes, I’ve been thankful for things in my life, but I haven’t been on that wave of ‘everything is awesome’ for a while. And that’s been keeping me from thinking clearly.
That’s why I checked myself into a hotel a few days ago and labeled it a planning retreat where I would plan out the next few months away from my normal workspace (home) so I could get some distance and some clarity. My intuition was telling me that I needed this retreat, and I can see how on point my intuition was now.
The moment I got into my room, I felt a heightened sense of gratitude that I haven’t felt for a long time. I felt like I was walking on air. I couldn’t stop smiling. I had a spring in my step. I felt beyond grateful for everything and everyone. I felt so good about everything that I was almost dizzy.
It was the best feeling ever.
And, what I noticed is that everything that happened to me was awesome and everyone I ran into was amazing.
I was greeted by kind and helpful people.
I was able to get everything I wanted to get done quickly – even if I needed the help of other people.
Everything ran smoothly and I was feeling a high vibe that made me feel like I was nailing what Christie Marie Sheldon talks about in Love Or Above. I was in an energy state of pure gratitude – above the energy state of love (see photo above).
Then, I went out and did something stupid. I tried my luck at the casino near the hotel I’m staying at. I reasoned that because I was on such a high, I would be able to win a million dollars.
I was wrong.
I became annoyed in the casino with miserable people who had spent more money than they wanted to spend. My energy level lowered to a level of irritation. And that’s when I started losing. And, I lost more money than I wanted to spend.
I left the casino on an even lower energy level of anger and guilt. That’s when everything went to shit.
Everyone I ran into was miserable. It was like all the happy and friendly people had disappeared. I tried to talk to someone on the elevator back up to my room and they wouldn’t even acknowledge me.
I bought a coffee, and it was cold.
I ordered some food, and I got the wrong order.
I couldn’t sit down and plan out the rest of what I wanted to plan. I couldn’t get back in that creative zone that I was in when I was feeling copious amounts of gratitude.
It Was A Good Lesson On Energy States
Before I left for my retreat, I prayed that I would be shown things that would help me move forward in the best way possible. My prayers were answered by taking me on the biggest high I’ve been on in a long time and showing me what’s capable when you are there in comparison with lower states of energy.
So, I guess the extra money spent was worth it.
Looking back, I realize that being on that level of gratitude helped me stay aligned with other things that were on that level. Amazing things. I attracted experiences and people that helped me feel more joy and gratitude.
I can clearly see that I had my focus on gratitude, so I was attracting the energy of gratitude all around me.
When my energy shifted to a lower state, I started attracting things that matched my lower state of energy.
It was an expensive lesson, but a good one. Gratitude is as important as everyone says it is. There is a reason that all the personal growth teachers talk about it! I got a much-needed reminder of how important it is.
Going forward, my mission is gratitude. I’ve already planned it out! I’m going to be incorporating more habits into my life that help me maintain that level of gratitude where everything good, beneficial, and awesome is naturally drawn to me.
