Do you count your blessings? Do you take the time each day to open your eyes to the good fortune and positive circumstances around you? It’s easy to take things for granted.

If you can learn to live a life of thanks, you will feel more happiness and contentment about your life, regardless of the challenges you find yourself facing.

Sometimes, we make our lives more complicated than necessary. Instead of helping ourselves, we sabotage our own joy. We do this by having unrealistic expectations, focusing on the negative and highlighting imperfections. But, you can change that. Right now.

Your happiness is directly impacted by your perception. How you see your life and your attitude about your circumstances plays a huge role in your overall contentment. Your opinion really does matter.

Here are 4 Ways To Live A Life of Thanks:

1. Life isn’t a fairly tale.

It’s easy to get a picture in your mind of the way you think your life should be. The way you imagined it would go. I don’t know many people who live a life exactly like the one they thought they would have. If  your life isn’t measuring up to the way you expected things to play out, maybe you need to give yourself a little grace. Shit happens. Life happens. This doesn’t mean you don’t have a great life, it just means there was a deviation in the set plan. Life isn’t a fairly tale, you probably don’t live in a castle and it’s OK. Instead of thinking about what didn’t happen, look at all the good things that did.

2. Keep perspective.

You might be going through a hard time now, but that doesn’t mean your whole life is bad. You might be facing a challenging situation, struggling with a problem or unsure what to do about a predicament. Remind yourself whatever you’re going through is temporary. Look at the big picture, remember all the good things you’ve been through and have faith this time shall pass. You will get through whatever you’re dealing with.

3. Quit complaining.

Seriously. If something you don’t like happens, each time you talk or complain about it, you’re giving it power. It’s bringing you down. Learn from your mistakes, and move on. Instead of focusing on what you don’t have or don’t like, think about what you do have and what is going well. Stop complaining and start doing. Take action to create the life you want. Don’t just talk about what you wish you had, figure out a way to create the life you want. Learn how to stop making excuses.

4. Give thanks.

Open your eyes to the blessings around you and be grateful. Be a glass half full kind of person. Even when you start to feel down about something. Acknowledge whatever it is, and then remind yourself of all the good things going on in your life. You might be stressed about your job, but you have a job. You might be bickering with your significant other, but you have a significant other to bicker with. Your kids might be driving you crazy, but you’re blessed to have your kids. It really can be that easy to feel thankful.

Remind yourself how lucky you are to be alive and how blessed you are to have what you have. Recognize we all have challenges at times and seasons of life that aren’t the way we want them to be. That doesn’t mean we still can’t give thanks for what we have, count our blessings and focus on the good things.

Even if you feel like it’s a struggle to find something to be grateful for, I promise you there are still blessings staring you in the face. Open your eyes and see them, right now, today.

Find meaning each day,

Dara