It might be time to break up with your gratitude practice.
Here’s how to know if it is.
You have a loving circle of friends, an incredible family, and all your needs are met. You are able to go on vacations, you are saving for retirement, you have a happy home. Quite literally it feels as though you ‘have it all’.
And yet you know that something is off.
Maybe you need an attitude adjustment, or maybe you need a new life.
So you dedicate yourself to a daily gratitude practice.
But how do you know if you are using your gratitude practice to settle for “less”? How do you know you aren’t covering up a genuine desire for a something different?
Perhaps the career path you chose has paid you nicely but you don’t feel a deep connection to it. Maybe you secretly wish you could just organize closets all day long- but after a phD in Engineering that sounds insane. Perhaps you fantasize about moving out of your hometown and away from your family of origin. But you squash any such ideas because you don’t want to be so selfish.
Whatever it is, you want something different.
But, you tell yourself, the world is suffering! The earth’s environments are in shambles! There is war in more corners of the globe than you care to keep up with! And you know people who have truly serious issues that make your gripes seem insignificant!
So you should stop complaining and be more grateful.
Or should you?
How do you know if it’s time to own up to it and listen to that part of you that wants something different?
This is how:
Notice what happens right before you think you need a dose of your gratitude practice.
Are you in a story of “I should be grateful instead of feeling this discontentment right now” or do you yearn and feel a pull towards your gratitude practice because you are seeking how it makes you feel? Just notice if there a pull.
If it isn’t a PULL that you feel then most likely you are doing a PUSH. You are likely pushing away from something that is very real for you.
When you push, you resist your truth. And what you resist persists! (Carl Jung)
So please channel your inner brat! Look at all the amazing things in your life and say to yourself “I can appreciate all of that. And guess what? I want more”.
Hello, I’m Serena. I am a life coach. I help high achievers live their life purpose without giving anything up. If you would like to receive thought-provoking content, join my email list. If you are interested in 1:1 coaching, get in touch with me here.
