Radical Gratitude — The Road to Manifesting Success
Once upon a time I told myself a different story, that gratitude had nothing to do with success. I turned a blind eye to how my negative attitude toward certain situations created an aura of darkness in direct opposition to true success. I even defended my position that worry about circumstances was just part of life. The universe stood by and gave me what I invited…more worrisome circumstances. The universe wanted to give to me but I closed the door. The universe wants to give to you. The universe is a living entity. If you were the universe and you saw how ungrateful a person is for what they already have, would you want to give more to that person?
I decided to try something different, a conscious act of gratitude in parallel with a positive attitude. Each time a situation arose where I found myself in need of some kind, I experimented with offering thanks to the universe and willed myself to remain in a felt sense of fullness. In other words I gave up worry and the associated painful emotions. For every memory I have of doing this, the need was filled, often in a short space of time.
As a novice in this practice, I had a tendency toward back steps. Sometimes I still do and when I do, I recall one sunny afternoon I stood preparing lunch for a friend while focused on worry about the appearance of my home. My very old mobile home had visible water damage that required costly repairs beyond my means at the time. Much of my time was spent wishing I had done better for myself, i.e. I felt I lacked success. My friend walked in, took a look around, and said, “This is nice! It’s cozy!”
I winced and said, “It needs some work,” to which he smiled and replied, “This IS your castle! Isn’t it?”
In that instant my attitude toward my home and myself changed. I, a single woman who extracted myself from an abusive marriage, invited an upward spiral of personal growth and healing, began at age 40 to put myself through school, began a new career after life as a grieving childless homemaker, and managed to buy my own place on a beautiful property with minimal debt, found success in that moment. For the first time I saw how this gorgeous 2.6 acres and the roof over my head stood as a testament to how far I had come from dependence on a husband who had no appreciation for me as a human being and a depressed life absent of joy.
Personal Worth = Belief in Yourself
In that sacred moment, prompted by precious words from my friend, I stopped equating my worth with belongings and acquisitions. That was my X’s issue, not mine. I got real with myself and began accepting my value as a person, whether I lived in a tent or a mansion. My mood improved and I noticed more bounce in my steps. I worked on my insides to further develop the positive attitude that lay dormant in my psyche. I am happy in a small home with few material things because I know happiness is an inside job rather than the result of how much stuff I can stockpile. A heartfelt sense of gratitude flooded into my being and the warmth of fullness and success were mine. Now, if I am tempted to believe in lack, I remind myself who I am and give thanks for all I have in present time.
After that day my new career as a massage therapist flourished which eventually allowed me to support myself, travel, take classes, and buy a car with cash. The outer world saw my cheerful attitude and I was offered free or discounted vacations, educational opportunities, and unexpected funds just when I needed them on several occasions. To me, success is creating a joyful life, doing things that fill my spirit and satisfy my soul and I thanked myself and the cooperating universe every step of the way.
Gratitude Brings Continued Blessings, Even in Crisis
My beloved 20 year career came to a halt with a crushing fall down a flight of stairs, and although I am still in the old mobile home, I recognized that my retirement approached despite the accident and am thankful to have the means to replace my home this coming year. I am also grateful to all the teachers who showed me so many methods for self healing, both physical and emotional. I am happy to say those methods help me tremendously whenever my back injury acts up or worry threatens my inner peace. I am grateful I have more time now to create through my writing, painting, and other artistic endeavors. Where will it all lead? I don’t know, but the fullness I feel expands out and touches others, based on the feedback I hear. If what I do in joy adds something to the life enjoyment of others, I am successful.
In conclusion I offer you these steps toward manifesting success:
- Understand that your value as a human being is separate from the number and value of belongings you possess.
- Offer gratitude for your life every day. Offer gratitude for good food, sunshine, a roof over your head, friends, clothes, and a body that can experience these things. Offer thanks, even for the difficulties in your life. You never know what good is just around the corner as a result of those difficulties. If you can find one thing or more each day to be thankful for, you are a success!
- Give up worry. Easier said than done, I know, but once you realize worry gets you nowhere and sets you up in dark, heavy energy that drains you of creativity, let it go. Practice makes letting go easier. Your mood opens to improvement and the outer world will take notice. The universe will catch you with open arms. Success!
- Maintain perspective and joy in what is and you are successful. The poorest people in the world are often the most joyful. Material goods manifest for some who bring themselves out of the gutter while others with great skill who work hard remain penniless. The concept of ‘manifesting’ is understood as getting anything you want and can be misconstrued in a capitalistic mindset. The fact is, success will look different for everyone. If everyone had ten mansions, 20 cars, 14 boats, and a personal jet, we would soon manifest ourselves out of existence because the planet cannot sustain such a thing. It is your attitude toward what you have and what you do that counts. This verse in Ecclesiastes from Biblical text says: “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
- Stay in the present moment. The present is all you have. Outcomes are not guaranteed so let go of conceived outcomes and do joyful work as though nothing else matters and you will feel the fullness of success and abundant life.
- Remember that the universe wants to give to you. It gives what you are willing to accept. It gives from the current of Love that is ever available to you. Believe you are worthy of receiving, develop a positive attitude, and success is already yours.
- As suggested by a friend of mine, make lists of people who endured hardships and whose work went on to attain extraordinary success, even in later years. J.K. Rowling and Vincent van Goph come to mind; one lives to see her material success while the other gave up thinking himself unsuccessful. Let the stories of those people inspire you to keep going and NOT give up. Success is right there in front of you even when external conditions show you otherwise.
Heart Seeds© 2020 by Robin Reichert
***Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this article, I invite you to test how many times can you hit the clapping hands to your immediate left in 5, 10, or 60 seconds. It’s one more way to keep your fingers in shape AND will help other people see the story. Writing is my passion, so thanks for your help in spreading my work to others!
Twitter — follow me here for both Feather Voices and RobinHeartStories:https://twitter.com/RobinHeartStory
Speaking and Storytelling at www.RobinHeartStories.comFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/robinheartstories/
