The One Thing You Need for a Happy, Abundant Life

Many people search for ways to be happier, to have the most abundant life possible. There are books and movies about it, and almost infinite Google search results. But really, it comes down to one simple thing that often gets overlooked in the daily bustle.

Gratitude.

Gratitude is the bedrock of happiness and abundance. When we approach life with the attitude that our cups run over, we experience both joy and plenty. We open ourselves up to receiving all the abundance and joy that life has to offer us.

This doesn't mean that we lose our humanity and never again experience loss, pain, or hard times. We absolutely experience all of that, but through the lens of gratitude. Every experience is a teacher, purifying us of ego traps, the things that derail us from our dharma/mission/purpose. Every experience invites us to learn what it's like to be fully human, to feel emotions, to dig in to why we react to certain things in certain ways.

As you go about your days, make it a point to notice one thing every morning for a month that you are thankful for. Write it down. Tweet it. Share it with a friend. Keep accountable to someone for your gratitude. Each day, ponder the one thing you are grateful for all day, as it comes to mind. As you move into month two, add two things you are grateful for to your daily notations: one in the morning and one in the evening. During month three, bump the list up to three items per day. With practice, soon you will be noticing things you didn't notice before, things you took for granted, until one day you unconsciously notice several things a day and cultivate constant gratitude within your heart.