With Thanksgiving upon us here in the U.S. we are offered the opportunity to elevate our understanding of gratitude: what it is, what we are grateful for, and what we are NOT grateful for.

This holiday is lovely in concept, but as a life coach I can tell you that the reality is not always so wonderful.  Rather than being an opportunity to connect with our blessings, this day often becomes a catalyst that stirs emotions regarding tricky family dynamics, the pressures of expectations, and other less than celebratory issues.

No matter what “thanksgiving” means to you, whether you are celebrating the holiday or not, I’d like to highlight the power of gratitude in a way that escapes many.  And it is this:

Oftentimes,the very thing that you need to change an undesired circumstance in your life is GRATITUDE for that very circumstance.

Yes!  This is completely counter-intuitive.  Why would you give thanks for “bad luck,” misfortune, or adversity of any kind?  Because if you don’t, there’s a pretty good chance that you are resisting it in one way or another, even if you think you are “going with the flow” or surrendering.  Anything other than outright gratitude for your misfortune, may mean that at best, you are keeping the situation in a holding pattern, and at worst, you are magnifying it by fighting against it.  What you resist persists, right?

Here’s how this concept works:

Giving and receiving are one and the same.  They are part of a constant flow.  When we give, we are participating in the Universe’s eternal flow of abundance.  When we receive we are also participating in that flow.  Abundance and well-being are NOT states of having.  They are states of participating in the flow.
Whether we’re talking about money, relationships or health, you must join in the movement of energy.  Everything is energy.  Money is energy.  Relationships are exchanges of energy.  And health is the flow of life force energy within you.

Because the nature of the Universe is infinite abundance and well-being, it is consistently offering you all that you could need or want.  However, and this is a big however, we judge what the Universe gives us.  If we lose our job, we judge it as bad.  If a situation doesn’t go our way, we judge it as bad.  If we have to spend money we didn’t want to spend, we judge it as bad.

Every time you judge something as bad, two counterproductive things happen:
1) You called it “bad” and because you are a powerful creator, you MUST now experience it as bad, because that is all that you will allow into your experience, and
2) You’ve resisted it, which is a way of giving the very thing you don’t want lots of attention (i.e. energy) which simply magnifies the thing you don’t want.

This scenario is the very scenario that keeps us stuck and perpetuating what we don’t want for eternity!  That is until, we change the scenario.

How do you do this? 

1) Suspend judgment.  When something bad happens refrain from the impulse to call it “bad” and instead tell yourself, “I suspend judgment.  It is what it is.  I’m willing to remember that Source is Well-Being.  I remain open and receptive to this well-being.”
2) Then (and I know this is a big leap, but it works!) GIVE THANKS!  Based on your willingness to trust that Source is giving you a blessing, even if you can’t see it or understand how your situation could possibly be a good thing, declare to yourself, “I give grateful thanks for this.  I am willing to believe that there is good here, even if I can not perceive it, even if it feels bad or scary.  I am willing to remain open and receive the blessings the Universe is offering me.  I receive the good that is here right now!”

Giving thanks for the very misfortune you wish to reject is tantamount to waving a magic wand of transformation over the situation.  This is because…

1) It is impossible to resist something and give thanks for it at the same time.  So, any resistance that existed dissipates, and any power the negative situation had dissolves.
2) When you give thanks you are officially receiving.  The Universe has been trying to give you something and now you’ve officially received.  You have participated in the flow and now the energy of abundance and well-being can move through your life.  If you do not receive what the Universe is trying to give you, it will keep trying to give it to you until you receive it.  This is because that’s what the Universe does.  It gives, it offers, it expands. 
When you suspend judgment of what the Universe is giving you, then you can see the blessing.  The blessing might be a new perspective, a lesson, an opportunity (maybe you had to let something go in order to receive something better).  You may not see the blessing or understand the blessing until sometime in the future.  But if you move forward in trust, and receive what you’re being given, it will reveal itself.  

Giving thanks when it feels good, or we’ve received what we want is easy, and yes it is expansive.  But, giving thanks when it doesn’t feel good, or we can’t see the blessing – now that is downright transformational.  You DO have the power to transform your situation.  The question is, will you rise above your knee-jerk reactions to summon the creative well-spring of power within you. 

Willingness.
Faith in goodness. 
And a commitment to a better way.

It starts and continues here.

"International Life Coach, Sonia M. Miller, is the author of
  Amazon's #1 Metaphysical book, "The Attraction Distraction: Why
  the Law of Attraction Isn't Working for You and How to Get
  Results Finally!" For her FREE prosperity audio entitled
  "Manifesting Prosperity - The 5 Must-Have Mind-Sets" and special
  report: "How to Unleash the Magic When the Law of Attraction
  DOESN'T work for You" go to: http://www.SuccessForTheSoul.com."