When times are tough, be grateful, for gratitude has the power to affect your attitude in an amazing, positive way.  When we frame our lives around what isn’t going well, we are creating a mindset that worsens our difficult situation.  I know that this has been true for me.  However, if we concentrate on the good things in our lives, it can diminish the anxiety we feel when things aren’t going right.

I read once, a long time ago, that a person cannot hold two opposite attitudes at the same time in one’s mind.  One of them will be dominant and will cancel out the other one.  I wanted to know if this could be true.  So I tried an experiment.  When problems weighed heavily on me, I tried to find the good things that were already present in my life. I easily found them when I let go of the negative.  By concentrating on the positive, I found that my attitude affected a change in my focus, therefore allowing my mind  to concentrate on what was most important.  There is always something to be grateful for, if one looks for it.

When my son died suddenly in a car accident, it was very difficult to hold positive thoughts in my mind because the loss was so devastating.  But when I concentrated on the close, loving relationship we had shared, I found so many things for which I was grateful.  All of the wonderful experiences we had shared, flooded my mind with memories that sustained me in my darkest moments.  No one could take that away from me.  And no one can control your attitude but you.  The only way another person can control you is if you allow it to happen.  So, when times are tough, be grateful.  You have nothing to lose by doing this.  Isn’t it worth a try?