An Attitude of Gratitude

An Attitude of Gratitude is something we can all have regardless of our circumstances. The events that take place in life are many times beyond our control. However, our attitude towards those events are completely in our control. Have an ATTITUDE of GRATITUDE and even the most difficult events will become much more of a joy to overcome! Here is a story I would like to share with you.

     This summer I was bailing hay at the Eternal Warrior Wrestling Camp in Trego, Montana. At first it was hot and dry, my allergies started kicking up as soon as we started moving hey. After a couple hours, the weather took a turn and all of a sudden we were ambushed by the rain. "This sucks...." To add to the conditions, the tall stack of hay at the barn had been mismanaged and had fallen over. "This sucks...."Not only did we have to continue collecting the hay in the fields, but also had to come back to re-stack the hay at the barn, adding about four hours to the labor intensive job. "This sucks....."

      In the middle of all this, I started to think to myself, "Why am I so negative.....?" I realized I was frustrated by things that were beyond my control. I couldn't control the rain, I couldn't control the hay falling, I couldn't control having to work an extended amount of hours. Things were bad and my attitude "this sucks...." was making it worse.  At some point during the day I became conscious of my attitude and started to think of ways to have an attitude of gratitude. Grateful that I could take a break and drink a bottle of water. Grateful that there were delicious PB&J sandwiches. Grateful that I was able to do the stuff, be in Montana, surrounded by many good people. The reality was that things weren't really that bad, and I was making it worse by being negative. Having an attitude of gratitude helped me appreciate the process of working. Rather than just having a positive attitude, but an attitude of gratitude took the focus on what was bad and helped me find the good things of the moment. 

So, have an Attitude of Gratitude. Thank those around you. Appreciate what you get to do even when it's raining and things are falling down, there are always things you can be grateful for. Doing so will only make you stronger and the people around you better. 

Eliot Kelly

El Dorado Hills JiuJitsu

"An Attitude of Gratitude builds Champions!"