As I was working with a client recently, we talked about the immense progress she’s seen in her business and the strides she’s made towards reaching her goals. As we chatted, I noticed that every time she identified something that was working, she immediately followed it with the thought that maybe it wasn’t enough.
One of the things she and I work on relentlessly is the constant refrain in her head that says she’s not good enough, she doesn’t know enough, she’s going to make a big mistake that she can’t recover from.
And it struck me, if we forget to express our gratitude for the things that are going right, those things could slow down or, perhaps, disappear.
A Path to Grace
As we worked on this out loud, I realized that thanking the Universe opens up a path to giving ourselves grace for the things we struggle with.
One of my core beliefs is that the Universe gives you what you want. I absolutely believe that when we thank the Universe for our wins, we create room in ourselves for receiving more of what we want – including the ability to persevere when we’re scared.
Maybe you’re wondering how this works.
It’s Like This
When you express gratitude to a person, a community, or an entity (the Universe, God, god), you acknowledge that there are forces and energies out there working on our behalf all. the. time. Every minute of every day. We are not alone.
When this understanding dawns on us, we are able to relax a bit. We release that breath that holds so much of the fear and worry that are part of our days – particularly when we’re doing hard things.
And in that space, that liminal moment between thinking we’re alone and realizing we’re not, we can find grace. We allow ourselves space to be human, to be worried, to be paralyzed by the fear that we’re just not enough (aka the ultimate human condition).
When we find that grace and accept it, we free ourselves to be increasingly grateful for the smallest wins, the smallest moments of bliss, and, ultimately, for being exactly where we are in this moment, at this place, at this time in history.
Practice
For the record, after years (30 of them) of practice, I’ve learned to be grateful for being right here, right now daily, and some days, every hour. And it works.
I fervently believe that the practice of using gratitude to find grace is what we need at this particular inflection point in the history of humankind.
It’s only when we embrace gratitude and offer ourselves grace that we can offer others grace. And, when we’re able to offer that grace, we unearth the power that’s been lurking under our surface – held back by the energy we exert to hold our breath because we’re afraid we’re not enough.
Unleash your power
When we offer that gratitude and grace, we unleash our power to impact other people, our power to withstand the onslaught of attacks on our personal freedoms, our power to stand as allies and beacons of light in a world that can feel dark and dangerous.
Relentless gratitude and relentless grace. May you find them; may you exercise them; may you feel their power.
Together forever,
Becky