Are You Thankful for the “Bad” Stuff?
Typically in the personal development arena, we hear teachers driving home the message that you need to be thankful for the “good” in your life.
They tell us: You’ve gotta “count your blessings.”
You need an “attitude of gratitude” for what you have, because then you’ll attract more of it.
And while those sentiments certainly are true, they only tell half the story.
If you follow their instructions to the letter — and you’ll hear the same refrain A LOT over the next few days, thanks to Thanksgiving 😉 — you find yourself running from the “bad” things in your life while you embrace the “good.”
Hmm… hold up a second. Don’t these same teachers tell you that “what you resist persists”?
Well, the only way to appreciate just ONE HALF of your life without resisting the OTHER HALF is to IGNORE it.
And that, my friend, is what we call “denial.”
So what can we do instead?
Well, it’s a given that you want to give thanks on Thanksgiving (hence the name).
It’s also a given that these are some of the most trying times we’ve seen in years, and it can be hard to feel “thankful.”
But the key is to “give thanks” even in what may seem like our “darkest hours”… and to give thanks FOR that very darkness.
Because, whether you currently believe it or not, at some point, in every seemingly “negative” circumstance or event, some “good” will rise from the ashes of pain, stress, or heartache.
After all, it’s the “bad” or “trying” times in our lives that teach us the most. These are the times that create “miracles” and “a-ha moments” and plant the seeds for unprecedented strength.
In the Thank God I… series of books, the authors who share their stories have come to this realization (I’m featured in the upcoming Thank God I… Volume 3).
We’ve all become thankful for even our greatest challenges, because those circumstances led us to become who we are today.
Yes, it’s true… against common self-help wisdom, we’ve learned to appreciate the “bad” things that have happened to us.
It is hard to believe someone could be thankful for rape.
It is hard to believe someone could be thankful for incest.
It is hard to believe someone could be thankful for cancer.
It is hard to believe someone could be thankful for the death of a loved one.
But authors in these books are thankful for all of these things and more…
They know the truth: that EVERYTHING contains both good and bad elements, just like a battery needs a positive and a negative side to work. Your reaction to it depends simply on your perspective.
And whether you’re thankful for all that happens to you, or you’re struggling with how to appreciate your circumstances, you’ll LOVE these awe-inspiring stories of triumph over tragedy.
So to give you something to really be thankful for This Thanksgiving, Thank God I… is giving you the opportunity to grab the digital versions of BOTH best-selling books, Thank God I… Volume 1 and Thank God I… Volume 2, for only 9.99.
When you read these stories, you will instantly realize just how much YOU have to be “thankful” for…
AND we’re even going to sweeten this deal a little more as our way of showing our thankfulness for YOU!
10 percent of ALL proceeds will be donated to the Charitable Society of Friends, a charity whose primary goal is serving children — the future of our world.
This package will also come with several great bonus gifts, such as:
> My brand new e-book, Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life ($27 value)
> 20 minutes FREEÂ counseling or Angel reading ($50 value) from Carla Van Walsum
> Another 20 minute Angel reading ($50 value) from Jackie Haughn
> Dealing With Stress ($47 value) from Annabelle Bondar
> Gratitude Works Journal e-book ($27 value) from Katherine Scherer and Eileen Bodoh
> COMPLIMENTARY TICKET to the Gracing Through The Holidays Day Retreat in Topanga, California, December 5, 2010 ($150 value) from Dianne Porchia
> A Successful Mastermind Group video ($800 value!) from Nancy Seagal
> Relax, Restore and Revitalize! Accelerated Breakthrough Audio Download ($200 value) from Nancy Seagal
> And more…
This package will only be available Thanksgiving Day and “Black Friday”.
I know it will change the way you look at “gratitude,” and it might even change your life in bigger ways.
Get on the special advance notification list to grab it tomorrow, or watch your inbox for an email from me (you can join our newsletter list on this page if you’re not already on it).
Your Partner in the Quest for
Living a Life Without Limits,
Filed under: Gratitude
Thank you so much for this beautiful reminder of what I know to be true. I needed to remember. I am truly thankful for all these blessings disguised as pain, sickness, stress, family friction, break-ups, loved ones dying, and misunderstandings that are presenting in my life at the moment. I know they are gifts that are bringing us back to the only thing that is important – LOVE. As with any gift, we need to open and look inside to receive. Today will be a day of opening to receive.
Namaste,
Dorian
Thank you so much Heather, you are a very wise woman. May the Lord continue to bless you richly!
This post reminded me of that “is the cup half empty or half full” puzzle. We get a lot of instances in life where our perspective need to be fully identified with either this or that. It matters greatly that we view life with hope, taking every negative instance to the brighter view as well. We should be aware that so many things are beyond our control; but we can control how we react to these forces. In the end, our reactions and how we deal with situations, even the actions that come after it, speaks of how we view life.
We cannot push upon others the wise, hopeful perspective of life because not all people move in the same spiritual, intellectual, cultural and social level. It would help, however, if we share ideas on turning bad stuff into opportunities to be better the next time around.
It really would be difficult to be thankful for drastic events in your life. Who ever is happy with being fired from work? Losing a loved one? But if we generously share to people that we could also be thankful for the opportunities we had with that lost career or be thankful for the time we loved and got love, that would hopefully lessen the emotional burdens, right? Then maybe then we made things better for others who distanced themselves from being grateful.
Heather, this is quite long. I usually talk too much when there is something I am so touched about. This post is one of them. Thanks for this and the space.