Paul Brian
We should all count our blessings, but it’s not always easy to do.
Those who feel genuinely blessed in life are a special breed who have learned the truth of this saying and taken it to heart.
They recognize their blessings and truly value them. Their focus is on the many ways they have been blessed by life.
Here are the behaviors the truly grateful exhibit.
1) They express gratitude
Those who feel blessed express their gratitude and let out their thanks.
This has become a bit of a stereotype on social media with performative #gratitude hashtags and so forth…
But it’s still fully possible to find people who express gratitude in a completely genuine way and not to seem like a good person or feel “pure” or enlightened.
They’re just grateful for real. And they’re expressing that feeling deep inside for the whole world to know and hopefully spread some of the gratitude around.
2) They focus on the present
Those who feel very blessed try their best to live in the present and focus on what’s in their control.
By focusing on the present, this person realizes their own potential and finds more inner peace to face the ups and downs of life.
As spiritual teacher and bestselling author Eckhart Tolle writes: “Die to the past every moment. You don’t need it. Only refer to it when it is absolutely relevant to the present. Feel the power of this moment and the fullness of Being. Feel your presence.”
3) They accept what they can’t change
This ties into the previous point, because those who are full of gratitude have accepted the limits of their control.
They don’t take hardship personally and see that much of what happens isn’t in our hands.
As a result, the best thing a person can do is live in the present and focus on what they can do to improve their own relationships, work life and health and well-being.
4) They have empathy for others who are struggling
Those who feel blessed in their life have a high amount of empathy for others.
They see people struggling and they want to help or at least offer words of encouragement.
This is the opposite of schadenfreude or feeling joy at somebody’s pain. Instead, they really do feel the pain of others while at the same time being able to not identify themselves or be brought down just because somebody else is.
5) They enjoy helping out others and contributing
Those who feel blessed like to use their gifts and time to be a benefit to those around them.
They make friends they like and spend time doing things with their life that are meaningful and oriented to their talents and purpose.
In their work and in their personal life, they use their energy and resources to be a boon to others.
They also make sure to look after themselves, too.
6) They’re generous with their time and attention
Those who feel blessed like to pass it on to others.
They are generous with their time and attention as much as possible, while still looking after themselves.
If they can help teach someone a skill that will help that person, they will do it.
They know that even the chance to teach someone is a blessing in itself and almost always has an upside later on.
The more they network and build bridges, the more it all eventually leads to a better, blessed life.
7) They stay positive when the road gets rough
When times get tough, these folks look for the blessings in their life.
It could be that they lose their job but still have their physical health.
It could be that despite being ill they still have loved ones who care about them and those they care for, too.
They find a way to stay upbeat even when it would be easy to fall into a victim mindset.
8) They don’t take setbacks and disappointment personally
Those who feel blessed are able to accept what’s out of their control, as I mentioned earlier.
When they do have a low time or experience a big setback, they don’t take it personally.
They know that bad times and losses happen to everyone. They may feel down and struggle for a time like everyone does.
But they never imagine that there’s a bullseye on their back more than anybody else. They know it’s not true.
9) They use challenges as opportunities for growth
Challenges can stop us in our tracks, including health problems, breakups, career disruptions and personal issues with mental or emotional health.
But those who feel blessed find a way to turn lead into gold.
They see challenges as opportunities. Sometimes it may just be the opportunity to get strong and patient through suffering that’s out of your control.
As the English poet Percy Shelley wrote, “if winter comes can spring be far behind?”
10) They stick with healthy habits and build a good life
Those who feel blessed give themselves all the help they can get to be blessed.
They exercise, try to eat healthily and build a good life through having healthy habits.
As motivational speaker Tony Robbins mentioned in a recent interview, around 52% of what people do every day is on autopilot and is from habits rather than conscious choice.
Those who feel blessed do their best to consciously build good habits that they can then rely on.
They feel blessed because they make themselves blessed.
11) They love the small joys in life and celebrate them
Those who feel blessed have low expectations.
They don’t expect an amazing social life, love life or career. They work hard to get one! But they also don’t expect it or feel entitled to it.
As a result they feel blessed because anything that does go their way and ends up well is a bonus.
Even a nice walk through nature is a blessing and an amazing experience. They think of all those who don’t have the free time or clean environment to do it! What a blessing to be able to.
12) They’re highly self-aware and focus on self-improvement
Those who feel blessed find ways to make themselves blessed, as I wrote earlier.
They find ways to keep improving themselves, learning new skills and identifying and working on their blind spots.
They practice introspection and reflection, learning where they have weaknesses and where they have strengths.
Those who are blessed don’t hide from their shadow, they make it their friend and walk beside it.
13) They believe in something greater in life
Regardless of spiritual or religious beliefs, those who feel blessed believe in something greater.
This could be spiritual forces, a Creator, a religious faith or even leaving a legacy and dedicating themselves to science and progress.
Whatever they believe in, they have an overarching meaning that brings depth to their life and motivates them through the hard times.
They’re not only living for temporary happiness and thrills, they’re living for a greater good.
14) They find joy in their connection with others
Those who feel genuinely blessed, enjoy and celebrate the others in their life.
They seek out those they want to spend time with and try to find the silver lining in those who are in their life by necessity, even if those people are sometimes annoying.
They think of how lucky they are to have people in their life who they care about, and they give their time and energy to strengthen those connections and keep them going.
How blessed are you?
How blessed are you?
We could go through all the outer metrics and measurements financially, physically, in terms of your relationships and your possessions.
But ultimately, how blessed you are is up to you to decide.
But one thing is for sure:
We’re all blessed to be born and live and to have the chance to exist even for a short time.
The more we reflect on just how extraordinary it is that we exist at all, the more we cultivate the kind of wonder that can move mountains.
