When I hit rock bottom in my consulting career, I was miserable to be around. All I did was bitch and complain – about inadequate management, lazy coworkers, my morning commute, crappy clients, my aching back, my messy house. You name it, and I found a way to complain about it.Guess where all that got me?

Nowhere.

I felt all alone.

Like there was no one in the world who could understand what I was going through. Like I was working harder than everyone and no one appreciated ME. Like I was the lynch pin holding it all together and that if I took a step away, the whole world would come crumbling down.

I hadn’t quite realized yet that my world was already crumbling.

There’s something really subtle here that was preventing me from “seeing the light”…

It wasn’t that no one was appreciating me. IT WAS THAT I WASN’T APPRECIATING ANYONE ELSE.

By focusing on the lack and frustration in my life, I had blinders on when it came to seeing the good things around me.

Once I started to approach my day, my work, my coworkers, and my husband with gratitude, there was an instant shift.

I stopped feeling alone; I was a supported member of a team. I realized that I wasn’t the only one effective at getting things done, but that in my blindness, I’d failed to utilize the strength in others. All of a sudden the tightness in my back, which was likely caused by chronic stress, lessened – I felt looser and freer.

The practice of gratitude allowed me to see the world around me in a completely different way than I had previously been experiencing it. And the world around me hadn’t really changed, but I had.

Now, I spend a few minutes each morning consciously being grateful for the opportunities that will be available to me in the day ahead – even when my mornings are hectic I find a way to get this done: in the shower, during my workout, in the car, as I’m making breakfast.

I end my day sharing at least 3 things that I’m grateful for with my husband (usually, once the list starts, it expands way beyond just 3 things). This has been a really beautiful thing for us to do together and has strengthened our relationship in unmeasurable ways. Who can you share your gratitude with?

Now, it’s your turn.

TAKE INSPIRED ACTION: How can you consciously practice gratitude every day?