After establishing and keeping the habit of  gratitude for some days, I’ve found that it’s quite preliminary to just list the 2~3 positive things in our life, which is the result of Gratitude 1.0 (Being thankful for all the positive things in our life).

It’s, however, far from enough. To really appreciate our life and be happy, we must as well be grateful for all the negative things, such as unhappiness, stress, hardship, failure, unfortune, so-called disgusting people, and so on, which is Gratitude 2.0.

Being grateful for all the positive things makes us value our friends and life more. While being grateful for all the negative things will make us free from complaints or frustration, focus on the positive side of life, and turn bad things into good ones.

I used to be afraid of unhappiness. When it came, I was so frustrated and couldn’t get out of it. Later, I realized unhappiness is quite normal, and it happens now and then to any one. I began to accept it and thank it for letting me know happiness and unhappiness consist of our life, for letting me calm down when it came again, and for letting me value happiness more and think out all the ways to happiness.

I also used to be afraid of stress and challenges. I felt uneasy of uncertainty. Later I realized they are also the compostion of life and make people creative. Now I can accept them calmly.

Likewise, we should thank hardship and failure for giving us the opportunities to learn and grow. When you learn to be thankful, you find how true it is that every time that you fall, you are much closer to success.

Let’s update our mind system and learn to thank all the unfavorable things as well as the favorable ones.

I should thank the unfortune that happened last week, which made me know the rules of the company, how Sinaporeans think and react and how I should communicate with them.

I should thank my uncooperative roomate for letting me know the different types of people and think how to deal with the problem properly.

I should thank my Toastmaster friend although he made me frustrated, for giving me the opportunity to think about what a good leader should do.

A good attitude of gratitude actually helps you more calmfully accept all the things in life. It’s no big deal when you encounter the negative things, just relax and learn to thank them.