It is so easy for us to look at the economy and the suffering of those around us today and immediately take on a “doom and gloom” mindset. When we watch the news everyday, there it is right before our eyes. Our worst fears have just been confirmed on national television. The sky is falling! I can tell you that that kind of mindset will get you nowhere.

The real challenge is, how do we change this type if thinking in the face of adversity? It may be that you have some real pressing issues weighing you down. Perhaps you are out of work. Maybe there is a stack of bills that are unpaid or your health isn’t as good as what is should be. Everywhere you look you will find folks with some version of this story. What you will need to do is write a new “story” for yourself. So where do you begin?

Today I want to challenge you to turn off the news. Put down the newspaper. Refuse to complain or listen to complaints. Instead, take a walk outside and for the next 20 minutes or so and just think about all of the things that you can be grateful for. Make a commitment to a “new way of being” for the next 30 days.

Just for today, focus only on what you DO have. Maybe it is that you are physically able to take a 20 minute walk, and that you have the eyesight to see the amazing world around you. How differently would you world look if these two things weren’t possible?  

A lot of folks are worried about stretching the money they have for groceries. Go ahead and make smart purchases. But instead of thinking about your “lack” of money, give thanks for all the food that lines your pantry shelves. Rather than focusing on that new car that you are lusting after, give thanks for the transportation that you currently have and the fact that it regularly gets you where you need to be. Look at everything in your life and give thanks for each and every one of them. Start to live in an attitude of gratitude and your world will begin to change.

When you are able to do this consistently; to have an attitude of gratitude, your “Old Story” (your current life that you have created with your previous thoughts), will begin to dissolve as you begin to write your “New Story” with your gratitude and your new thoughts. Begin today to create your new story; your new reality! As Wayne Dwyer says, “You’ll see it when you believe it”.