This article will help look at your life, things, situations, and people from another perspective. A perspective we often forget about – the perspective of gratitude.

Have you ever thought how often we take what we have for granted? It’s so easy to get used to good living conditions, excellent healthcare, safe cars, best devices, and expensive food. Those of us who have everything from the very beginning, seldom think how lucky they actually are. And I don’t even mean those born with a silver spoon in their mouths. In fact, looking at the bigger picture, many of us were born with a silver spoon in our mouths, even though we may have never noticed or even paid attention to it. But what if everything you’re used to is taken away from you?

My story that explains what you should be grateful for

Sometimes it’s good to hear other people’s life stories to start valuing what you have which is why I’m sharing my story.

When I was growing up in a post-USSR country, in the beginning of 2000s, my family of 3 sometimes lived on 10 dollars a day including utilities and the cost of my school education (so, after paying the fees, it was much less than $10 a day). Sometimes we had 0 dollars a day, so mom had to borrow money. I don’t remember my earlier years, but mom says that we survived the 90s, when she lost her job (because the factory she worked at went bankrupt) and my father wasn’t paid for months, only thanks to my grandparents’ pension, humanitarian aid my grandparents were given at plants they had worked at, and fruits and vegetables brought from the village where our relatives lived. I knew nothing about gratitude then.

In my school years, my family rarely could afford new clothes, new furniture, and devices. I’ve never had a cassette video player, and we got our first DVD player in 2004. I remember the exact years when we bought new devices or furniture because even the smallest improvements in our living conditions made me very happy. I got my first cell phone in 2007. No, it wasn’t an iPhone. It was a less than $100 Samsung and it cost my dad’s monthly salary. I got my first computer in 2009. My parents couldn’t afford it, so it was a gift from my grandma. My parents were middle-aged when things went wrong in our country, and being also very unconfident and modest people, they didn’t manage to adjust to the new reality.

Was I grateful for what I had? Hell no. I was a child who understood that everyone else was living in better conditions and had more opportunities in life. As a child and even as a teenager, I couldn’t just walk in a supermarket and buy whatever I wanted. I could buy only what was on the list. Not because it was smart and we were saving money, but because we simply didn’t have money. Of course, we couldn’t afford good medical services and a number of other things like, for example, college for me. Fortunately, I passed exams excellently and got a scholarship.

I didn’t feel any gratitude for what I had then but now I understand that even though we could barely make ends meet, we didn’t starve, we didn’t wear rags, we didn’t sleep on the floor, we could buy medicine and sometimes, parents even bought me Kinder Surprise (that was a huge event for me as I mostly got it for New Year as part of my present). Even though the lack of money and my parents’ insecurity made me an extremely shy and insecure child who suffered from social anxiety, my childhood wasn’t unhappy. We always had enough food, I had many toys, we had parties and gifts, and my mom took me on vacations to the sea.

Now I live in conditions I couldn’t even imagine I would ever live in. I can afford a lot of things and even some luxury goods, but I am a pretty simple person who knows the value of money and prefers saving it for long-term goals to achieve financial freedom rather than spending it on instant rewards. Check out this article to find out how I save money with no struggle.

Of course, my poor childhood and teenage years left some psychological scars, but unlike my parents, I am an ambitious person who believes that there’s nothing impossible (check out my article on how to be more confident). In fact, in my opinion, I am much more ambitious and persistent than other people I know because or even thanks to my poor childhood. I didn’t have much when I was younger; I knew that I couldn’t count on my parents in case I wouldn’t have got a scholarship; my parents can’t buy me an apartment or a car like some of my friends’ parents, neither can my parents support me financially. On the contrary, I know that I have to support them. This constant need to rely on myself made me ambitious. However, my biggest advantage is that I never take anything for granted. I always feel super grateful when I get something I didn’t have before (and that’s a lot of things). I always feel super grateful and overwhelmed when my family income rises. And besides being grateful, I also strive for more.

What I want to convey through this article is that many people from first world countries and even some people from third world countries, like me, don’t notice how lucky they are and how much they actually have. While someone is whining about not having enough money to buy a new iPhone, someone is living amidst a war. Someone has never had a peaceful vacation at the seashore, someone will never have access to the Internet and all information available for free here, someone is malnourished, etc. And none of these living creatures (because not only humans suffer in this world, let’s not forget about animals) chose to be born. It was not our decision and while you consider life the biggest gift, for someone it’s hell.

How gratitude can change your life

Being grateful for what you already have not only contributes to your happiness but also prepares you for more success in the future. You attract the kind of energy you radiate. For example, my parents have always radiated fear, insecurity, anxiety and that’s what they got.

My financial situation started to improve as soon as I started making my first money as I didn’t have a lot of limiting beliefs regarding money like those my parents had. When I moved out of my parents’ flat and started getting rid of the rest of limiting beliefs imposed on me, my own family income started increasing.

Money rules to live by if you want your income to increase:

1. Don’t cling to money, be able to let go whatever the sum is – money comes and goes, you’ll be able to make more if needed.
2. Trust the Universe, it will always give you just as much as you need.
3. Be grateful for what you have, never take any income for granted.
4. Don’t stress out because of the need to control everything including money, you have no control over things and situations.
5. Don’t make money your God and don’t dedicate your life and everything you do to it: make money to live instead of living to make money.
6. Give others what you’d like to have yourself: tip, donate, give gifts, be generous – money is energy: the more you give – the more you’ll get.
7. Money is just a tool on your way to fulfilling your purpose. You’ll get as much money as you need for your true purpose.

If you don’t have limiting beliefs, if your purpose is genuine, and you’re grateful for the smallest gifts you get from the Universe, you will be given as much money as you truly need. Don’t forget to share with the less privileged (for example, my purpose is helping local pet shelters which don’t get any governmental support in my home country). The more you share, if you do this genuinely, the more you’ll get. Sometimes the Universe gives back to you not only money. It can give you health, love, help. Be ready to recognize it and accept it with gratitude.

If you agree with my point of view on money or find my advice helpful, let’s spread these thoughts throughout the world together! The more people share a similar mindset – the kinder, wealthier, happier, and safer our world will become. The more people are wealthy and happy – the less evil and violence remains in the world, so please share this article or the website with your friends!

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