We take everything for granted. From waking up in the morning to the people we have in our lives.

We act as if we live forever, as if nothing can go wrong, and as if we have a second shot at this thing called life.

There is only one life, at least that we know of.

What are you doing right now to live your best life?

You may say, “You don’t understand, I have this and that problem that is killing me.”

I do understand, we all have things going on in our lives, which we may or may not share with others. It’s not all sunshine.

But my question to you is, what are you doing about it?

You may be in a job you don’t like, or in a relationship that takes its toll on you, or in a business relationship that’s toxic, or you may have challenging health problems.

When you’re in the middle of it, it’s hard to see a way out. It’s hard to think there is a solution for everything. There is a way out if you only would look for it.

Where Everything Begins

We got so used to living in our own heads that we almost can’t separate our thoughts on a specific situation from the reality.

We already filter everything around us through our experience and habits. It’s pretty hard to look at something that affects you or someone in your closed circle through an objective lens.

How can you detach yourself from the emotional side of things and analyze everything objectively?

Does this mean you have to be cold and uncaring?

We all have our own filter on what’s good and what’s wrong in this world. To be able to make the best decision for you in every moment, you have to think, look at things, and speak from a gratitude mindset.

Being in a grateful mindset, appreciating everything around you opens up your heart and mind to possibilities you may not see otherwise.

We take for granted waking up every morning, don’t we?

Think about it for a moment. What if you’d learn to appreciate everything and I mean everything you take for granted?

How about starting your day being grateful for being able to walk, and see, and speak, and hear?

What if you’re grateful for the people in your life, from your family and friends to colleagues or business partners?

What would happen if you practice gratitude every moment of your life?

Gratitude — The Key to Your Success

I am not talking about being all zen and ignoring the problems life throws at you.

And I am definitely not saying you should turn the other cheek when someone “slaps” you.

Being grateful starts with appreciating yourself. It starts with an inner journey. Look at yourself with objectivity. See your accomplishments and failures, lessons learned, and the path you want to move forward.

It’s about you, not about what everybody else thinks or says about you.

We put too much weight on what others think about us that we forget to truly listen to ourselves.

If you want to be successful and live a happy life, you need to start practicing gratitude.

In the beginning, it will feel awkward. You’ll feel like a fraud or like you’re faking it, but keep at it. Start small with five minutes when you wake up. You don’t even have to leave your bed.

Stay in your bed and think of three things and people you are grateful for. As you practice every day, start adding to your list.

Once you added the morning gratitude session to your routine, start practicing it during the day. First when you take a break at work, when you’re commuting, or when you’re on your way home, or maybe after a tough meeting or call.

What practicing gratitude does is acting at a subconscious level, changing the wiring of your brain, changing your neurons paths. It creates new paths and your neurons start firing new thoughts.

You will start noticing things you never did before. You’ll be able to look at a problem that before seemed unsolvable from a new perspective and see new solutions.

A Test

Here’s an exercise to test how powerful your brain is: tell yourself you want to see a red car.

Set this intention before you go to sleep or when you wake up in the morning. Insert in your conversations with those around you the words “red car.” Repeat this process a few days then go about your day.

Something really strange will start to happen, you will start noticing more and more red cars. Wherever you go, you’ll see one.

It’s not that there suddenly are more red cars on the streets, or that some are following you.

It’s your brain “showing” you what you asked for, a red car.

By the way, this exercise can be used for everything you want.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

That’s exactly what will happen when you practice gratitude every day in your life.

You’ll be more peaceful, you’ll take things with a grain of salt rather than overreacting or being judgmental. But the most importantly, you’ll become a better version of yourself.

You’ll realize the potential in you, you’ll be more focused on making things happen, and less on complaining about what’s not working.

It’s hard work. Sometimes you’ll be so upset it will be hard to be grateful for even one second.

But please, please, don’t give up. Take a few deep breaths and start again.

It’s like exercising, the more you do it the better you feel. Please keep in mind this is a process, and you need to be patient and keep practicing.

As you do it, one day you’ll look back and realize you’ve become a new, better version of yourself.

And another wonderful thing will happen. The toxic people in your life will slowly go away, and you’ll attract inspiring people you want to learn from.

As Jim Rohn said,

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

Being grateful is a journey. Start yours now!

This article was originally published on NutsPR.