Being grateful for what's in front of you can be difficult. Especially when it feels like everyone and their momma is making moves, and you are stuck in your current trappings. Today's post is going to teach you some simple steps for being grateful for what you have because let me tell you; you are worth it.

1. Understand That You Are Walking In On A Chapter Of That Person's Life

It's so easy to judge how amazing a person's life is, but remember, you are walking in on a random chapter of that person's life. You have no idea what they have gone through to accomplish what they have when they have. You don't know as much about them as you think you do.

It's easy to feel like that person has always been successful, but they haven't. They worked hard, they had a bit of luck on their side, they owned it, and they are now reaping those rewards.

That moment is going to come for you too; you just need to let it. Later on down the road, there will be people who look to you and say, “Wow, she has everything together,” and you will know just how much you struggled with the comparison game on your way up to where you will be.

2. Stop Treating Social Media Like Real Life

Social media is curated, not trutherated.

For every beautiful photo overlooking the beach, there are about fifteen pictures that person doesn't want you to see.

Think about how much work you put into curating the “perfect” feed (whatever that looks like for you.) You are not the only one who knows how to use a filter, girl!

Every feed is altered in some way, shape, or form so don't use a curated feed to judge your real life.

3. Look At The Bigger Picture

At the moment, you may be at one of your lowest points but reach back to where you were just 6-12 months ago.

Right now, I am on the struggle bus trying to get my freelance business off the ground. It completely freaking sucks. But 12 months ago I was crying like every day, my period was all out of whack due to stress, and I was finishing a degree I hated because I was so close to graduation. I was living the opposite of a good life, even though I made good money as a research assistant and I was getting my education.

I would take the life I am living right now over any of that. My freelance business is finally starting to take off; I'm making strides in the right direction, working with amazing clients who kickass every single day, etc.

You can also look at the bigger picture in another way.

There were times in your life when you were legitimately freaking happy. You have had days where you smiled so hard that you thought you were going to explode. That has happened to you multiple times. You have also had numerous days where you cried so hard that you thought you would drown in your tears.

These cycles have made you who you are. There are no flowers without rain. There is no light without darkness. You cannot appreciate all the fantastic things you are going to accomplish without understanding where you have been.

Take this time. Be a little depressed, have a bit of struggle, and know that this is all a part of a bigger plan.

4. Start Appreciating The Little Things

You have so many small things to appreciate. Maybe it's the fact that the sun was out, or that you have a roof over your head, or that you had food to eat today, or that you have a family that loves you, etc.

Find those small things, hold on to them, be grateful for them.

You may not have any huge accomplishments happening, but those small wins add up.

Learn to love every single accomplishment, not just the magazine cover worthy ones.

When we can all learn that our accomplishments (despite how small they are) matter, we can all become better people.

5. Acknowledge & Conquer Your Negative Feelings, Don't Hide Them!

We all have negative feelings.

You don't have to hide yours away because you are supposed to practice some next-level form of positivity that doesn't allow you to get jealous every once and a while.

The best thing that you can do when you get jealous is to acknowledge your feelings.

There is a reason that the first step to recovery in addiction programs is the acceptance of something. If you acknowledge and accept that you have these negative feelings, you can conquer them.

If you spend your entire life covering your negative feelings with positive affirmations, without actually getting to the cause of those feelings, you will not win.

Accept the feelings and prove to yourself that you can overcome them by taking action to get past them and making changes in your own life.

6. Pour Into Those Around You

You have received so much, and you have too many blessings to count, even if it doesn't seem like it at the moment.

I am a believer that what we put into the universe intentionally, we get back in due time.

Give and pour into those around you.

• Donate old clothes
• Advise your friends
• Start a blog so you can impact people near and far
• Teach people about your religion
• Write your friend a love letter

Even the smallest action can have a huge ripple effect on the world, and you can be the start of that. Don't hesitate to reach out to others and help other people as you see fit. You never know what life you might change.

7. Love Yourself Voraciously

It's easy to love yourself when everything is going right. It's easy to look at yourself in the mirror when you are at your goal weight, eating at fancy restaurants, and bringing home the bacon, etc.

You gotta love yourself when the shit hits the fan.

The love that you show yourself shouldn't be tied to a number on a scale, the number in your bank account, or the number of pimples currently adorning your face.

You need to love yourself voraciously, and you need to love yourself every millisecond, of every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day.

8. Clean Up Around Your Home

I know this one is random, but hear me out.

Have you ever cleaned up and found a million and one things you forgot you had in your room?

I know I have.

Take some time today to clean up. After you have had a couple of those “I forgot I had that” moments, you can feel good knowing that you don't even know all the things that you have to be grateful for.

Obviously, gratefulness shouldn't just come for the material things, but it's often easier to see that than it is to see anything else. So, this exercise is an easy way to start with the material as you work your want into being grateful for things that you cannot touch.

9. Remove “I Wish I Could…” From Your

In order to be grateful, you need to be honest with yourself.

When you say things like “I wish I could…” you are taking the onus for accomplishing that task away from you.

If you are not prioritizing it, that's okay, but don't say you wish you could, because likely if you put your mind to it, you could do that thing that you want to do so bad.

Instead of saying, “I wish I could,” catch yourself while you are saying it, weigh the pros and cons of doing said thing, research it a bit, and create a plan of action to do it or abandon it because it wasn't truly something that you wanted to do.

Don't put yourself in a comparison limbo! Make moves or put those wishes to rest.

10. Know That We All Have A Season

Last, but not least, you have to realize that we all have our seasons for greatness.

You will accomplish all the amazing things that you want to accomplish when you are supposed to accomplish them.

Work hard, keep fighting for your dreams every single day, and never give up.

Be grateful for how far you have come in accomplishing your dreams.

Be grateful that life is a journey, not a destination.

Conclusion

In this age of internet comparison, it's hard to be grateful for what you have and just sit still. You are always trying to keep up with everyone and get success like they are getting success.

You have to learn to stay in your lane and build your own little version of success.

I promise you that your time is coming!