Turning Annoyance into Gratitude: An Experiment with Intention

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”

― Eckhart Tolle

It is late November and the warmth of summer is but a distant memory. The days are colder and the nights longer. With this constant graying of each day, my daily discomforts seem magnified. I am annoyed by the people on the sidewalk don’t follow a common pattern of walking on the right or left and I have to work hard at dodging everyone. I am annoyed that my body is squishy in the middle and my clothes don’t fit right. I am annoyed that I am almost always cold. I am annoyed that my family and friends are far away. I am annoyed that I am feeling tired and a bit under the weather. I am annoyed.

Ironically, feeling annoyed, I sat down to write about gratitude. It wasn’t easy as I thought of all the cliché things to say and eventually unsatisfied, walked away from an empty computer screen. Later that day, in the middle of a yoga class, it hit me. I would turn all of my complaints into gratitude. It would be a daily exercise of identifying five annoyances and spinning them into five feelings of gratitude. It would be an act of intention.

Image copyright Sarah Wauterlek photography

Complaint #1:  I hate being cold. I used to say that my happiness is directly related to the warmth of my body and although I joke often about it, I am honestly much happier when warm. Now, living in London, I struggle with the cold weather. I walked briskly down the street last night as I hurried back to my warm home. I passed a homeless man on the street and about a block later I decided to turn around. I reached into my bag and offered him a granola bar. We smiled at one another and chatted for a short bit. I walked away clearly aware in that moment of what I do have and inspired to do more for others that do not. I am grateful for my warm home.

Complaint #2: my squishy body annoys me. As a woman, it is very easy to be hard on yourself for the way you look. I am not at all immune from this. If I am honest, for the past months I have avoided looking at my stomach altogether as I am an unhappy with it. Today, with this new intention of gratitude, I forced myself to look at my body and see it differently. Instead of unhappiness, I felt gratitude for the miracle of childbirth. My squishy stomach is evidence of my son’s existence. I am grateful that I was able to give birth to a wonderful boy.

Complaint #3: I miss my family and friends back in the States. My husband and I moved to London about 9 months ago and I miss my family and friends dearly. With Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, I miss them all the more. However, I will be going home for Christmas and we have made some wonderful new friends here in London. I am not alone and with this realization, I reached out to my new friends and expressed gratitude. I am grateful for the friendships I have made through church, yoga, new mum groups, and the other organizations I have joined.

Complaint #4: I am annoyed when people are in my way and things don’t go smoothly. London is a crowded city and we live in the center of it all. The sidewalk is full of people who walk on both sides and it can be tiring just walking to and from somewhere. Learning to live in this culture has challenged my expectations and the way in which I do things. I remember that we chose this. I am grateful for the experience of living in England and for being able to travel and see life lived out differently.

Complaint #5: Feeling tired and a bit under the weather discourages me. This time of year it is easy to feel down with the darkening sky and the cold weather. It is also quite common to catch cold. As I reach for extra vitamin C, I am reminded of those in my life who are battling cancer and debilitating illness. I am grateful for health.

What do you complain about and how can you turn those thoughts into gratitude? I challenge you to do as I did and write down three to five major complaints in your life and then turn them into gratitude. From there, you can even go a step further by donating money or your time to organizations that help the areas you identified. For example, after doing this experiment in gratitude I went home and donated to an abused women’s’ charity as I am so grateful for being loved and cared for. I also sat down and wrote a letter of encouragement to a man who sells papers on the street. Every day that I pass by him he has a smile on his face and he greets many who coldly ignore him. If I had his job I would surely complain, but instead he smiles and he has made a difference by doing so. I wanted to tell him that.

In this experiment of gratitude, you will likely find many things to be grateful for. In a day that once would have been full of annoyances, you will likely find yourself overflowing with gratitude instead.

Turn your complaints into gratitude. @Grit_Grace @SWauterlek #thankful
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