Your attitude determines so many things in your life. Salespeople are trained to always maintain a positive attitude and athletes are reminded to create a winning attitude. While it’s true that commitment, persistence and faith all contribute to helping you create and maintain success in so many areas of your life, thankfulness, or gratitude, are also important.

To understand the power of thankfulness you need to remember the premise of the Law of Attraction which states “like attracts like.” Therefore, by seeking to always maintain an “attitude of gratitude” you are telling the Universe you appreciate what you have been given and you are ready to receive more.

Thankfulness and gratitude generate positive energy in your life. There is no question that it is easier to be thankful about your life when things are going well. But, how do you turn things around when you are not getting the results you expect? An important answer is to show more gratitude for what you do have rather than showing disappointment (which is a form of negative energy) for the things you do not have.

Consider all of the relationships in your life for a moment. Think about your co-workers, your friends, your children and your mate. You have the power to move any difficult relationship to a more positive one by using gratitude.

If a co-worker is being critical of you and is generally difficult to work with, try approaching this person and point out at least one thing this person does for which you are grateful. It can be trivial, but it needs to be something positive, “thanks for making more coffee,” for example. Continue expressing your gratitude and gradually you will see the negative energy that exists between you two begin to shift and become more positive.

Not to be naïve or innocent, but most people do want to experience positive energy in their lives – they just don’t know how. You can begin the process by expressing your thankfulness.

A great tool to help you learn how to express gratitude on a consistent basis is to keep a gratitude journal. This private journal will be the place where you tell the Universe all of the things for which you are truly grateful. You can make lists, such as: “I’m grateful for the kiss my wife gave me when I left this morning”or“Thanks for raining – my grass really needed it,” or “I’m grateful for the great steak I ate last night.”

The point is you don’t have to write long passages. Just look around and take note of the things you appreciate most. By making a deliberate effort to express your thankfulness, you are putting yourself in a great position to receive more of what is making your grateful in the first place.

There should be no surprise that when you cherish and respect something, you are entrusted to continue receiving more of it in your life. Be thankful and watch your success and abundance continue to grow.

Author's Bio: 

Alex Blackwell is the author of The Next 45 Years - a website dedicated to sharing and creating happiness, life balance and success for the rest of our lives. To read more inspirational stories and articles, please visit: http://www.thenext45years.blogspot.com