The Law of Gratitude from a Psychological Perspective

“For everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

You have probably heard this phrase many times and in different contexts but do not fully understand its meaning. From the psychological point of view, we are talking about two polar foci of perception:

“I have” and “I don’t have”

We always get more of what we focus on

If we desire something, we get more desire  (like the old woman from the fairy tale about the Golden Fish).

Iconic British philosopher, Alan Watts, wrote that the expectation of a positive experience is a negative experience.

In other words, “I want” = “I don’t have.” For instance, when you’re desperate for money, your focus is on “there isn’t enough.”

Thoughts about it cause unpleasant emotions of anxiety, hopelessness, and fear for the future.

To quiet them, people usually grab the first job they are offered, even if the terms are unfavorable.

Actions from the state of sufficiency are different.

Prosperity begins with gratitude for what we already have.

Gratitude changes the focus of our perception to “I have” and expands our view on possibilities. You now understand why keeping a gratitude journal is helpful. You train your brain to capture all the material and non-material resources at your disposal.

At first, thinking strives to move onto the old tracks and start a favorite bagpipe: “Poor me, poor, I really don’t have anything, so what kind of gratitude are you talking about here?”

If you, despite this, add at least one new item to your gratitude list every day, in a month, your consciousness will learn to notice all the goods of the universe which were entirely ignored before.

This applies not only to objects and circumstances but also to relationships.

For example, when a mother learns to shift her focus away from her child’s poor grades to the fact that her child is healthy, obedient, and a genius when it comes to drawing, the family environment improves. Later, it becomes clear that for successful adult life, the offspring did not actually need not good grades but a feeling of being supported by a reliable mother.

When you train your brain to focus on availability instead of focusing on scarcity, your internal state moves towards increased stability. Gradually, you realize that you are doing a really good job with many different things and that the world is supporting you in many ways. Such realization gives courage for more decisive steps.

So, with every step, life changes for the better.

And it all starts with gratitude for what we already have.