It’s very important to have a grateful heart.

I used to be that negative Nancy who always had something negative to say, always found the worst in situations and brought not only myself down, but those around me. One day I decided to turn it around and start thinking more optimistic.

I had no idea how I was going to accomplish this, nor did I know where to start. I turned to YouTube first, a platform I knew well and stumbled across some incredible people who kick started my spiritual journey and path to living a more positive, grateful lifestyle.

A YouTuber named Koi Fresco is the reason I have gotten to the point I am at today spiritually. He introduced me to topics I had never heard of or knew anything about before. Anything from the universe to the law of attraction and vibrational frequencies and energies.

After Koi sparked my interest on all these topics, I decided I wanted to learn even more, so I turned to books. I took a trip to Barnes and Noble and purchased a few books on topics I wanted to learn more about. I read the Law of Attraction by Esther and Jerry Hicks, a book that forever changed my life and the way I think.

The law of attraction in simple terms is whatever you focus your energy on, negative or positive, will be attracted into your life. For example, if you wake up in a terrible mood and tell yourself it is going to be the worst day ever, it actually will be the worst day ever. Every bad thing that could possibly happen to you is happening to you and you wonder why this pattern continues to happen--your answer is the law of attraction. Even though you do not want your day to be bad, because you focus all of your energy on negativity the domino effect occurs and things continue to get worse and worse as time passes.

Instead of focusing on the negative all the time because clearly that was not getting me anywhere and making me a happier person, I decided to shift my focus on creating a more grateful heart and find the good in everything.

At first it felt very unnatural to force myself to dig deep to find even one good thing in a bad circumstance, but after practicing this new mindset over and over, it became second nature to shift my focus to something more positive. I can say I have been significantly happier as a result of living my life with a more grateful heart.

When something great happens, I savor the great moment and mentally note and express my gratitude simply due to knowing eventually this great moment will come to an end regardless if I want it to or not.

If you have no idea where to start, know this: Everything in life is temporary. So if things are going good, enjoy it because it won’t last forever and if things are going bad, don’t worry. It can’t last forever either.