Gratitude v's "be grateful"

Just a short post this morning on something i've been thinking about alot.  I am a big advocate for being grateful but at the same time i was always told growing up "be grateful for what you've got"  These two things appear to say the same thing but infact say very different things.

  When you say the phrase "Be grateful for what you've got" what you're really saying is stop wanting more, be happy with your lot and get on with it.  Get your head out of the clouds and quit dreaming.  Now as a child, i was a real dreamer.  I would stare at the clouds and make out exotic city scapes i was sure i would visit one day, i would draw unicorns and magical places, I was confident i would travel the world and have adventures.  Then as my teens came upon me i heard phrases such as "Be grateful for what you've got", "Grow up", "live in the real world", "you're living in a dream world" (Said with scorn). I think all of these things really affected me, they stopped me pursuing my dreams, stopped me wanting more.  I certainly for a while tried my hardest to be grateful for what i've got.  But as i've grown older, i realise that to be grateful is a wonderful thing, but never, ever settle for less, always strive for more, to make your life better.  In the words of Hal Elrod, i want a 'level ten life'.  I will never tell my children to accept their lot.  I will tell them to always be grateful for what they have but also strive for more. They deserve the best their life can give them and they should always work towards that.  Little steps every day.

  As i said before i am a great advocate for gratitude, so i wanted to say a final note on my daily gratitude rituals.  I keep a journal, every day i write in it 10 things i am grateful for today.  This helps me so much to appreciate the good things in my life, especially on the difficult rubbishy days.  Its like a tonic on those days.  I honestly believe what you think you attract and if i start my day thinking "I've got loads to do", "Nothing ever gets done", "I have no money", "I'm crap at everything", those thoughts will be with me all day long dragging me down.  Maybe this week is tight and i have very little spare cash.  Dwelling on it is not going to change that fact and will only make me feel worse.  Instead i choose to think of something else entirely like how nice the weather is, how great my health is, how i'm losing weight and slowly become a happy, healthier me.  So i do my gratitude journal every day at the start of the day.  Then every evening i use my gratitude stone.  Its a little heart shaped rock that i got from a national trust gift shop.  It has the word 'believe' on it.  Just a tourist gift really.  But i hold it each night before bed and think of one great thing i did today.  I need the physical stone there to remind me to do it but its not really important.  the important thing is to find something awesome that happened that day and say thanks for it.

Being grateful is so so important, but always strive for more!