Why pseudo-gratitude sucks
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Don’t get me wrong, a daily gratitude practice is the bedrock of an amplified life. When you take time each day to reflect on what you’re grateful for, life gives you more to be grateful for. Gratitude is the first step to the elusive “abundance mindset” you have heard and read about in the self-help world.
However, I meet so many good people who stay trapped in low-paying, soul-sucking jobs while saying, “I should just be grateful to have a job when other people are struggling.”
Others use gratitude to stay in high-paying, soul-sucking jobs that are misaligned with their purpose. They say, “I should just be happy I can provide for my family and make this kind of income,” even as the stress slowly kills them.
My friend, Sarah, calls this pseudo-gratitude.
It’s the practice of hiding behind gratitude because you’re afraid to ask for more.
Pseudo-gratitude seems spiritual and altruistic to the ego, but it’s just a mask for fear and insecurity.
It’s a mask that hides the subconscious feeling of unworthiness to ask for more.
It’s a way to protect yourself from failure.
It’s a way to “fit in” and meet the expectations of your family and peers (who are probably settling for less than they want and deserve as well).
Here’s why pseudo-gratitude sucks:
* You never bring your purpose to life, which means you never make the full impact that you’re here to make.
* You never get to grow into the fullest expression of who you are.
* You’ll eventually look back and ask yourself, “What if…?”
* You won’t become an inspiration for the people around you of what is possible. This is especially true of children, who always learn from the example of their parents.
We live in a “Yes-And” Universe.
Yes, you can be grateful for life’s blessings AND simultaneously want to grow and become more.
Because when you grow (emotionally, spiritually, and financially), you have more to give.
And when you stop growing… you start dying.
Your desires aren’t wrong. Your desires aren’t selfish. Your desires aren’t even “your” desires. They were given to you by the same higher intelligence that breathed life into you because it created you to bring those desires forward and give your gifts to the world.
Stop using gratitude as an excuse to stay stuck and remember you get to have it ALL.