The Good:Attitude – Having an Attitude of Gratitude

Here at GoodAttitudeFood.com we talk about food all the time. One of the founding theories is that the different foods we eat can have an effect on our attitude. That gets “sciency” real fast… I am not going deep on that point in this post, but talk about it in depth, in other posts. Basically the idea is to eat whole, close to natural, foods, instead of highly processed stuff that has little nutritional value. Today a little different topic, I want to talk about how to cultivate what we at GoodAttitudeFood.com call the “Good:Attitude”. This about having an “attitude of gratitude”. Which means simply, be greatful for everything.

This is a mind-set. Try to find a way to see the amazingness in everything.

One of the most amazing things is that we even exist at all. According to Dr. Binazir, writing for The Huffington Post, the odds of just being born are beyond staggering, calculated by experts to be about one in 400 trillion. The odds that I would be born were ONE in FOUR HUNDRED TRILLION!

Think about that, the odds of every person we know existing are one in 400 trillion…

Another thing I do to develop an attitude of gratitude is I start to think about the small things that I take for granted everyday. It’s pretty incredible that my body breathes all the time and I don’t have to sit here an tell it to. My heart beats on it’s own without failure. Every day I wake up to a new day. Every one of those new days is the opportunity to take steps toward a goal, to grow, to learn, to become better at something, and to chase something that could bring new joy into life.

Developing an attitude of gratitude takes work. I spent the first thirty years of my life in negative thought patterns. I took the miracles of life, existance, the world, nature, and everything else for granted. I had to go through some dark times, depression, loss, loneliness, and deep self-evalutation. I had to go to college and earn an education. I had to learn how to get fit and eat healthy. I had to really take control of my life before I could start to appreciate the amazing things in the world.

I am certainly not perfect, and struggle to have an attitude of gratitude at times. The Internet is a great tool today to help when this happens. I have found countless examples of people who do amazingly inspirational stuff. Here is a story of one that I found this morning.

Ed Mylett is an incredibly inspirational guy in his own right, but I found a video with him interviewing a young man named Nick Santonastasso. Wow this man is amazing! A true definition of having an attitude of gratitude.

When his mother was pregnant they learned that Nick’s limbs were not developing correctly. He was diagnosed in the womb with hand-heart syndrome, a condition that causes underdeveloped limbs and organs. He would be the twelfth person in history to be born with this. His parents were told there would be many complications in his life and his chance of living were slim; eight of the people born with this condition passed away because of under-developed organs.

Nick’s parents decided to give his life a chance. When he was born, doctors tested his organs. While his limbs had not developed, amazingly his organs were all perfectly healthy.

He was born with no legs, one arm, and an underdeveloped hand. Nick does not let these things stop him. Check out his youtube channel, dude was doing crossfit and all kind of other stuff! Just an amazing story of perserverence. About 4 minutes into the interview, this young man starts talking about being grateful for life! He is greatful for every day he is alive.

Have an attitude of gratitude. It will serve life better than having a crappy attitude.

Thank you so much for reading! If this post added value to your day, please throw me a like! Follow my blog for more. Be happy and healthy my friends. Remember you can be the hero of your own story!