The Dark Side of Gratitude: How It Can Hold You Back

The practice of gratitude is one of the most powerful ways of creating abundance in our lives.  

What are you grateful for today? Can you list five things each day that made you feel happy, safe, loved or valued?

In my early days as a coach I once hand painted gratitude jars that I gifted attendees of a workshop I hosted at my home.  The practice of acknowledging the good things in your life is key to attracting more of them.  The habit of expressing appreciation to those who bestow you with those good things is what keeps humanity going, despite all the challenges and negativity.

And yet...

There is a duality to most things, and often it is more complex than that.  Even something as amazing as gratitude has multiple sides to it, and not all of them are positive.

Executive coach Tatiana Poliakova and I had a powerful controversial conversation about gratitude: its many faces and how sometimes it can hold us back. 

In this free-flowing conversation we both articulated things that have been rattling around in our heads seeking permission to be spoken.

We talked about how gratitude for what we have can stop us from wanting more, for fear of seeming ungrateful.

We explored why gratitude can sometimes keep us trapped in relationships, jobs and places that may still be good enough, but stop us from creating something amazing.

We wondered whether the attitude of gratitude keeps us in the present in a way that deters us from exploring what's truly possible.

We made the link between gratitude, giving and letting go.

We remembered the essence of gratitude and its natural connection to an abundance mindset that took seed in us as children, and how we can learn to live like that again.

Peppered with metaphors and personal stories, this is one of my favourite publicly recorded conversations.  I hope you enjoy it and take away some insights that create abundance in your life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzp2AUzlwtQ&feature=share