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Gratitude- Your Internal Wealth

It’s hard to believe Thanksgiving 2020 is right around the corner! What a year this has been. This is my last biweekly blog post before the holiday and I want to talk about gratitude. Yes, gratitude in 2020. It’s been a tough year in so many ways but we still can choose gratitude even in the midst of it all. Why? Because gratitude is your internal wealth. It does not cost any money to be grateful. I am not saying this as a Pollyanna. Yes, I am optimistic but not blindly optimistic. I am saying this because we each have the power within us to choose our attitude and our gratitude. I believe that feeling and expressing gratitude is healthy for our bodies, minds, souls, and our wallets too.

Gratitude Creates Opportunity

Gratitude opens up the flow of abundance in our lives, including the flow of money. When we are grateful for what we do have, it creates possibility. We do not obsess about what we do not have or what we want but are simply grateful for what we have now. Being grateful helps us create equanimity in our lives and this calmness, even in difficult situations, ultimately opens doors. Think about it- a person who can express gratitude and remain positive will have more opportunity. Being negative and a doom and gloom person is not likely to help you in the work world, the family world, the friendship world, or if you are single- the dating world.

So it’s free, it’s yours to choose, and the supply doesn’t run out- gratitude is a gift we give ourselves. This gift of self-love then touches someone else and on and on it goes. That is flow and abundance in action. You never know how you kind word or expression of gratitude to someone can positively change their day, week, or maybe even their (and your) life.

Reframing and Choosing Your Life

Gratitude and reframing of the current 2020 circumstances has made a big difference in my life in this unprecedented year. Yes, I have spent a lot of time alone but my attitude has been one of discovery and exploration. I knew the pandemic was not going away over night so I had to figure a way to make the most of it.

One of the best things that came out of it for me was launching MoneyMaestra. The pandemic quickly taught us that not having our money situation straight was not a good thing. My money situation was straight and therefore Covid was not a financial stressor for me- and that was huge. I definitely had to make adjustments and hustle some of my side gigs- but overall, financially I was good.

One of the key reasons I created MoneyMaestra is to help people get on the path to financial freedom. To understand money, to take out the fear and worry and put in the freedom and fun. I have a deep gratitude for the space I have to live the life I choose because I have my finances in order.

During a StormTransformation

When I walked through my (chemical free) pollinator garden this morning I witnessed the newly emerged Monarch butterfly pictured in the photo above. That butterfly began its transformation process in the middle of a tropical storm 10 days ago. The little caterpillar had started to go into the “J formation” during the storm- which is the beginning of the transformation stage. It was hanging on by a thin but oh so strong thread. That little caterpillar instinctively knew there were new beginnings on the other side. Let’s take flight too and make 2021 a Financial Fresh Start!

With gratitude,

Susan, The MoneyMaestra

Susan Howell
Written by: Susan Howell, The MoneyMaestra.

Even though I grew up without money, I was able to retire at 50 based on my financial practices. I worked for the Federal Government for 26 years, with 6 of those years at the IRS and 20 at the Department of Justice, which included investigating many money-related cases.

I created MoneyMaestra to share what I know and to help people get on the path to Financial Freedom.

6 Comments

  1. Grace Villamayor

    Loved this blog on Gratitude – Grateful Attitude because Attitude is mostly everything. It’s the difference between success or failure; joy or sadness; fear or love. Great piece!

    Reply
    • Susan Howell

      Absolutely! Your attitude is the game changer! When you put gratitude front and center, it shifts your attitude, and your life. Let’s make 2021 a fabulous year!

      Reply
  2. Marilyn Coronado

    Thank you Susan. Practicing gratitude brings about complete change in attitude toward self, others and all of life. Butterflies are everyday miracles.

    Reply
    • Susan Howell

      Welcome Marilyn. Practicing gratitude really shifts everything in a positive direction. It’s something we all can do and it’s free and always available. Butterflies are such a beautiful example of transformation.

      Reply
  3. Karyn Keil

    I love the photo and butterfly reference. Yes, we may be hanging on by a thread – but it is a strong thread that will take us to a new beginning. Gratitude is the attitude that takes us there!

    Reply
    • Susan Howell

      Yes, spot on Karyn! That thread is strong! Gratitude gets you there!

      Reply

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