Get Rice: Ronnie O'Brien Rice, Ph.D., Lawyer

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” William Arthur Ward (Writer). I believe that gratitude changes how we look at life and the opportunities that it offers. Life can always be better, however, gratitude shows an appreciation for the way it is now.   Gratitude allows a person to understand that there is good in life in every situation. I have found that looking at the positives of life improves my success in it more times over. If you have two people who are in the same situation of a lost job. One person looks at the current situation and beats themselves up. And another person who looks at their current situation and find ways to appreciate this moment in life. I find that the person who has a high level of appreciation always go further in life than one who continuous to beat themselves up. Melody Beattie, an author, put it best, “gratitude unlocks the fullness of life....

  In this world where there is a high demand for people’s time and energy, some may find it difficult to focus on the aspects of life that matter. Often times, people say that the most important things in life are family, their spiritual walk, money, etc. However, their actions rarely line up with these beliefs. I have found that simply matching one’s belief with their actions provides abundance of success in all areas of my life. Several ways one can match their belief with their actions are to (1) meditate on desired goals; (2) create goals; and (3) reward yourself or those around you after completing those goals.   Meditating on your goals simply involves sitting still (literally) and thinking about where you want your life to be for about five minutes a day. Some call this a form of prayer. However, I think prayer is a little different as it is a conversation between you and God where He does the talking. One can incorporate meditation into prayer. Next, crea...