3 Minute Gratitude Exercise for Transforming ‘Problems’
By 
  
In Gratitude
By Aine Belton
Is there an area of your life in which you feel challenged/blocked/that is not going as think you’d like/is causing pain/fear/frustration…?
Try applying the gratitude exercise inquiry process below. It’s a brief yet powerful exercise that includes certain questions to ask yourself. It can also uncover potential hidden gifts in a situation.
This is not the same as attempting to feel grateful for the situation per se, which might be untrue or unrealistic or lead to denial. That said, it’s possible you may end up feeling grateful for the situation after the below questions.
Looking at things from a different and more objective perspective, which some of these questions encourage, isn’t about skipping or covering over what you’re currently feeling. Honour and process wherever you’re at and whatever feelings are there to allow them to move through you and release.
I’m sure, like me, there have been problems, challenges and crises you’ve faced that you now look back on and realize what you gained and were gifted with through them; what they led to, what may have been beneficial, what qualities awakened or developed, what love, healing, awareness, and so on, may have somehow came out of them. Perhaps some of those situations you now do feel grateful for.
The below exercise isn’t about pretending to feel OK about something you don’t, ignoring or denying your feelings, or covering anything over. It can elicit genuine gratitude in a way that may surprise and support you, however. You’ll know what’s real by how you feel.
INQUIRY PROCESS 
(Ask yourself the below questions in relation to any ‘problem’ situation):
* What have I learned or can I learn from this situation?
* What gifts have I received or might I receive from this situation that could benefit me?
* How might my life be better for this, if not right now, then in the future?
* Has my love and compassion (for self or others) deepened or does it have the potential for doing so through this situation?
* Have I become softer/stronger/wiser/humbler (add any quality), or have the potential for doing so through this situation?
* How has this challenge helped me discover more about myself?
* What positive qualities or experiences has this situation (or person) exhibited that I can be grateful for?
* What good has come from this situation, or could come from this experience, for myself/others/the world?
* What positive qualities and traits have I discovered/developed/accessed/demonstrated in dealing with this challenge (that I can feel grateful for)?
* How can this situation open me to more love for myself, others and the world?
Obviously there are many other ways to support yourself and help to heal a given situation; acceptance, loving yourself/others, forgiving yourself/others, letting go of limiting beliefs and stories, reflecting on why you may have ‘allowed’ the situation, and so on.
Much love,
Aine Belton