It may be difficult, at first, to understand how acquiring an attitude of gratitude can so dramatically impact the amount of success we achieve in life, but so many of the great writers of inspirational texts have attested to this truth that we owe it to ourselves to try to understand. The simple truth is that so much of what we receive in life flows to us as a result of attitude. When we are happy, positive and generally upbeat, good things tend to happen; just as when we are miserable, negative and downcast, we tend to experience exactly the opposite.

People want to associate with people who have the ability to impact their lives positively; to help them inject some enthusiasm into the drudgery that, for so many, has become an inevitable part of their daily lives. Grateful people are happy people: they are givers - not takers - and they are engaged with life. Grateful people therefore have real power to impact others in a meaningful way.

Gratitude is, first and foremost - a state of mind; and it is the natural state of mind that flows from being in a position of grace. For our purposes, we will consider grace to be defined as: undeserved favour. When we are in a position of grace; when we receive something that we feel we did not deserve, gratitude is our most natural response: we are thankful. The big question then, is how can we acquire that attitude - permanently? The answer is something your mother may have taught you when you were really young: you need to learn to count your blessings.

When you examine your life, there may well be all kinds of things that you are simply not grateful for; but, if you are prepared to do so, the more you look, the more things you will find, for which you are truly grateful. So why not start counting your blessings today by beginning your own Gratitude Journal. You might be surprised at the effect it could have on yourself.

Spend an hour or so writing down all the things in your life that you are grateful for - the effect on you, after only a short time, will be quite noticeable; and, if you make writing in your journal a habit, the results can be really profound. You will begin to see your life changing for the better. You will become more positive about life, you will meet its challenges with an enthusiasm you didn't realise was within you and you will develop significantly more influence with others.