What’s your favorite kind of chocolate—milk, dark or white? Like chocolate, gratitude has three flavours: gratitude, appreciation and thankfulness. Each is unique in their profile and yet part of the same core theme. When practiced, gratitude, appreciation and thankfulness bring more joy and fulfillment into your life and in ways you’ve never known possible.
While they’re similar, all three have distinctions. Here’s an overview:
- Gratitude: Overall, gratitude provides a deep connection to the positive gifts and opportunities life offers. Ultimately, raising your vibration and attracting more things to be grateful for helps you gain a sense of optimism for the present and the future.
- Appreciation: This is a recognition of different qualities, people, situations and events that have transpired in a way that helps you see the wonderful aspects they’ve contributed. Appreciation helps connect the dots of past and present in a positive way that creates a sense of inner peace.
- Thankfulness: This creates positive feelings around events, experiences and people, typically leaving you feeling pleased over an outcome or relieved that something has come to an end. It helps you stay present and enjoy more of your life.
In a nutshell, gratitude is overall love for life. Appreciation is all about recognizing the awesome qualities in something or someone—those details that make you smile. And thankfulness, well, that’s responding to a specific moment or experience that’s rocked your world.
Sprinkle some gratitude, appreciation and thankfulness into each day and you’ll amplify your radiance. Your life will optimize in the most magnificent ways.
Discover your primary question
Did you know that you have a primary question that subconsciously runs through your mind several times a day, if not more? This primary question typically is rooted in the voice of your inner critic and can keep you in your zone of UN-potential. However, if you can get to the root of the inner critic and shift it consciously to be centred in one of the three flavours of gratitude, you’ll reveal more of your radiance.
For example, I eventually discovered my primary question was “Am I doing enough?” This explained why I struggled with burnout and feeling disconnected all the time. I never stopped moving and doing, so it was hard to feel and to have self-awareness—there was never a pause. I lacked any of the three flavours of gratitude towards myself and the things that I did, whether for my family, my work or myself. There was always more to be done.
Have you felt like this, too? If so, your primary question might be similar.
With awareness, you can shift your primary question into a radiant frequency using gratitude, appreciation and thankfulness. Today, my primary question is, “From a place of appreciation, how can I create more of what I love with ease and grace?”
This is just an example of how intention and gratitude can be used to shift your primary question to a higher frequency where Infinite Intelligence can intercede to support and serve you. With practice and repetition, your subconscious will reprogram to align with your highest and greatest good, resulting in better outcomes.
7 questions to ask yourself
Here are seven questions that can help you discover your current primary question:
What thoughts consistently occupy my mind during quiet moments?
Reflecting on your thoughts during moments of silence can reveal patterns or recurring themes. For example: I shouldn’t be resting, I should be doing something.
How do I react to challenges or failures?
Your immediate mental response to setbacks can clue you in to the underlying beliefs about your abilities and worth. For example: I shouldn’t have done that, I know better.
What do I fear others will think about me?
Social fears often highlight your deepest insecurities and the questions you’re subconsciously trying to answer about your value and identity. For example: Others are going to think I’m lazy or irresponsible if I’m not proactively doing something.
When do I feel the most defensive?
The moments you feel the need to defend yourself can indicate areas of insecurity and the questions you might be asking yourself about your adequacy or competence. For example: I’ll get called out for doing something I know I should have done but didn’t.
What would I need to believe about myself to feel happy and fulfilled?
This question can help reveal the negative image that your subconscious might be wrestling with. For example: I don’t believe that it’s OK to rest and replenish my energy.
In what situations do I feel the least confident?
Analyzing scenarios where your confidence dips can illuminate the doubts your subconscious might be entertaining. For example: When I feel I’m being micromanaged, I feel that I’m not doing anything right.
What criticism do I most fear receiving?
The critiques you dread can reflect the questions you’re asking about your worth, abilities or identity. For example: I’m not doing enough at work to impact results or enough at home to keep the household running.
If you had to sum up your subconscious thinking in one question, what do you feel your primary question is?
For example: Am I doing enough?
Leveraging gratitude
Gratitude, appreciation and thankfulness are among the highest frequency of radiant emotions. What this means is that when your thoughts, actions and emotions stem from the three flavours of gratitude, they’ll positively change your outcomes and help unleash your potential for the greater good of all. You’ll also feel peace and grace instead of pressure and stress.
Your primary question influences your actions and decisions. Knowing that, how would a primary question rooted in gratitude, appreciation and thankfulness change your outcomes? What do you think is possible if your subconscious mind was operating in the frequency of the three flavours of gratitude? What opportunities might open up for you?
Leverage gratitude to shift your primary question from the voice of the inner critic to the voice of your inner motivational coach. Remember, gratitude is centred in the present and the future, appreciation is centred in the past and the present, and thankfulness is centred in the present. Depending on your primary question, you can choose what flavour of gratitude you can leverage to help reshape your new primary question.
7 more questions to shift your thinking
What am I grateful for in my life right now?
Focusing on gratitude can immediately shift your perspective from what you lack to what you possess. This question encourages a positive outlook and appreciation for the present moment. For example: I’m grateful for my health and the health of my family.
What do I appreciate about my strengths, and how can I use them today?
Identifying and appreciating your strengths fosters a sense of competence and self-worth, shifting the focus from perceived weaknesses to inherent abilities. For example: I appreciate my willingness to leverage my strengths and use them in a way that serves other people.
What progress have I made towards my goals, and how can I be thankful for that?
Recognizing even small achievements with a spirit of thankfulness can boost your motivation and shift your attention from setbacks to progress and potential. For example: I took an hour’s nap, and I’m so thankful for the renewed energy I feel.
Who inspires me and why?
Reflecting on the qualities of people you admire can help you identify values and aspirations that are important to you, guiding your actions in a positive direction. For example: My best friend inspires me because she maintains strong boundaries, and so she has more time and energy for what’s important to her.
What can I learn from this situation?
Viewing challenges as opportunities for learning and growth changes your mindset from victimhood to empowerment. For example: Even though I often take action because I don’t feel I do enough, I realize that I love taking action and I can do it in a more healthy and supportive way.
How can I make someone’s day better?
Shifting your focus outward to the well-being of others can enhance your sense of connection and purpose, creating a positive feedback loop that uplifts both you and those around you. For example: I can show up with a genuine smile on my face and offer an uplifting attitude in my interactions. What steps can I take right now to nurture myself?
What steps can I take right now to nurture myself?
Thinking about ways to nurture yourself helps maintain a forward-focused, solution-oriented mindset, steering you away from rumination or negativity. For example: Resting is a form of taking action that allows me to recharge.
Reframe your primary question
By regularly asking yourself these questions, you can cultivate a more positive, resilient and proactive mindset, which helps you reframe your primary question in gratitude. This practice not only benefits your own mental and emotional well-being but also positively impacts those around you.
If you made only one new primary question, what would your new question be?
Becca Powers is the author of A Return to Radiance and Harness Your Inner CEO. A Fortune 500 high-tech sales executive, keynote speaker and CEO of Powers Peak Potential, she has worked with industry giants Cisco, Dell, Royal Caribbean International and Office Depot. With an impressive record of leading large teams and hitting $500 million in annual revenue, Powers has earned the coveted President’s Club award seven times. A certified Kundalini Yoga teacher and Reiki Master, she lives in Florida. Visit her online at www.BeccaPowers.com.
Excerpted from the book A Return to Radiance: The POWER Method to Ignite Your Soul and Unleash Your Potential. Copyright © 2024 by Becca Powers. Reprinted with permission from New World Library — www.newworldlibrary.com.
images: Depositphotos