Lately I've been feeling a bit grumpy, and I couldn't get to the bottom of what was going on. Obviously my mental attitude was not in the right place and with all this stuff going about on the law of attraction I couldn't help but wonder what 'I' was thinking and how this might be affecting my 'perception' of the world.

It's easy to get into a negative frame of mind and think things are not as perfect as you would like them to be. You know those thoughts; I don't have enough money, how will I ever pay off those credit card bills? I'll never be able to own my own home, how will I pay for the car repairs? My relationships stink and, in my case - I'm a hopeless stock market trader! It's easy to let these thoughts run around in your mind, like a washing machine going through the wash and rinse cycle over and over and over again. But how do you stop these thoughts and get back on track?

This is something I have struggled with for most of my adult life I don't have all the answers, but one thing that has made a huge difference to me is learning to be grateful for what I have. All those other 'worries' start to take care of themselves fortuitous meetings - unexpected bonuses - when you employ a grateful state of mind.

When I woke up this morning I was tempted to get back into the standard 'wash and rinse' of negative thought, it is very appealing and easy to indulge in, and if you have an addictive personality like me indulgence is what we live for. But then this morning in bed, an idea came to me - related to the law of attraction.

Gratefulness.

Instead of the 'wash and rinse' of bad thoughts and feelings, I decided to indulge in an 'attitude of gratitude', starting with the bed I was sleeping in:

I am grateful for this bed I have just slept in - now, that wasn't too hard was it? As I showered, I thought I'm grateful for the water that's coming out of the nozzle, especially as we are in drought conditions where I live. I am grateful for the soap that is cleansing my body. As I cleaned my teeth I became grateful for the protection the fluoride was giving my teeth - wow! That's almost 5 things to be grateful for before breakfast!

I discovered there are many things to be grateful for while preparing and eating breakfast. There's the plate I am eating off, the fork and spoon that I'm using to eat with. I am grateful for the food that I'm eating [eggs in this case], for the farmer that grew it, the truck driver who took it to the supermarket, for the supermarket who provided it. You see, there are so many things to be grateful for and that's just breakfast !

Take this attitude out into the day - do you work? Be grateful for your mode of transport. Do you work with other people be grateful for them. Even if you're in an office where a bit of sniping goes on - why not be grateful for everyone you work with and see if this changes their attitude to you, and your attitude to them. The possibilities are endless, and you will feel better.

Of course this is not the first time I have adopted the 'attitude of gratitude', it's just so easy to 'not' apply it and slip back into the old ways of thinking, but, on reflection this is a 'difference that can make the difference'.

So, my challenge to you is this, can you think of five things, just five, to be grateful for this morning. Then find another five things tomorrow morning. Do this for one week and see if you detect any change in your attitude?