A few thousand years ago, Marcus Cicero said that “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” It’s pretty simple for us to feel and express gratitude at this time of year, the Holiday season, but what’s difficult is maintaining that spirit throughout the course of the year as we take on the obstacles and challenges which inevitably show up in our career and life in general.

Gratitude is a mindset, it is dynamic in that such a mindset doesn’t just happen, we must tune into it, then we must cultivate that mindset day in and day out. When obstacles and challenges appear, we can choose be grateful for them because those obstacles and challenges can trigger other virtues like persistence, discipline, and perseverance. If we choose incorrectly, those same obstacles and challenges will trigger negative virtues like fear, regret, and despair.

I believe that gratitude acts much like a powerful magnet, along the lines of the Law of Attraction. I once wrote, “Gratitude turns what you have into enough, and yet it opens the door for more, that you may find yourself in a unique position; blessed to be a blessing.”

Whatever it is we ‘send out’ tends to come back to us in the same form. Positive, grateful thoughts sent out, attract positive things back into our lives.

If we aren’t content with what is showing up in our life, we may want to consider what it is we are sending out. If it’s gratitude we are sending out, then we should know that even more of what we are already grateful for will return. I believe this as fervently as I believe in the Law of Gravity.