Alina's Story - Gratitude in my life
Here is Alina's story of attracting her dreams into her life with the power of gratitude and manifestation.
Alina: My name is Alina. I am from Lithuania and I want to share my gratitude story with you. I started to practice it since I find some kind of literature or articles from Rhonda Byrne. So, I watched this movie and every time I watch it, it inspires me. It seems that you can reach everything while watching, you know, that all your thoughts become things.
I even have this tattoo of the sentence - Thoughts become things. It reminds me every time I look at it. So I started to read more and I went to some groups and like I found other inspiring people and started to practice gratitude, started to visualize and being thankful for the little things, like, good morning, you are stepping out of the bed and you're thinking, "Today will be a very good and nice day."
And it is! Actually then you start to change your thinking, your thoughts. What changed in my life, since I started to practice it? I can mention two things. It was a flat, where I'm living now because I always, always thought how I wish that I could have my own place, my own flat.
I didn't buy it, but still, I rent it, this is my place, you know? And I was thinking, I want that every time I come back home, I just feel free about what I am doing because it is my space and it doesn't matter if there's mess around, but it is my mess. I think after one year I got a suggestion from my colleague that she has a flat, big one. Do you want to rent it? So, yes, I said, of course!
Another thing. When I was a student, I was always thinking, because I heard some people talking, it would be so nice to work as a translator, like translating TV series. So, I thought that it is a good job and interesting. This summer I got this job's suggestion. Now I am in this sphere and I see that it is not so easy as it seems at the first sight, because there is a lot of work to do.
It takes more time, but it's still interesting to me because I am a teacher. I am teaching children. And, I know if you love this job, what you're doing, you are going to a festival every morning, but if you don't like what you're doing, so it is like a hell.
When you wake up, you have a lot of thoughts in your head. Now I am thinking, I have such a dream to create an app, which would be like a person's own challenge. What he or she decides and that's what he will accomplish if it is reachable.
It's just a thought, but it comes to my mind very frequently as I see now. Maybe something will happen in the future, I don't know, maybe I will create.
And another thing, which I accidentally caught myself thinking, I saw an article and about one lady from my town. She works with flowers. There was an article written about her that she lived in Italy. I don't remember now. And I thought that someday somebody will write an article about me.
Thoughts are coming all the time to my head, but you have to start to finish because it doesn't happen very quickly for me. What I achieved took one year or even five years, but it's still achievable.
And I am grateful, actually. Yeah. I am grateful. I am grateful for your app because I found it accidentally. Sometimes I go to Google, you know, and I am searching for apps related to gratitude. One day I found your app, I thought it is amazing because every day you can write. This is like your diary, you know, diary on your phone.
Later, I thought maybe I could share my story, somebody to inspire, so that they won't lose hope because there are some cases now, it seems like everything is slipping away from under your feet. But I think that every problem has a solution. It cannot be that a problem doesn't have it. So, I put this into my head now; every problem has a solution!
That's it. I thought I have got two things to share, real events. I achieved using my thoughts. I thought: I wish that I could have that. I wish that I could work in this sphere, and it came after some years, but it still came.
Aarushi: So for you, gratitude has been a strong power to manifest what you want in your life.
Alina: Yes. Yes, it is. And it is still now. And what am now doing maybe I didn't do before, I am getting myself to think about every small thing. I say thank you to the universe, to God.
Aarushi: And, do you think being grateful also brought some positive changes in your personality, how you saw situations? Like you said that every problem has a solution. Did it have other changes in your personality? When you would go through some difficult times, how would gratitude help you?
Alina: My personality. Yeah. I remember myself when I didn't accept critics, you know? I thought that I'm the best and nobody can criticize me, but now I am just looking at myself from the side, and I see that I make mistakes. I am not the God.
Every person is different. I also have pluses and minuses. And if somebody criticizes me, it means that I didn't do something good and I need to learn from this. But if I am right, and I know that I am 100% right, I'm fighting for my opinion and my beliefs.
Aarushi: And why do you think that it is important to feel grateful in life?
Alina: Because it changes your mood, first of all, it uplifts you from the inside, like good vibes, you know, some kind of warm feelings and warm heart. This state is something wonderful because then you think that everything is reachable. All problems have a solution and that you are not alone.
I am in a lot of Facebook groups. There are a lot of groups regarding gratitude as well. And when I read the comments, I see that I am not alone, that there are a lot of people who are practicing gratitude and their lives are getting better.
Nowadays there is a lot of hatred, a lot of angry people. So I just want to walk away from them, why? They may ruin my day and mood. It's better to spread some positivity, you know? I think that I have chosen the correct way because I didn't know before, and now when I am in it, it really makes me feel better. I am a better person.
Aarushi: I'm sure you are. When sometimes when you would be going through some challenge or something difficult, how do you find something to feel grateful for? How do you find gratitude then?
Alina: It is hard actually when you get in such things but you cannot let this bad force overcome the good ones. You have to fight that in your head and in your thinking; to change it. I always try to change it by thinking about something. I will find a solution or something good.
Maybe I will hear good advice, like my family members advise me and I will still find the solution. Another thing which I practice is, for example, when you're feeling really bad and you don't have to talk with somebody and you are just alone.
I just take a paper, a sheet of paper, and I write everything down. What I feel, what is disturbing me. Why? Because after that, when I am finishing it, it is like relief, and later, of course, I just read it and throw it in the dustbin. It helps me a lot.
Aarushi: Yeah. I also do that whenever I'm stressed, I take my diary and I just write everything that is on my mind and it really does help to let your thoughts all out on paper. So, from 2015 to 2021, how would you describe all these years and how has the journey been from that point to this point?
Alina: There were downfalls. There were hardships and wonderful moments, but I'm not giving up. I am trying to have these good times more. I'm always saying to myself, "You are very strong and you can manage." I am talking with myself. I don't know if it's a bad habit or a good one, but I'm really talking to myself: "You are the best and you can find a solution."
It changed because when you are growing and your mind is changing as well. So yeah, of course, it changed my life. I have these better moments more now than before because my mom is always pessimistic and I am optimistic. Our viewpoints are different. She sees every way, you know, like bad, but, I am trying to inspire her.
I always say to her, just look, there is a lot of positivity and not everything is bad. So we have to think about that. I'm trying even to persuade her because she has health problems. I am saying if you think that you are ill and you will be ill, but if you will change your thinking and start to think like I will get out from the illness, I will heal. Your mood and the vibes will be good. And really, it is true. It is true.
Aarushi: Yes. I totally agree with you. The way that you talk to yourself, the things that you say to yourself, do play out in your life and impact what happens to you. So yeah, that is how affirmations work.
Alina: Yes, yes. You are right regarding affirmations. You always have to say that you are the best, that you can manage, just to inspire everybody and yourself. Because you are living in this body with yourself and you will live in it until the end, so you have to love yourself as well. Yeah.
Aarushi: Yes, absolutely. Thank you, Alina. I really enjoy listening to your story and thank you for sharing this with me and everyone who's listening. I did learn a lot of things and I will always keep in my mind that every problem has a solution.
If you'd like to share your story too, send an email to stories@gratefulness.me, and we'll schedule a call.
