Hi, this is Monique Rhodes. Welcome to the In Your Right Mind podcast, where we’re learning how to be happier by working with our minds. If you'd like to know more about what I teach, come to iintendtobehappy.com. There’s a wonderful course there to help you get started on your journey to happiness—because you deserve it, and I want that for you.
Seeing Life Through Gratitude
In a recent group class, one of my students shared her struggles with positivity. To illustrate a point, I asked her to imagine being detained in a foreign country for three weeks. Then, imagine stepping out of that detention center into the life she has now. How amazing would that feel?
It’s so easy to overlook the quiet, ordinary miracle of our lives. Not to judge, compare, or measure them against where we thought we’d be, but to simply marvel at what is.
The Radical Act of Appreciation
The world constantly tells us we should be somewhere else, doing something more. But there’s power in saying, “How wonderful that I get to live this life.”
It doesn’t require bells and whistles—a multimillion-dollar home or skydiving adventures. Life itself is rare and exquisite: waking up, breathing, laughing, crying, feeling broken, and finding repair.
Honoring the Life You’re In
You could have been born into another time, another family, another culture—or not been born at all. Yet, here you are, with your body, your voice, your struggles, and your softness.
We spend so much time wishing life looked different, sounded different, or felt easier. But peace doesn’t come from fixing everything; it comes from honoring what is.
Gratitude: The Great Interrupter
Our minds default to scanning for what’s missing, convincing us we’re just one step away from being enough. Gratitude interrupts this loop.
It doesn’t demand perfection—it simply asks us to notice what’s already here:
- The friend who texts back when you’re struggling.
- A warm cup of tea on a cold morning.
- A favorite song reminding you you’re not alone.
The Practice of Gratitude
Gratitude isn’t something to wait for; it’s a practice to engage daily. Especially when life is hard, uncertain, or even great.
When you see the good—not just the big things, but the tiny glimmers—you shift from scarcity to presence. And presence makes life feel real.
Your Life is Not a Mistake
You don’t have to earn your place in this world or prove your worth. Your existence is already a marvel.
Life may not be what you expected, but it’s yours to shape, soften, honor, and choose.
A Simple Practice for Today
Pause.
Take a breath.
Look around and ask yourself:
Of all the lives I could have lived, how special is it that I get to live this one?
Let that question shift something in you. Let it make the mundane sacred again. Let it bring you home to yourself.
I hope this has been helpful.
As always, be kind, take care, and go gently in the world.
