The Morning Routine Gabrielle Bernstein Loves For Getting Out Of A Rut

When your focus is on what's working and thriving, you feel good, and that good-feeling state is what attracts more of what you want. But many people act in ways that are completely contrary to this. They obsess over what's not working because they feel hopeless. Or they frequently complain, which may offer some temporary relief from their discomfort but nothing more. Fixating on the negative only creates more of what we don't want, whereas focusing on what we can appreciate in our lives moves us to a better point of attraction. Almost all of us can be thankful and grateful for some aspect of our world.

Often when I share this suggestion with people, it's met with some resistance. People say things like, "But if I appreciate this bad situation, I'll stay stuck here." They think their appreciation tells the Universe that they're happy right where they are.

In fact, their appreciation is their ticket out. Focusing on feeling good is much more valuable than focusing on your exact desire or goal. The Universe responds to energy and delivers circumstances and opportunities that are a vibrational match. If your desire feels far from reach, concentrate on what feels good and you'll get closer to your desire. Let the Universe respond swiftly to your good-feeling emotions, and before you know it, you'll be closer to what you really want.

You don't have to find appreciation for the things that aren't working. Instead, appreciate anything else—whatever isn't working will benefit. Assuming an energy of appreciation is the fastest way out of a negative obsession. A great example is my friend Alex. He made a bad business decision that he couldn't get out of. For months he obsessed about what he could've done differently and how much better things could be if he hadn't made this choice. His point of attraction was focused on what wasn't working rather than what was. And the more he tried to get out of the negativity, the more negative he felt. This is because sometimes when we try really hard to move out of a negative stance, we actually bring more energy to it.

There are many ways to make appreciation a habit. A great way is to begin your day with it! Write three to five pages of appreciation in your journal every morning. Abraham-Hicks refer to this exercise as "a rampage of appreciation." As you fill each page with what you appreciate, the love within you will expand, and you'll feel awesome. You can write about the simplest things. Write about how you appreciate your comfortable bed, your morning coffee, the work you do, the friends you have. Or as my dear friend Joe Watson would say, "Be thankful for getting up in the morning; everything else is gravy." You can get really specific and write about how you appreciate yourself for the way you handled a situation the day before.

Just get into a fast flow of appreciation and let your pen glide across the pages. You can also do this journaling exercise before you go to sleep. If you fall asleep in a state of appreciation, you raise your vibration while you rest. When you wake up in the morning, you'll feel no resistance, only love.