Barrier #8: A critical spirit. Some people have very high standards. Very little pleases them. Instead of seeing the good, they look for the faults. Because they have unrealistic expectations of themselves, others and life itself, because they always see the negative, they rarely notice the abundant blessings God showers on them every day.
So let me ask, are you a thankful person? Is continual gratitude a characteristic of your life? Do you practice perpetual gratitude? Let’s ask some probing questions for self-examination.
If the people who know you best were asked to put you in one category or the other, would they say you are a grumbler or grateful?
In your normal conversations, do you spend more time speaking of how God has blessed you or do you talk about what you don’t have you wish you had. Have you paused already today to thank God for His blessings? Do you do this every day? Is it a habit?
John Templeton, the billionaire investor said of wealth, “If you are not grateful, you are not rich, no matter how much you have.”
Conversely if you are grateful, you are rich no matter how little you have. As we enter a new month tomorrow, let’s start with a fresh, new focus to be grateful and thankful in all of our conversations; especially, with our Heavenly Father.