There is real power in the simple practice of being grateful. Life becomes more joyful, real happiness becomes a way of being, and your resilience to stress significantly improves. But being grateful is more than just saying ‘thank you.’ It’s about recognizing those things you are genuinely grateful for and allowing yourself to actually feel those emotions of gratefulness within you.
When I first started my gratitude journal, it was somewhat challenging to find five things I was grateful for each day, so I started small. I was grateful for my job, which at the time I did not enjoy, but was grateful for the financial support it provided. I was grateful for waking up to see another day and for having full and proper functioning of my body.
After writing five things I was grateful for that day, I would write five things I wanted to be grateful for. This was where I could write about my goals and dreams and those things I wanted to experience in my life. After writing, I would read over what I had written. As I did, I let myself feel those feelings of gratitude, happiness, and excitement.
The long-term effect of my daily gratitude practice helped shift my outlook into a genuinely positive one. I was able to handle the pressure and stress of my life more gracefully. Challenging situations rarely fazed me. When they did, I was able to work through them effectively. Happiness became a daily experience, and not because something made me happy, but because I was simply happy. And because I was happy and focusing more on those things that made me happy, positive experiences magically flowed into my life effortlessly, and that gave me even more to be grateful for.
Even Oprah has commented on the power of gratitude saying, “The more thankful I became, the more my bounty increased. That’s because – for sure – what you focus on expands. When you focus on the goodness in life, you create more of it.”
So, I encourage you to explore the possibilities of what a gratitude practice can do for you. Start your own gratitude journal. Let the emotions of what you are thankful for wash over you as you read your daily entries. Then notice any changes in your life because of that practice.
You just might be amazed.
Not sure where to begin? Sign up for one of our mentoring sessions to get help setting up a gratitude practice that’s right for you. Now offering 30-minute sessions for $35! Click here to sign up today!
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