Gay Landeta
People have been talking about using gratitude as a tool for happiness for years. There are even studies that show that having a positive and appreciative attitude to life brings more health and happiness and even success.
Despite all that it can still be hard to muster up gratitude when all we see is what is missing in our life and what we believe we should have.
Then, of course, there is facebook and other social media proving to us what others have already achieved or have…. what a minefield! Unless you are already a master at gratitude – if so congratulations, enjoy your health and happiness! For the rest of us it is time to create the habit of gratitude and cultivate that positive and appreciative attitude.
Practice seeing life as an opportunity and a blessing and choose to focus on the gifts that you already have. This will help you retain balance and give you hope. This is not about ignoring the pain and injustice of the world, it is about caring for your own energy. The more appreciative, supported and hopeful we feel the more energy we have to support others, emotional burnout happens when we have no hope left.
There are a million things to be grateful each day : the sun, the air-conditioner (in our Qld heat wave!), legs that work, chocolate, new shoes, hugs from a friend, yoga, cherries, a kookaburras laugh…. What’s on your list?
Some Ways to Practice Gratitude
1. Make a gratitude list instead of a complaints or want list.
2. Draw or collage the things you are grateful for.
3. Keep a gratitude journal and write in it every day or every week.
4. Practice being grateful at a specific time each day, perhaps at dinner or before you go to sleep.
5. Reframe situations – find the gratitude in the challenges (this doesn’t mean ignore the negative feelings, just don’t get sunk by them).
Notice how gratitude feels, and as you feel it embrace the feelings of contentment and happiness that come with it. That is the real gift of gratitude.
This article was written by Gay Landeta with the intention of helping you to Create the Life you want to Live. Copyright 2014, All Rights Reserved.
Love it Gay.
Thanks Laraine. Gratitude is such an amazing opening to a better space, it is very much part of my practice this year.
I keep a gratitude journal by my bedside and every night I write down the things that I was grateful for the day. There is never a day that there isn’t something that I am grateful for 🙂
That’s such a wonderful idea. Thanks Isabella.
I agree, gratitude is so important. When I put my girls to bed I get them to remember 3 things that they are grateful for from that day. I was also thinking about creating a ‘Blessing Jar’ this year, and your article reminded me of this hope. Simply it’s a jar where my family and I will place little notes to remind ourselves of the blessings we received throughout the year and we will come to it at the end of the year… just need to locate a jar BIG enough 🙂
Still practising my gratitude Gay 🙂 Kirsty and I are both participating in #365Grateful project this year 🙂
Great Bec Reed, wonderful link, and Chelsea Veronica too, blessing jars are so excellent. I think I will start one of those. 🙂