Having a consistent gratitude practice will absolutely change your life. It sounds so simple but it’s one of the most impactful things you can add to your life toolkit. By incorporating gratitude into your daily routine you’ll experience profound positive affects that will seep into every aspect of your life.
There is a reason that gratitude is a pillar of most “self-help”, personal development, and recovery programs. It is an excellent and accessible tool to rewire your brain and shift your perspective into seeing the good in life.
“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance”
-Eckhart Tolle
Gratitude can look different from person to person. It may take some time for you to figure out what gratitude practice works best for you and resonates the most. For some it’s easy to write things down and feel the gratitude, for others it takes a lot more concentrated and intentional focus. Here are some of my favorite methods.
Gratitude Journal
Some people benefit greatly from writing down and seeing exactly what it is they are grateful for. If you are a naturally scattered person and it’s hard for you to concentrate this method may be the best for you.
Keeping a gratitude journal or just writing lists of what you are grateful for helps to organize your thoughts and to fully concentrate on the abundance you have. If it’s hard for you to find gratitude, maybe life isn’t kind to you right now, just find 5 simple things. I am grateful for my eyesight, I am grateful that my legs work, etc..
Be Present
Living fully in the moment and being able to be present helps to bring us to gratitude. When we are present, not when we are ruminating about the past or fearing the future, we are able to appreciate the things around us.
Not every moment is joyous and beautiful, life can be hard, but no matter what is happening currently there is always beauty somewhere. Maybe you are going through a breakup and you are truly in pain but you have a strong support network, you have beautiful friends around you who are checking in on you and showing you love. That is something to be grateful for.
Change your Words
We often find ourselves saying that “we have” to do something. The wording we use is almost always “I have to”, “I need to”, “I should”. All of these insinuate that these are things you do not want to do and therefore you are not in a good headspace surrounding that task.
Instead of using those low vibrational words, start experimenting with saying “I get to”. “I have to call my insurance company today” (although not the most fun task), no, “I get to call my insurance company today because I am lucky enough to have a vehicle that helps me get from place to place.”. Even just reading the latter sentence feels so much better than the first.
In Conclusion
No one is expecting you to be able to be grateful at all times and if you are expecting that from yourself, you are a perfectionist and you are going to get frustrated and give up before you even start. Do what you can, where you can and remember that it is a practice, it is something you get better at over time, something that will come more naturally over time. Give yourself grace and time now and just actively think about where you can incorporate gratitude into your life.
