Practicing Gratitude
Have you ever caught yourself spiraling? You go through a setback or some sort of inconvenience and next thing you know, you are listing off everything bad that has ever happened to you. Now you’ve convinced yourself that everyone is out to get you, and your life sucks. We’ve all been there. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of thinking negatively.
What if you could spiral and go through that same snowball effect when something good happened if your life? That is exactly what practicing gratitude can do for you.
Shifting your focus from what you are lacking to what you already have can be extremely powerful. It takes you from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset, which in turn promotes feelings of positivity and optimism. If you are deep in the trenches, you might feel like you are searching for the silver lining, but overtime it gets easier and easier to think of the good. You are essentially retraining your mind.
It only takes a few minutes each day to list a couple things you are grateful for and it can completely change the tone of your day. A lot of people find gratitude journals helpful and there are even journals with prompts to get you started, but for me personally, I find it simpler and equally effective to list off all the things I’m grateful for when I’m taking a shower or right before I fall asleep at night.
The more complicated your routine, the less likely it is to stick. Don’t be afraid to keep it simple and habit stack if you need to! Think about when in your day you can incorporate some gratitude time. Is it on your drive to or from work? When you are showering or doing your makeup? While you are rocking your babies to sleep? Create a plan and be intentional.
Here are some journal prompts you can use if you are struggling to get started:
What do you like most about yourself?
Who are you grateful for and what do you love about them?
What freedoms are you grateful for?
What challenges have made you stronger?
What opportunities were you given that you are grateful for?
What is the best gift you have ever received?
What is a special memory that you have?
