In my experience, gratitude is the easiest and quickest way to inject positivity and happiness into my life. I bet this comes as no surprise to anyone. I’m sure we can all agree that we would be pretty terrible people if we never valued what we have.
Many of us heard daily reminders on gratitude growing up. Just to name a few commonly used phrases: “What do you say when someone gives you something?” “I’m sorry you don’t like what we are having for dinner, but you should be thankful that you have food to eat.” “Aren’t you lucky to have such a good (friend, sibling, grandparent, etc.)” As a parent, I say these and similar phrases to my kids all the time.
We all KNOW that we should be thankful. But do we really take the time?
I believe that the magic of gratitude is fully experienced when time is spent specifically engaged in feeling thankful. It’s more than casually saying thank you, different than eating a meal because you know you shouldn’t waste it, and more intentional than taking a quick mental note of a special relationship with someone in your life. Of course, thank yous, not squandering what we have, and taking brief moments throughout the day to appreciate people are all very important. But for me, the biggest boost comes from incorporating a daily gratitude practice.
I make an effort to observe my daily gratitude practice when I run. There is a perfect 10 minute jaunt through the woods on my route that always makes me feel connected to life and to myself. Sometimes I get really wrapped up in whatever podcast I am listening too and it can be hard to turn it off. But I know I always feel better when I use that time to take in my surroundings, breath, and appreciate. In fact, gratitude is a portion of the daily meditation I started using over the summer. The meditation I use is a framework that guides me through a daily practice of feeling love, gratitude, forgiveness, personal growth, intention, and faith. It helps me center on who I am, what is important, and where I am going in life.
Maybe a run through the woods using a structured mediation isn’t for you? Here are a few other ideas for setting aside time for gratitude:
- Keep a Happiness Jar. We started taking the time to talk about what we were happy for when sitting down for a family dinner. The kids LOVE IT and are often the ones who suggest we do it. We aren’t perfect about doing it every day, but when we do it’s a gratitude booster.
- Keep a Gratitude Journal. Each day (or week) write down a handful of things that you are thankful for.
- Write letters to the people you are most thankful for in your life. Write a letter to people from your childhood all the way to the present. Write a letter to those that are alive and those who have passed. These are letters you can keep for yourself and reread when you need a gratitude boost. Or, if you feel like it, send them to the person you wrote it for.
- Similarly, write a letter to the animals, places, and things you are thankful for in life. Reread them to remind yourself of the things you love most and why.
- Start each day with one simple and deeply felt prayer: THANK YOU
What is your favorite gratitude practice? Please share in the comments!
