Starting a Gratitude Practice
- Samantha
- May 8, 2018
- 3 min read
Gratitude is a central part of my wellness practice. It helps to keep me grounded and present. As someone who lives with depression and anxiety, prioritizing and maintaining emotional wellness can be challenging. It is easy to get lost in what's going wrong or what was hard about a day. Our days and lives are flooded with negativity through the media, gossip we hear, and sometimes the thoughts we have. It is easy to reflect on what "went wrong" in a day rather than what was beautiful. It is up to each of us to choose to shift that perspective. Gratitude is a way to do that. When you practice focusing on the good in life, the good becomes more apparent.
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
- Melody Beattie
Gratitude practices can take many different forms. The key is to find what and when works best for you and your life. Not sure how to start? Here are some simple practices to consider:
1. Write it down. Get a journal and write a list of things you're grateful for each day. Start with 2-3 things a day and see if you can work your way up to 10.
2. Write it down with an extra challenge, write one thing every day but try to not repeat anything on that list for a full month...by the end of it you have a list of about 30 pieces of your life to be grateful for!
3. Use a friend, family member, or partner and do it together! This is a great way to start out. Years ago, I had a friend that would text me a list of 5-10 things she was grateful for everyday. It helps with accountability and really fosters a different level of intimacy and understanding in relationships.
4. Get a gratitude jar. This is a really fun one! Use an empty jar and put one scrap of paper or post-it note in each day with something you're grateful for. You can even put other items like ticket stubs or notes from others. Then when the jar is full (or on a day you are struggling), go through the jar. Re-discover what filled your life and your jar with gratitude.
5. Take time to think about it every day. In my opinion, this one is the easiest way to start and the hardest way to maintain on a day to day basis. Sometimes leaving yourself a helpful reminder somewhere you look daily helps to keep it going. I tend to use this method as a supplement to the other ways I've described.
All of these require some level of commitment. The best way to make it stick is to choose something you do everyday as part of your routine already and integrate your chosen practice into that routine. I like to practice at the end of my day. When I've had a particularly hard day, my tendency at night is to let anxiety overcome me. My mind moves from thought to thought endlessly until it's two hours later and I'm still awake. When I make a conscious effort to concentrate on what I'm grateful for, I set myself up for a more restful night's sleep and a better mood the next day, which impacts every moment moving forward.
When starting your gratitude practice, you may find that some days are more readily filled with moments to celebrate. It's easy to think of 15 things that are awesome on the day you get a new job or spend with your favorite people. What about the days that you are feeling sick, you get a parking ticket, or have to do every annoying errand you hate? Bring it to the basics. Don't forget that you had food to eat, water to drink, a phone or computer to read this on, and a roof over your head. Over time, it gets easier. That is the beauty of having a regular gratitude practice! You can find gratitude in every moment. Start now and watch your perspective change.
I'll leave you with my list for today (and a beautiful poem if you just can't get enough!):
Today I'm grateful for waking up next to the person I love most, my work schedule, coworkers that make me laugh, my family, my health, having food to eat, sunny days, audiobooks, blooming trees, and hot showers.
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