I have written about reducing negativity and “Tell Me Something Good” as ways to improve our mental and emotional perspective of the world. When strung together, these individual acts become a habit of practicing gratitude.
If you are searching for a way to change how you appear in the world, and how the world appears to you, developing the skill of being grateful will have a positive impact on every aspect of you life. Just like any other skill or ability, practicing gratitude can developed at different levels. Just like training for a race, or using a new software system, if you don’t practice and create a habit of developing gratitude, you will lose that ability.
Don’t be fooled, this is not a simple task. There are many many more self-help books and blogs and webpages on losing weight or building physical strength and endurance than there are “how to’s” on practicing gratitude. The culture we live in clings to negativity and fear and being grateful quickly becomes a challenging task.
So where to start? I recommend beginning with your phone. Take a few minutes and scroll through the photos on your phone. Not the ones you have posted to social media. Not someone else’s public highlight reel. The images you have saved over the last 12 months that mean something to you. Re-member all of the things that have happened (and you may have forgotten). The next level of development is to write the things you are grateful for down so you can see them. Write them into your phone. Make a spreadsheet. Put a list on the fridge. Create a journal and document your practice so you can see how it develops. The next level up becomes repeating this process frequently. Just like going to the gym, it is not a one-and-done activity. Write 5-10 things down 3 times a week just to start. How long does it take to get to 10 gratitudes in one day?
How will your outlook change if you develop this skill of gratitude? What will get in the way of practicing? What do you have to lose? – www.rhoadscoaching.com
finding meaning and purpose in daily life