Cultivate Gratitude

The way you think has a tremendous impact on your health and well being. We don’t need extra time in our schedules to think, it is automatic, and we do it all day long. Yet, when is the last time you took a thought inventory?  You may think circumstances have the most impact on your life, but it is actually how we perceive the event.  Practicing gratitude has an amazing effect on how we view both the negative and positive things that come our way. 

Research shows amazing benefits of living a life of gratitude. Those who cultivate gratitude in their lives tend to be happier and have a more hopeful and positive outlook on life.

Living with gratitude may not be rocket science but it is something that we must be intentional about. Practicing gratitude is just that. A daily practice of turning our thoughts from dwelling on what we lack to the good in our lives. There are many ways you can make this a daily ritual. You could make a habit of writing in a gratitude journal; leaving sticky note reminders around your house; or challenging a friend to text you every night to ask what you were grateful for that day.  Get creative, make it fun and most importantly make it a part of who you are.

 “When you have an attitude of gratitude you wake up saying thank you” Maya Angelou

When my daughter was younger her favourite show was Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood and on one episode they sang a little song that simply went “Enjoy the wow that’s happening now!”  This made me stop and think on more than one occasion. Do we truly enjoy the little moments of our life? After all, it isn’t vacations or big business deals that make up most of our days. It’s the little moments, day by day that add up to a life well lived. Your wow may be as simple as enjoying a good cup of tea or watching the sunset. It is not the big exciting things in life that matter most, it is the simple joys, the little wows that we often let slip by in the busyness or stress of our days.

My guess is that you have persevered through many challenges, you have shouldered worry, and you have endured many changes. Could now be the time to give yourself permission to laugh a little, smile a lot and enjoy the wow!?

Charlotte van Oyen Witvliet, Fallon J. Richie, Lindsey M. Root Luna & Daryl R. Van Tongeren (2019) Gratitude predicts hope and happiness: A two-study assessment of traits and states, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 14:3, 271-282