Making Gratitude a Daily Practice

Thanksgiving is the perfect reminder to be thankful. It’s an opportunity to reconnect with loved ones, shared memories and a warm meal together, and think about all of the little things we’re grateful for. But the holiday season shouldn’t be the only time we do this! Year-round gratitude can help boost your mood, your energy, your overall health, and so much more. So as we head into a long winter ahead, consider making gratitude a daily practice. We’ll show you easy ways to incorporate gratitude into your life. It’s not as hard as you’d think!

First, let’s define gratitude. Gratitude is about acknowledging the goodness in our lives. This involves reflecting on the positives that life has to offer us, like the experiences, things, and people that bring us joy.

Now let’s explore ways to integrate daily gratitude into your life:

• Mindfulness –
  Practicing gratitude begins with being mindful. What do you see around you? Maybe you notice an aging parent who had the strength to take a stroll in the park today. What do you hear? Perhaps you hear the sweet giggles of your children from the living room. What do you smell? Maybe it’s the scent of hot chocolate that you inhale as you sit down with a good book. Taking just a few minutes to notice these small, precious things to be thankful for can make a huge difference in how we feel. It helps us realize that there’s plenty to be grateful for in the everyday!

• Journaling –
  Journaling gives us an opportunity to be one with our thoughts and one with our emotions. Embrace this twist on traditional journaling by simply keeping a gratitude journal, dedicated to thankful thoughts. Write down everything you are grateful for, no matter how big or small. Make it a practice to write down a few things you’re thankful for every day, around the same time of day. This will make it easier to form a habit of it. Revisiting this journal to reflect and remind yourself of what you have to be thankful for is beneficial too.

• Communication/Appreciation –
  Let your loved ones know that they are loved. You can send a quick little note in a lunch bag, or maybe you hug just a little bit longer and squeeze a little bit tighter today. You can call someone who you haven’t seen in a while to show that you care. However you best express your gratitude for those in your life, just do it!

• Find Meaning –
  Even your darkest struggles and challenges will feel a little bit lighter once you make meaning of them. Look for the positive—it’s there. What have you learned from this experience? What lessons will you take with you moving forward? How has it made you a stronger, wiser person? Sometimes writing this out can help you process difficult experiences and find meaning from the most challenging moments.

• Slow Down –
  We too easily get lost in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. Hold onto little moments when you can, like a peaceful Sunday drive home from the grocery store or a yummy Tuesday dinner with the family after soccer practice. Be mindful of the beauty that surrounds you and the opportunity to just sit and breathe. Appreciate that moment. Love that moment.

Gratitude is a great way to improve your mental and physical health. By dedicating a small window of time in your daily routine to practice gratitude, you can find value or hope in almost any situation. Which in turn, will give you the motivation to keep moving forward. The more space you allow for these positive thoughts, the less space there is for the ones that overwhelm you and bring you down. But remember that like any practice, gratitude takes time to develop. Over time, you’ll be better able to savor enjoyable experiences and boost your mood in the process.