“Be thanksful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough”
-Oprah Winfrey
Ah the holidays! Tis the season to be joyful and generous towards others, but also to ourselves. The fun of shopping for presents and seeing the receiver light up when they open their gift is priceless. It just feels good to give, and makes us feel happy!
Well what if I told you could bottle that feeling every day, and all without having to spend a dime?
I give you the gift of gratitude. So often we dwell on the bad things that happen in our daily lives, and tend to forget about all the good! But cherishing the little things in life and expressing gratitude can help you feel happier, healthier and more fulfilled. It doesn’t have to be anything grand either. It could be as simple as something that made you smile, something yummy you ate, or chatting to a friend on the phone.
Taking a few minutes at the end of the day to express gratitude is a simple action and the benefits are scientifically proven! People who tried it every night for just one week were happier and less depressed one month, three months and six months later. Just follow the simple formula below and instantly reap the rewards of a happier, healthier life.
How to bring gratitude into your life:
- Every night before you go to bed, deliberately meditate on all the good things that happened in your day (try and think of at least 3 if you can)
- Write the thoughts down in a journal, post some pictures, tweet about it, or just make a note in your phone
- At the end of a few weeks look back over everything you’ve written. How does it feel when you look at all these good things? Do you notice any themes?
- Keep it up! Try making a habit of expressing gratitude as often as possible. Put a reminder in your phone to prompt you once a week or so. After a while you’ll find that you naturally start to appreciate the good things more as they happen.
For the month of December, I’ve challenged myself to express gratitude every day, and I urge you to join me!!! I’ll be sharing my gratitude thoughts with you today, and you can stay up to date by following me on facebook.
Today I’m thankful for:
- Herbal tea – lemon balm and honey is my current favourite!
- Reality tv shows – it’s my guilty pleasure I’m not gonna lie
- This song from Twilight – it is just so beautiful and soothing
- This poem by Scott Abel on why it’s so important to enjoy holiday food and drinks without the guilt
Thanks Sarah, great post. Thank you for your gift of gratitude and I’ll be doing the challenge too.
That’s such an amazing idea!!! I’m going to do this from today; every night, I’ll write down at least 3 things I was thankful for that day in my journal. I’ll make sure to share them in my blog too. Thanks for this amazing post, Sarah!!!
I’m glad you are enjoying the challenge! It’s really changed my thinking and I’m loving it
I’ll update you on how it goes after a while again!