An attitude of Gratitude improves mental health.
GRATITUDE
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!
An attitude of Gratitude has been shown to relieve stress and alter negative or depressed thinking.
Try it now!
Take out a piece of paper and write a quick Gratitude list for the year: add in all of your accomplishments, then list all the people in your life that you are thankful for. Call or email one of those people right now and let them know how much you appreciate having them in your life.
Studies show that acknowledging the things we are grateful for in our lives improves mental health. Try keeping a Journal and write daily at least 5 things you are grateful for in your life.
Living your best life means shifting your focus from the things that are not working to all that you are grateful for. Too much energy and focus is wasted on what we don't want, and that it is creating more of what we don't want. Nature flows and supports where your attention and energy goes. If you focus on all the things that you are grateful for, then more of that will come into your life. I have recommended creating a Happy List of things that bring you joy and make you happy, and doing several of these daily, as well as, having some big ones that you do periodically. I have also talked about Visioning and Goal Setting and keeping those goals top-of-mind by having a visual representation of them - a Goals Collage (Vision Board) up somewhere were you see it daily.
You can use a daily gratitude list in a similar manner. Either start your day by taking a couple minutes to write down or think of at least 5 things you are grateful for in your life, and/or end your day with this. You can even state goals that you have, such as, "I am grateful for all my clients and that I get to work with ~ 10 per week." Just like goals, the more specific you are with your gratitude statements the better. I keep a gratitude journal that I write in every night before going to sleep, and my at least five gratitudes frequently expand to 10, 15, 20 things I am grateful for. Some of them are things from my day, and some are constants that I remind myself of daily. I am grateful for: "The beauty of nature" and that "I got to enjoy and reflect on the beauty of nature by taking a walk at Mission Bay today." Each morning, at the end of my daily meditation practice as I am slowly coming out of the meditation, I think about my day and recite in my head at least 5 things I am grateful for, usually starting with "Life," "waking up," and continuing on to "this comfortable bed," "a good night's sleep," "time to meditate," "time to go for a swim," "my work for today," etc. This practice of twice daily gratitude lists makes me feel so blessed and helps me stay focused on the good things in my life. I invite you to try it too. Start small with just 5 things, and then let it grow and expand.
