When you start to become used to performing at a high level, you begin to overlook the small things in life that make it worth living. You end up failing to appreciate the blessings in your life, and you forget to soak up the precious moments with those you love. Practicing gratitude can not only help you feel more grounded and peaceful, but it can also improve your ability to share your love with others. Here are six simple gratitude exercises that can make you feel happier.
Exercise #1 – Identify Three Things You Appreciate
Take a moment to identify three things in your life that you appreciate and feel grateful for. These things can be based on the present moment, in the past, or in the future. While no category or thing is too big or small, it is essential that you are specific in your gratitude.
Exercise #2 – Identify Three Things You Take for Granted
We all take things for granted in our lives. Take some time to reflect on these things and discover which of these things you value the most. This can be anything. You may take for granted that you are in good physical health, or that you have a good paying job.
Exercise #3 – Identify Three Things you Appreciate About Yourself
With our constant need to compare ourselves to others, this one can be a challenge. Take some time to think about the things that you appreciate about yourself. It could involve your personality, your daily actions, your qualities, or anything else that is directly related to yourself.
Exercise #4 – Identify Three Things You Feel Grateful For Right Now
To cultivate gratitude, it is essential to be in the here-and-now. Take the time to think about what you can appreciate about your current situation. Think about the time you’re taking for your health, think about the environment, think about anything that relates to the present moment.
Exercise #5 – Identify Three People Who are Significant in Your Life
Think about all the people you´ve had in your life. These can be coaches, teachers, mentors, family members, friends. Call those people to mind and take the time to think about how they made a difference in your life.
Exercise #6 – Create Thank You Notes
Create thank you notes for those three individuals that made an impact on our lives. You don’t have to send them, just the act of writing down your gratitude will be beneficial.
Practicing these six exercises regularly will help you to cultivate gratitude and lead you to a healthier and happier life.
When you are dealing with a difficult situation, it can be challenging to see the positive. This is where being grateful can help. It doesn’t mean that you are grateful for the difficulties, but instead, you should be showing gratitude for the positive things that are going on in your life, even if they are small. Gratitude can help you see your current situation in a way that can lessen the panic, and open your thinking to new solutions to your problems. Here are 7 ways you can practice gratitude and start living a happier life.
Practice #1
Take a moment to notice your day-to-day world from the point of gratitude. When you start looking at things from the point of gratitude you will be amazed at all the goodness in your life that you have probably been taking for granted.
Practice #2
Keep a gratitude journal. Keeping a gratitude journal requires nothing more than taking a few moments at the end of the day and writing down the things that you are grateful for in your life. You don´t even need to buy a fancy notebook to start seeing the benefits.
Practice #3
If you identify something or someone in your life with a negative trait, switch that trait in your mind to a more positive one. For example, if you associate your work conference room as the cold room, start thinking of it as the conference room with the great view instead.
Practice #4
To practice and benefit from gratitude, you also have to practice humility. Humility is defined as being modest and respectful. Take some time to explore where you can fit humility into your life.
Practice #5
Every day, give at least one compliment. This can either be directly or by sharing your appreciation of something in your life. This can be as simple as saying, “I love how quiet it is in the morning.”
Practice #6
When you find yourself in a difficult situation, ask yourself what you can learn? Think about when you look back on the situation, without emotion, what you will be grateful for.
Practice #7
Make a vow not to criticize, complain, or gossip for a week. If you slip, rally your willpower and keep moving forward. Take the time to notice how much energy you were spending every day on negative thoughts. As you write more and learn to forgive yourself as you seek to fill your mind with thoughts of gratitude, you will start seeing others differently. You’ll have more ability to put yourself in their shoes and see things from their way without judgment. It happens when you learn to forgive yourself.
You don’t need any specialized equipment to practice gratitude. All you need to do is use your head and your heart.