Whenever November rolls around I start thinking of my thankfulness list. This year is no different. Even with all the crazy that is 2020, I have been able to find my gratitude. Sunday is November 1st. I’m going to focus intentionally on a daily gratitude practice for the entire month. Who wants to join me?
I keep my practice pretty simple. Each day I write a minimum of three things for which I am grateful. These can be expressed as 3 short words; 3 sentences or 3 paragraphs. It depends upon my energy that day. Feel free to write more if the mood hits and you find yourself in the flow. Just don’t do less. Invest in yourself. Prepare for transformation.
It is helpful to do this at the same time everyday to establish the habit. At the moment, mornings work best for me. This hasn’t always been the case. I used to do this at night before bed so I’d go to sleep with happy thoughts. But then I kept falling asleep and forgetting, so I switched it up. Both ways have benefits. There is no wrong way to do it. Choose what feels best for you. If you miss a day, no big deal. Restart the following day.
How do I track my gratitude, you ask? I have two ways. One is by using a gratitude jar. I have a jar that I’ve painted to make it inviting. When I am using single words or short sentences, I write on a small pieces of paper and toss them in the jar. Then at the end of the week or the month, I go through and read what I’ve written. This is a great pick-me-up if you’re having a, “nobody likes me, everybody hates me, I think I’ll go eat worms,” moment.
The second way I track my gratitude is to use a journal. Right now, I’ve been using a small one that I found on Amazon. It’s all paper. I have intentions of decorating the cover but haven’t done it yet. Priorities. Gratitude first, then decorating. In the past, I’ve used fancy leather ones or hand-made journals constructed by me. The point is to keep it simple though. Make the commitment. See what unfolds as you shift your focus to gratitude. I foresee wonderful things in your future.
