What is a life lived without appreciation? Imagine waking up each day with a long list of chores ahead of you; a repetitive cycle of dread and working just to get through to the end of the day. How many times can you live those days, dragging yourself out of bed and pushing to get to 5:00 pm, before you sit down and wonder if it’s all worth it?
Life without gratitude is generally emptier than a life filled with grateful moments. So how do you practice being grateful in everyday life? It’s a lot simpler than you might think.
Start with small changes, like being less picky with what you are presented with. Sometimes, an “only the best” attitude can sink you into depressing waters of greediness and negativity. This is especially true with the idea of the hedonic treadmill, which basically is the concept that you can never be satisfied with enough material possessions. Stay away from those attitudes and replace them with the idea that anything can be a gift if you see it that way. Obviously, this isn’t always appropriate, but practicing it with little things is a great way to change your mindset in a positive manner.
Challenges are a great opportunity to practice gratitude. Whether it’s a particularly tough school assignment or even a breakup, dig deeper to find the silver lining. There’s always something, so long as you believe there is and work to find it. This kind of mindset can also help make you stronger and help you overcome whatever obstacles are in your way.
If you like a physical practice, try volunteering. Helping to build a house, read to young children or serve food to the homeless is a way to physically put into perspective the things you might be taking for granted. Or, it could even help you discover new things to be grateful for that weren’t in your life before.
Writing is also an excellent form of mindfulness and can assist you on a gratitude journey. If you already have a journal, try listing five things you’re grateful for at the end or beginning of each entry. If you don’t have a journal, it’s definitely worth investing in one just to keep track of each thing you’re grateful for. Then, when you’re feeling down or frustrated, look back at your entries to remember the things you do have that make you feel thankful. Gratitude also serves as a sort of pick-me-up, if you let it.
Gratitude doesn’t have to be small everyday actions that you need to go out of your way to do, either. It can be spending extra time with your loved ones or reaching out to a friend to tell them that you appreciate them. Try doing any one of these things right now and see how you feel afterward, even if it’s just a tiny change at first.
A slight change of mindset can go a very long way!
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