“Look for something positive in each day, even if some days you have to look a little harder.”
I’ve thought about this quote periodically, and I’ve heard variations of it even more frequently. When you’re struggling with your mental health, focus on all the good in life and everything that is going right. Good idea in theory but difficult in practice.
That is until I started writing just one good thing every day that I’m grateful for. Something concrete – an instance, a feeling, a moment. It can be a big moment in my day or a small moment that made me smile. Somehow, this practice became attainable and a part of my daily routine.
Each month, I set aside one page in my journal for “daily gratitude.” I number one line for each day of the month, and I include a quote of thanks (I’m a big fan of inspiring quotes). This page is marked with a sticky note, and every night before I go to bed, I open to that page and write one thing that day that stuck out. One thing that I’m truly grateful for. That’s it – one line each day.
I do this for every day even if I don’t do a full journal entry in the later pages. For me, this takes the benefits of journaling to the next level. The physical practice of actually writing down the good things in your day. In retrospect, I can leaf through the pages, and sometimes I find myself finding multiple entries with the same line of gratitude in various months. It helps to recognize life’s biggest blessings and the things you could not live without. When hard decisions come your way, you can focus on the things you are most grateful for, and that knowledge can help guide your actions. It also helps to realize the small blessings in each day especially when things get rocky. When your mental health takes a dip, it can be difficult to find something to write each night. Regardless, I find that each line is filled at the end of the month.
It goes to show you that you really can find a little sliver of light in each day and that knowledge itself can help you push through the difficult times.
So if you are struggling with your mental health, I highly recommend giving this practice a try. Before you know it, you’ll be a year into the exercise, and you will find your mental health improving a little each day. This simple little practice can help you make big leaps in your self-care, and that makes it all worth it.