Life isn’t about getting and having
It’s about giving and being
I used to underestimate the power of gratitude. As a child, or a teenager even, whenever I was going through a rough time my mother’s advice to me was always to write down three things I was grateful for every morning and every night. As a typical teenager, I scoffed and asked what the heck could gratitude do for me?
Well, it turns out, quite a lot actually. Gratitude is life changing in every sense of the word. Think of it like this, when you buy a new car, you suddenly start seeing that car everywhere on the road. The same goes for gratitude. If you acknowledge it at the beginning and end of every day, you will be blown away at everything you have to be grateful for. Throughout your day you will slowly but surely be picking out all the special things you have to be grateful for in your life that you won’t be able to fit it all in your journal and if you ask me, that is a great problem to have.
The past couple months I have been writing my manifestations each morning followed by a sort of ‘Brain Dump’ each night, where I release any negative thoughts that have kept me wound up throughout the day. It’s kind of like couples not going to bed angry except you’re not letting yourself go to bed angry because that’s how good a relationship you have with yourself.
After I release myself of any stress or negativity, I write a list of little moments throughout the day that made me smile, things I am grateful for, and things I am excited for the next day. They can be as little or as big as you want them to be and it is quite entertaining to look back on them once you get into the habit.
The habit of journaling can seem tedious to begin with, but even with 5 minutes a day of gratitude journaling, your whole life and perspective can change on a dime. I honestly couldn’t recommend it enough and with times being as tedious and monotonous as they can get in quarantine, it really makes you appreciate the little things in life.
Image Credit: monsieur-j.tumblr.com