This is a very simple question, "what are you grateful for?" It is a question that is well worth asking yourself, every day. It has a positive impact, according to numerous studies, including Emmons and McCullough (2003).
Being grateful is highly related to increased life satisfaction, positive psychological, social and physical outcomes. So why wouldn't you give it go? It's free, it's easy and it's quick.
Here's how you bring it into your life - every night you simply write down three things that you're grateful for in the day. Try to think about the good things in your day, pause to acknowledge them and write them into a journal. On a really bad day you might feel it's tough to come up with three things that you're grateful for - but what about some of these - you could be grateful for a roof over your head, hygienic water coming from a tap, food in your stomach, a lovely sunset.....those sorts of things. On a good day, try to dig a little deeper and reflect on more specific things that happened in your day, like, a very helpful sales person who went out of their way to find what you wanted, your best friend who makes you laugh or your children sharing a story.
What you feel grateful for is not especially relevant, it just matters that you pause to reflect on the good in your day. Why? Because it helps to sharpen your focus on what's good so that you begin to notice more and more of what's good, and that helps us to feel greater life satisfaction.
If you find writing in a journal a bit off-putting, you might like to use an online tool called Happy Rambles (www.happyrambles.com) where you will receive an email every night asking you to email back what you're grateful for in the day. Some people prefer this reminder and quick way to enter their thoughts. Others prefer to write it in a journal because it feels more personal. Either is fine, as long as you're doing it.
My suggestion is simply to give this a try and see how you feel. You only need to find a few minutes a day and the rewards might surprise you.
[Emmons, R.A. & McCullough, M.E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 377-389.]
Being grateful is highly related to increased life satisfaction, positive psychological, social and physical outcomes. So why wouldn't you give it go? It's free, it's easy and it's quick.
Here's how you bring it into your life - every night you simply write down three things that you're grateful for in the day. Try to think about the good things in your day, pause to acknowledge them and write them into a journal. On a really bad day you might feel it's tough to come up with three things that you're grateful for - but what about some of these - you could be grateful for a roof over your head, hygienic water coming from a tap, food in your stomach, a lovely sunset.....those sorts of things. On a good day, try to dig a little deeper and reflect on more specific things that happened in your day, like, a very helpful sales person who went out of their way to find what you wanted, your best friend who makes you laugh or your children sharing a story.
What you feel grateful for is not especially relevant, it just matters that you pause to reflect on the good in your day. Why? Because it helps to sharpen your focus on what's good so that you begin to notice more and more of what's good, and that helps us to feel greater life satisfaction.
If you find writing in a journal a bit off-putting, you might like to use an online tool called Happy Rambles (www.happyrambles.com) where you will receive an email every night asking you to email back what you're grateful for in the day. Some people prefer this reminder and quick way to enter their thoughts. Others prefer to write it in a journal because it feels more personal. Either is fine, as long as you're doing it.
My suggestion is simply to give this a try and see how you feel. You only need to find a few minutes a day and the rewards might surprise you.
[Emmons, R.A. & McCullough, M.E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 377-389.]
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