I’m sure you’ve heard about the importance of including gratitude in your daily life. Years ago, Sarah Ban Breathnach made this idea really popular in her book Simple Abundance that suggested making a list of 5 things you’re grateful for every day. Then Oprah promoted it for years. More recently, Gretchin Rubin’s book The Happiness Project has been on the bestseller list, encouraging everyone to create their own Happiness Project. And Rhonda Byrnes, author of The Secret, published a new book this year called The Magic. Turns out, the “magic” is gratitude.
Maybe you’ve tried some variation of making daily lists of things you’re grateful for, but you haven’t been able to stick with it. So in this week’s video, I’m going to share some FUN ways with a twist for you to try to see what works for you. Because it doesn’t really matter HOW you train yourself to look for gratitude, it only matters that you DO. And why does it matter? Because when you are focusing on gratitude, looking for positive things to notice, you are keeping your vibrational level high. And that vibrational level will determine your future experiences. So don’t think staying positive and focusing on gratitude is just for feel-good polly-annas who want to avoid conflict; you should be doing it for your OWN selfish reasons because it will make YOUR life better.
So here are some FUN ways to do this.
1. Use your cameraphone to capture gratitude moments.
If you don’t like writing, you can start a gratitude practice using your cameraphone. Look for things throughout the day that you’re grateful for and take a picture of it. Try to find 5 a day. These could be pictures of people, places, things, or situations. Like a loved one smiling, a beautiful flower blooming, a great parking space in a crowded shopping center. Upload them to instagram or flickr. Save them as a set so you can look through them when you need a massive dose of positive thinking! Once a week, print some out on regular copy paper and make a mini gratitude photo journal with captions of why you were grateful.
2.Keep a Gratitude Rock
The book The Magic suggests keeping a gratitude rock on your nightstand. Hold the rock in your hand as you think of 5 things to appreciate from the day. The rock will remind you to do your gratitude ritual each night.
3. Create a Gratitude Group
Maybe you like writing a list, but you haven’t been able to stick with it. Try making a game of it by creating a gratitude group. I’m in a mastermind group of women who are all focused on mindfulness and manifesting our best lives. One of them came up with the idea of creating a game where we each commit to writing gratitude lists each night.
We’re ramping it up by including a statement of gratitude for something that DIDN’T go the way we wanted it to go that day AND a statement of gratitude for something we want that hasn’t happened yet.
For example, you’re on your way to an appointment and there’s an accident on the highway and you’re stuck in a huge traffic jam. This is the kind of situation that could easily stress you out and ruin your day. If you’re focused on finding gratitude, even in situations you don’t like, you would be sitting in your car looking for things to be grateful for instead of fuming and worrying about something you can’t change anyway. You could be grateful for time to notice the blue sky and clouds passing above. You could take a picture of that if you’re doing the cameraphone gratitude journal. You could be grateful for safe driving and that you’re NOT in the accident! You could be grateful for cell phones and the ability to call your appointment, or the ability to check your email and get some work done while you’re sitting there. You could be grateful for good music or time to sit in silence.
Then conclude your list with at least one gratitude statement for something you desire that hasn’t manifested yet. For example, I am grateful to be working in a job that I love where I am challenged and appreciated and make a difference in people’s lives. Or I am grateful to be in a deeply satisfying relationship with a soulmate who adores and appreciates me. When you say and write these statements, really FEEL the experience of it AS IF IT ALREADY IS, as if you already have it.
If you write your list at night, right before you go to sleep, it will be even MORE powerful, because you will be falling asleep at a vibrational level of LOVE, and it will be easier for you to remain there while you’re asleep and start the day there when you wake up. You will be creating a cycle of starting and ending your day at the level of LOVE, or 500, which is really high. It will be easier for you to stay there during the day if you practice this.
You can use the group for accountability, to keep you on track writing your list until it becomes your own habit. Start with one month. You can create a private blog or facebook page. You can either type your list items or just do a check-in each day to confirm that you did your gratitude list the night before. It really does make a huge difference to have a group to be accountable to. And, if you share your lists, it will expand your own ideas of things to be grateful for and inspire you with ways to find gratitude in difficult situations.
Remember, energy flows where your attention goes.
The more you look for things to be grateful for, the more things you will find and the better you will feel. Your vibrational level will stay high, and the higher your vibrational level is, the better your whole life will be. You will be living from power and attracting more things into your experience that you will be grateful for.
I’m grateful to you for watching this video! If you liked it, please like it and share it.