Learn Your Flow

Do you wait until the miracle has been and gone before you say the word thank you? Does this not bring you down?

Gratitude is the quality of thankfulness, and it can help to change your focus. We are all guilty of thinking about all the things that are missing from our lives and never take time out to appreciate the small things we have an abundance of.

With a short but sweet gratitude practice, we can notice the simple things and acknowledge everything we receive as if it were a miracle. Not only this, behavioural and psychological research has shown that gratitude can have a positive effect on our lives by helping make people feel happier, improving health, reducing stress and strengthening relationships.

Once you have started to write things down one thing can turn into another. It can create a snowball of greatness. When you are feeling down or just needed to smile you can go to your list and see all the things that that you are grateful for. The best part about it, is that it does not have to take up a huge amount of time. It could be anything from writing one person, object, or event down per day. Or you could just say thank you out loud which can take you seconds.

There are many ways to practice gratitude and here are 5 different options bellow. You may choose to do one or you may choose to do them all, there is no right or wrong way to do this. It also does not have to cost lots of money, as you could just use a scrap bit of paper or a recycled jar. When starting a gratitude practice you can make your practice as simple or as elaborate as you choose.

So here are some options for you to try…

Write it down!

A common way of practising gratitude is by keeping a journal. This involves writing one to ten things per day that you are grateful for. In order to get the best results, it is good to make this a daily practice so you could either write in the morning just as you are waking up, or before you go to bed in the evening.

Think Positive!

Focussing on the negatives in life is something we are all guilty of at some point in our lives. This attitude can create negative thought patters. By using affirmations, we are able to rewire our brains and create a more positive outlook. An affirmation is a positive statement that we can say to ourselves usually starting with ‘I am’. You can either say them out loud, or say them in your head, or write them down. There are many gratitude affirmations out there or you can create your own. An example would be ‘I am grateful for the life I am living’.

Fill it to the top!

One of our favourite ways of practising gratitude is by filling up a gratitude jar. It starts off with just an ordinary jam jar in which you can decorate. You can then write down on slips of paper, things that you are grateful for each day. By either the end of a week, a month, or a year (depending on the size) your jar can be full. This means that on a rainy day you can go to your jar and read one of the statements which can always put a smile on your face.

Get creative!

Why not get creative with your gratitude practise and make (or buy which ever you prefer) a gratitude bracelet. It can contain a word, or charms which symbolise things that you are grateful for. You can then wear this bracelet and every time you look at it, you can be reminded of all the things you are grateful for. The advantage of this method is that you can wear this bracelet everyday which can help to bring a more positive outlook on life.   

Time out!

Take some time out and allow yourself to find peace with a gratitude meditation. If you find that having a guide or a focus helps you then a meditation is the answer. You can find a video, download an app, or read and practice a meditation script. This is the perfect way to keep on top of your gratitude goals whilst encouraging you to take time for yourself.

Gratitude can be practiced any time any place and we have covered some basic strategies to enable you to get started. However, if you would like to learn more about affirmations, we will be covering this topic next month here at Learn Your Flow’s blog.