This Thanksgiving, we will come together with friends and family to celebrate what we’re thankful for… but what about every other day? Research shows that gratitude can make people happier, so why not cultivate more of it? For those who want to take the spirit of thankfulness a step further and incorporate it into their daily lives, here are a few simple ways to turn gratitude into an everyday mindfulness practice.
Three Ways to Be Grateful Every Day
Get started with your very own gratitude practice by keeping a journal. Visit your favorite bookstore or craft store and pick out a journal that inspires you, then keep it by your bedside for easy access. Make yourself write longhand instead of typing on a device. The physical act of writing has more benefits for your neural health than typing on a keyboard.
- When you wake up in the morning, write down one or more things about your life that you are grateful for.
- Notice times when you feel joy during the day. Take in the good mental state for a couple of breaths, allowing the mental state to wire into a neural trait.
- Before you go to bed at night, write down one or more things that happened that day that you’re grateful for or that you enjoyed.
You can write one-word answers or whole paragraphs. The ideas don’t need to be monumental. They could be as simple as gratitude for having a soft pillow. Writing down what you are grateful for — or what you were doing when you felt joy — will open your heart to more happiness. When you remember the activity you are writing about, recreate the feeling of joy in your body and let it fill you up with gladness. By doing this, you rewire your brain for more happiness and resilience a second time from the same joyful activity!
Bonus: Make a Joy List
Looking for additional inspiration to add joy to your days so you have even more to be grateful for? Make a list of everything that gives you joy, then pick one thing each day and do it.
These don’t have to be profound, earth-shattering things. They can be as simple as waking up in a comfortable, cozy bed; enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning; looking at the trees and birds out your window; or talking to your best friend.
Make your very own joy list, then look at the list each morning and choose one thing you can do that day. The more you gift yourself with joyful experiences — letting the joy and the gratitude fill you up — the more you will notice your outlook on life starting to improve.
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Mindfulness expert and author Julie Potiker is an attorney who began her serious study and investigation of mindfulness after graduating from the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program at the University of California, San Diego. She went on to become trained to teach Mindful Self-Compassion, and completed the Positive Neuroplasticity Training Professional Course with Rick Hanson. Now, she shares these and other mindfulness techniques with the world through her Mindful Methods for Life trainings and her new book: “Life Falls Apart, but You Don’t Have To: Mindful Methods for Staying Calm In the Midst of Chaos.” For more information, visit www.MindfulMethodsForLife.com.
