Advice for Life: The Magic of Practicing Gratitude By: Sunny Boyd
“I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.” – Brene Brown
Change Your Mind and Change Your Life
I often fall into this cycle of forgetting how powerful my thoughts truly are. Change your mind and you can change your life. Well, that is simple to say but much more difficult to do. Cyclical thoughts can be detrimental to your health and your environment, and they plague me more than I’d like to admit. Especially when I get started on all the things that I want to accomplish and begin to dwell on the pieces of the puzzle that I am missing in order to get there. I want to do this, but I don’t have that. How can I achieve this when I’m struggling with that? It’s the literal WORST. However, there is a solution to breaking this pattern and the answer is GRATITUDE. You’d be surprised by how much your general disposition changes when you find things to be grateful for every day. Think about it right now. I bet there are countless things that come to mind. And if there aren’t, just look around you. You’re alive for starters.
Just Wait Until You Feel the Difference!
Once I stopped concentrating on the things that I don’t have and started being grateful for all that I do, I felt my mood liven up. Life seemed brighter, food tasted better, and I was smiling at everyone (probably coming off as extremely annoying). But the best part of all was that the more I showed gratitude for all I had, the universe started to bless me with more things to be grateful for. I began seeing solutions to all those problems I was stressing over before. I had to open myself up to communication from the positive forces moving in my life. When you’re focused on the negative, those forces have no way of getting to you. Gratitude is a great first step at rebalancing, recharging, and realizing your potential.
Easy Healing Magic
Only good can come from being thankful. It’s been proven that practicing gratitude reduces anxiety, decreases depression, and aids in giving you more energy. It’s also the key to HAPPINESS. Learn to be happy as you are and where you are by being grateful for that moment. I challenge you to begin practicing gratitude this week and continuing for the rest of your life. Try starting a gratitude journal, meditating, or verbalizing your appreciation. Make it a point to do it first thing in the morning or before you go to sleep at night. I have a gratitude page in my bullet journal for each month. On the left page, I write a sentence about what I am grateful for that day. On the right, I doodle a little picture or phrase of memories that I am grateful for.
Try using these phrases when verbalizing:
Today I’m thankful for….
My favorite part of the day was…
I feel happy when…
I am grateful for…
I really appreciate…
It would be even better if you didn’t just say this to yourself, but also told the people who you’re grateful for as well. You never know who needs to hear it. It’s a beautiful way to spark joy in others.
It’s never too late to create good habits. I wish you all nothing but joy and prosperity for the rest of your days.