How to practice gratitude

Hi Sweet Humans,

As I mentioned in last week's blog, I want to share with you how to practice gratitude. I’ve been practicing my gratitude especially this year. It took me around two months until I could finally get the hang of this new habit. I’m glad I went through that process with you when I did a #GratefulDaily2020 challenge on my Instagram.

There are a few things that I wish I had known before. I’m grateful for the process though because now I can share with you 5 simple, most practical ways to practice gratitude:

1. Stop comparing. Imagine you drive in your own car but you keep looking at the car on the other side of the road. The chances are, either you have to stop moving so you can focus on observing that other car, or you can’t see what you have in front of you and it will only harm yourself. Same rule applies to your life. You can start noticing your blessing once you get your eyes and feet on your path. Once you do that, you will not only start realizing so many great things in front of you, but also what you already have in your life. So next time you start comparing yourself over someone else’s Instagram post, please remember that you are driving your own car right now.

2. Journaling. I’m glad I discovered the art of gratitude journaling. There is something about writing it down that I found this activity very healing and never failed to boost my mood.

• To start with gratitude journaling, start by answering these 
• Who is someone you’re grateful for today?
• Why are you grateful for him or her?
• What good things happened to you today?
• What bad things happened to you today?
• What did you learn from it?
• Once you get used to it, you won’t even need those questions anymore. You will be amazed at how much gratitude is around you that you can discover. Another thing that I want to touch on is that you don’t have to own a notebook to do it. I know there are a few apps that you can download on your phone and it comes in handy at times!

3. Take action. Journaling is the acknowledgement process. Making it into a realization is what will make a difference not just for you but other people around you. I want to refer again to this TEDTalks video that I shared last week. You need to do something with the opportunity that you’re given. If you feel grateful because of someone, call or message them to let you know how grateful you are. If something bad happened, acknowledge the mistake and improve yourself.

4. Create a habit. The big goal is to live gratefully, so practicing gratitude is not a one time thing. It always takes time to create a habit. The first thing that you need to do is set up a schedule. For journaling, it’s easier if you pick to do it in the morning, so it will be the first thing that you do when you wake up, or it can be the last thing you do before bed. This to ensure that way you won’t be distracted with other things. That you really present while you’re at it. For the action part, a visual reminder works wonder! Write down a little reminder either in your fridge door, or create a digital reminder on your phone. Digital calendar and alert work even better when you start to remind you to call your mom, dad or anyone you’re grateful for

5. Do it together with your friend or family member. Ask your friend or family member to do it together with you. There are a lot of benefits of making it a group activity. You can remind each other, inspire each other and can also share any difficulties that you have during the process. This is why I did the #gratefulDaily2020 challenge a few months ago! I felt more motivated to practice every day.

Are you willing to give it a go? Let me know in the comments below if you’re up for it and keep me updated on the progress!

Love,

Meghan