Practising Gratitude

Practising gratitude, as cliché as it sounds, has most definitely changed my life. It has made me a much happier person, my mental health is better and the way I see other people and the world around me compared to ten years ago is so much happier and more positive. In turn, I’ve become a better wife, Mama and friend. Here are some ideas of the things I have done, or still do, to keep an attitude of gratitude. 

1. Social Media

Only follow accounts that inspire you to do better, to create or that uplift you. Any that bring out negative emotions like jealousy or anger, either unfollow or mute if you don’t feel you can unfollow. By not following accounts that leave you with negative feelings or emotions you will find it much easier to be grateful for what you do have in your life and not be coveting more.

2. Find Silence (not The Silence from Dr Who, they are creepy!)

Find time every day to be silent and listen to your inner thoughts and feelings. This can be uncomfortable at first but once you get used to it I find it really helps me understand what is going on emotionally. I’ll finally have a quiet ten minutes at the end of the day and that’s when I realise that what someone said to me that morning has upset me more than I realised, or that what my little girl said makes me feel proud of her, or how helpful it was that my husband did those dishes so I could cook dinner. Knowing how you are feeling helps you see all the good, and also work through the not so desirable. 

3. Start a memory jar

I first did one of these back in 2014 when it was just me and my husband living off peanuts and it taught me so much! At the end of a good day I would write down the date and the good time, memory or feeling and pop it into a jar. I did it for a whole year, and each month I used a different coloured paper.

8 years later our children love choosing one or two every night for us to read out to them like it’s a little story. We’ve read them over and over but they don’t get bored. It’s a nice reminder to us that the smallest of things can brighten our day and in this instance, bring a smile to our faces many years later.

4. Gratitude book

If you’ve been around for a while then you’ve probably heard me mention this before but we keep a gratitude book and pen in our cutlery draw and it comes out for the evening meal along with the question “What made you happy today?”. Everyone has to think of something and I write it down in our little book underneath the date. Our children are so used to doing this now that if I forget to get the book out they still ask the question to each other which I just adore. We include guests in this too if they are staying for tea and it’s such a great way to naturally get everyone thinking and remembering all of the good things from the day.

5. Gratitude Box

This idea is slightly different as you write down things that you are grateful for to give to a particular person. So if I had created a gratitude box for my husband today I would add “I am grateful you played with the children so I could read my book” and “I’m grateful for the cup of tea you made me this evening”. 

If you are finding it difficult to get started with your gratitude then here are a few ideas, but try and make them as specific as possible to your day.

• I’m grateful for these things I hear:
• I’m grateful for these things I see:
• I’m grateful for these things I smell:
• I’m grateful for these things I can touch/feel:
• I’m grateful for these things I taste:
• I’m grateful for these blue things:
• I’m grateful for this/these animal(s)/bird(s):
• I’m grateful for this/these friend(s):
• I’m grateful for this/these family member(s):
• I’m grateful for these things in my home:

Do you already practice gratitude or is it something you are looking to add to your day? If you have another way that you practice please do let us know in the comments, we love to learn new things. 

Always grateful,

Livvy and Summer