Don't Give Up On Gratitude

Let’s be honest, when it comes to self-care, trends come and go.  For instance, there are times when repeating daily affirmations or starting your day with morning mantras is the in-thing.  There are other times when the trend is healing your inner child.  And soon, it will be the use of psychedelics, just give it some more time and legalization.  And for the record, the above list is not meant to judge the quality of these self-care interventions; only to highlight the reality that self-care trends come and go. 

That being said, if there is one self-care practice that I have been encouraging for the better part of a decade and have no intentions of stopping – it’s developing a solid gratitude practice.  In my opinion, being grateful isn’t a strategy.  It’s a way of life as it alters one’s awareness, perception and experience of their life.  Furthermore, it strengthens our ability to recognize what is good in our world, as opposed to obsessing over all that is wrong.   

Truth be told, we need this intervention more than ever.  One, because there is a lot of hard things happening in the world, which we are now more aware of than ever because of the steady stream of online news and updates.  Two, because so many of us lose ourselves in the comparison trap as a result of social media.  We scroll through the lives of influencers and complete strangers, convinced that their lives are superior to our own.  Then, we log off feeling anxious, sad, frustrated and insecure. 

Moreover, the only way to change one’s world is to first pay attention to it.  And a regular gratitude practice allows for this.  Not only does a gratitude practice force that you recognize the good in your life, but it may also reveal the areas of your life that need your attention, effort and energy. 

But what if you don’t have anything to be grateful for?  Well, that would be an indication that you need to create something to be grateful for.  Make yourself a nice cup of coffee, go for a walk over your lunch hour, call a friend, send a nice email, listen to your favourite song.  It doesn’t have to be complicated.  We need so desperately to be reminded of the beauty in life’s simple pleasures.

Give gratitude a try.  Pick up a cute little notebook, mark the date and make a note of 3-5 things that you are grateful for each and every day.  Some people love to wrap up their day doing gratitude before bedtime; however, I prefer to do it first thing in the morning as I find it to be incredibly grounding.  Either way, find something that works for you and implement that gratitude practice.  Because again, practicing gratitude is more than a self-care strategy.  It’s the daily practice of choosing hope, finding beauty and seeing light despite the dark.  And this is why I’ll never stop recommending it.