My main reasons to practice gratitude daily
Top reason to practice gratitude daily
Gratitude is a feeling. Being grateful with the feeling of deep appreciation has a greater impact, on how you and others around you feel, than if you said thank you as a formality. And that is why it is important to practice gratitude daily.
I learnt, early on in my healing journey, that no one was going to make me feel good about myself. And I noticed that no one was going to validate my existence. I had to learn to feel good enough within myself. As a consequence of that learning, I would be free from needing attention from various people around me.
But this feeling of “good enough” is not easy to come by. Most of us have to work to release tons (hundreds) of patterns to feel even a slight bit of awesomeness, with us.
And that is precisely why I created a daily practice of appreciation. That’s gratitude minus the “obligation” that comes with gratitude. It’s pure gratitude. When I am grateful, I do not own anyone anything. I am simply feeling thankful for what is.
PRO TIP: QUICK FIX FOR FEELING BETTER ABOUT ANY SITUATION
Whenever you feel anything less than “good enough, see if you can reach for that feeling of true appreciation for anything that you do have in your life:
Such as…. clean air, clear water, food, your favourite chair, someone you can confide in, your kids, a beating heart, the power to heal… There is so much one can find around and within to be appreciative of. And in fact it becomes easy (with time) to practice gratitude daily.
Appreciation works every time.
HOW TO START a DAILY GRATITUDE PRACTICE?
Initially, being grateful for things I had access to felt very immature and fake. In fact, while writing down a list of things I was appreciative about, I felt like an impostor. But I decided to try making a list of ten things I was grateful for, for seven days. By the end of the seventh day, I was sure about one thing – I did not deserve to have what I did. I had just uncovered a major limiting pattern that I was running, while practicing gratitude. It’s no wonder that I felt like an impostor while practicing gratitude daily.
Because I have the tools to recognize and then subsequently release patterns, I worked to heal myself from this non-deserving pattern and soon felt a sense of freedom and lightness.
As I continued to practice gratitude daily, I found that being in the vibration of gratitude made me happier and gave me longer periods of joy. And every-time I needed a pick me up, I simply thought of three things I was grateful for. Somehow that worked.
As I noticed the benefits of that feeling of appreciation, I became convinced of its value in my life.
Noticing the benefits of a practice will help you maintain the practice long term.
DAILY TIPS for your gratitude practice
There are some simple tools that I have in my spiritual tool belt. These tools help me maintain practices that work for me.
Some tips that will help you maintain the practice of gratitude are:
1. Set an alarm (twice a day if necessary) if you are new to the practice of gratitude.
2. Reward yourself (in a non toxic way) if you complete a smaller goal – like a week of daily practice.
3. Make it fun. Practicing gratitude does not have to be a serious activity. In fact, to make it fun and creative, I have created a gratitude journal and colouring book that you can use to create a daily, thirty-one, day practice for yourself. You can find the link here.
I wish you all the best in your new practice!
