Up Your Gratitude Game

A daily gratitude practice is one of the most powerful and nourishing things you can do for yourself. Regular gratitude is scientifically proven to increase your mood even on the most challenging days, and more so than regular therapy. In this way, it’s like eating healthy food – it builds up and has a lasting positive impact on your body.

Gratitude is not about being happy every single day, because there are some days we simply don’t feel that grateful.

But, you can give gratitude without feeling grateful. Those days are actually the best opportunity to do a practice – it can shift us towards high vibration emotions, including joy and appreciation.

And what exactly is a gratitude practice?

Upon waking, or just before you go to bed, list three or four things you are grateful for. You can write them down, speak them aloud or exchange your list with a loved one.

Often, these lists can end up looking the same every day – “I’m grateful for my health, my family and my home.” It’s a good start, but there are ways you can dive deeper into gratitude and put things on your list that really light you up with appreciation and completely alter your day.

If you’ve never had a gratitude practice, here are some thoughts to get you started. And if you’ve had a practice for a while but feel yourself getting repetitive with your list, try these new ways to approach gratitude.

Be grateful for what is…

What is present right now in your life that you feel grateful for? Think of experiences that fill you up, people you share love with, or just the breath coming in and out of your body.

This grounds you in the present and will help you see the surrounding beauty.

Be grateful for what isn’t…

What are you grateful for the absence of in your life? A bone that is no longer broken or maybe a previous job that wore you down.

This one is powerful when you are struggling to find something beautiful, and will remind you that ups and downs are an everyday part of life.

Be grateful for what was…

What have you experienced in your past that you are appreciative of? Look back at the trips and adventures you’ve taken, or the challenges that you can now find gratitude for.

This brings us back to all the experiences that have shaped us into who we are today and have put us on our life path. It's reassuring to look back and realise that everything is happening exactly as it is meant to.

Be grateful for what will be…

What are you already grateful for that will exist in your near future? There are wonderful things coming your way, your dreams that will come true and the goals you will achieve.

This gives us hope, direction and an excitement for life. It reminds us that whatever has happened in the past and whatever we are feeling now, there is so much more for us to experience. And by being grateful for things in the future, you can will them into existence - that's the power of the law of attraction.

Considering these four dimensions of gratitude will deepen your practice and help you find the most meaningful things in your life. Being grateful is something you can do no matter what emotion you are feeling, that's what makes it so powerful. On the days you forget how beautiful life is, catch yourself and ask 'what am I grateful for in this moment?'

As Neale Donald Walsch says, the struggle ends when gratitude begins.

Let me know your thoughts below!