Find Some Gratitude, Change Your Attitude

It seems that everyone is hot on the gratitude train these days. There was recently an article in Time Magazine that enumerated the health benefits of gratitude. We are hearing about it more than ever through social media, books and podcasts. So, what’s so great about gratitude?

I would venture to guess that most of us are, on the whole, grateful. We are thankful for our health, safety and well-being. We take time to think about these things once a year when we eat turkey in November. When something unfortunate happens around us; we are sure to count our blessings. But, how many of us are practicing gratitude on a daily basis? I use the word “practicing” because I believe that to cultivate gratitude on a daily basis; it takes practice. You have to really tune in to what’s going on around you. It forces you to be present. It forces you to pay attention.

I know this may sound suspicious and a little woo-woo to some of you, but there is science to back me up. And, trying a daily gratitude practice falls firmly under the category “things that can’t hurt,” so, why not give it a try?

Seek And Ye Shall Find

A daily gratitude practice can be whatever works for you. Maybe you list ten things you’re grateful for at the end of each day? Perhaps you start your day with the three things you are most grateful for and focus on them throughout the day? The idea and effect are the same—when you place any focus on gratitude you are forcing your brain to search for reasons to be grateful. And, when you are focused on identifying these little nuggets of gratitude, you’d be surprised what you find.

Daily gratitude allows you to see all of the little things that go right during your day. You have exactly one clean pair of pants left when you’re getting ready for work, you hear your favorite song as your stuck at a traffic light, one of your kids tells you a joke that’s actually funny. Winning! These are all winning moments. It’s these little things that we usually breeze over. It’s not that we don’t recognize them or appreciate them in the moment, we do. But, the moment passes and so does that sweet feeling. That feeling is actually serotonin and dopamine—the feel good chemicals that make your brain and body happy. See? Science.

Get What’s Coming To You

Don’t let those moments pass you by. You recognize them when they’re happening; you enjoy them. They just get lost in the 45,987 other things and thoughts you’ve got going on throughout your day. You’ve got a wealth of feel-good waiting for you. You just have to cash it in. In our hectic lives, this feel-good will come in handy. When you want to scream because you forgot to take in that dry cleaning; you’ll find your one pair of clean pants. When you begin to freak out because you got caught at that light; your jam will come on the radio. And, just when you think that child of yours is beyond redemption; they’ll make you belly laugh.

Gratitude is a great player in the currency of happiness. Mind your account. Try to keep track and watch as your balance grows. Know that it’s not a zero-sum game. Just because you’re practicing daily gratitude doesn’t mean you won’t ever run into a bad day. But, it does increase your chances of putting that bad day into perspective. It gives you the ability to know that even if it felt like everything went wrong; there were still plenty of things that went right. As the saying goes: it’s hard to be unhappy and grateful at the same time.

So, take the time and start keeping track. Get a fancy journal or just write it down in your phone. Get up early and dedicate some quiet time to finding things that make you feel grateful or use the time in the never-ending car line to think of 3 things. There are no rules. There is no right way to do it. There is nothing too big or too small. You will be amazed at the happiness clean pants can bring you when you’re paying attention.