3 Ways to Deepen Your Gratitude Practice
Did you know that consistently practicing gratitude can reduce stress, improve sleep, and overall, just help you to feel happier? Sound too good to be true? It’s not.
Whether you already have a gratitude practice or have been wanting to start one, read on to find some fun ways to change up your practice, or begin it.
“This moment is full of wonders.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
1. Micro Gratitudes
It’s so easy to slip into autopilot in our busy lives and take the everyday miracles that surround us for granted. Shirzad Chamine, the founder of Positive Intelligence, points out that when we have a crisis or a loss in our lives, we tend to become hyper-aware of the numerous blessings that surround us. He suggests that we don’t wait for the crisis to wake up to all the amazing blessings and wonders in our lives. To do this, Shirzad suggests appreciating the moments of our day as we go through them.
How can we become more aware of and appreciate the blessings all around us? By looking for what is good in everyday moments and enjoying it. It could be taking in the beauty of the trees on your drive to work, appreciating a friendly person on your way to work, the playfulness of your child’s giggle, the freshness of the autumn air, coffee just the way you like, or laughs and jokes with friends or colleagues. You can also look to bigger things: having a job, a home, or people who support and care about you.
Pro-Tip: To make this practice a reality, set an alarm on your phone/watch for three to five times during your day to stop and appreciate whatever is happening in that moment.
“Gratitude is a Memory of the Heart.”
French Proverb
2. Macro Gratitudes
In this practice, we take the larger view by looking back on the whole of our lives to recognize all the blessings, help, and love we have received along the way. We use the wisdom and perspective that comes with hindsight to remember what we have been given.
For this practice, I thought it might help to give you a few prompts. Think of this as a November Challenge – a month to look back on all the big blessings in your life by writing on one or more of the following prompts:
What are the 30 greatest blessings of your life?
Who are 30 people you are grateful to know? Each day write a gratitude for one person who you know or have known.
What are the 30 Happiest memories of your life?
List 30 things that you are grateful exist (chocolate, air conditioning, massages, snowstorms, fall leaves….)
What are 30 simple pleasures in life that you enjoy?
What are 30 things you appreciate about your home?
Who are 30 people who have served as a teacher for you and helped you to get where you are today?
Pro-Tip: To make this practice a reality for you, block time on your calendar to do one of these prompts at least once this month and keep your commitment to yourself.
“So, it is not happiness that makes us grateful. It's gratefulness that makes us happy.”
David Steindl-Rast
3. Rebellious Gratitudes
Have you ever had something happen that in the moment, you thought was awful but, in the end, turned out to be a huge blessing? This is what Rebellious Gratitude is about. It’s about practicing having an open mind and heart when things aren’t going the way we hoped and looking for the blessing in the current situation.
This month, when something doesn’t go your way, look to see the possibilities and blessings in the way it is turning out. This does not mean to have blind optimism or toxic positivity. Rather, it is the practice of realizing that we can’t see the whole picture and when we cultivate an open heart and mind, we are more able to look for the ways the situation could work in our favor. It also has two added benefits; it keeps us grounded in abundant worldview, that life is for us rather than against us. And it, prevents us from sliding into a passive victim mode by keeping us grounded in our power to choose our responses and actions at any moment.
Pro-tip: To make this practice a reality, pay attention to when you find yourself complaining. When we complain, we are usually disappointed by something not working out the way we expected. Instead of focusing on the disappointment, look for a way that the current situation contains a blessing.
So, which one of these practices are you are willing to try this month?
Hint here: TRUST YOURSELF and go with the one that feels best for you. Don’t fall for ‘shoulds’ telling you that you should do this one or that one.
Which practice feels most inspiring or energizing to you? Trust yourself and go with that one.
Happy gratituding!
