GRATITUDE IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT
INGREDIENT TO LIVING A
SUCCESSFUL AND FULFILLED LIFE.
(Jack Canfield)
About a million years ago (or at least that's what it feels like,) I was watching an early episode of Oprah where she talked about gratitude and keeping a gratitude journal. The idea was that at the end of every day, you wrote down at least five things - big or little - you were grateful for that day. I started one soon after and I found the exercise incredibly helpful. I looked for the good things in my day, in my life. And once I started looking, I found them everywhere. The sad thing is that they were probably always there and either I just never noticed or I took them for granted.
But I recently stopped keeping my gratitude journal. I'm happy to say I'm at the point now where I don't wait until the end of the day to see all the good. A few times a day, every day, I make a point to stop what I'm doing and say "Thank you" to God/Spirit/Universe for this and for that, for small and large things. After that moment, I am usually more peaceful and focused than I was before.
Do you keep a gratitude journal or do you take time throughout your day to say "thanks" to whatever higher power you believe in? If you do, how does it make you feel? If you don't, do you think you'll give it a try?
I don't keep a gratitude journal but I am currently writing my acknowledgements for my book. Maybe that's like a mini gratitude journal because I do have a lot of people to thank and be grateful for.
ReplyDeleteMJ - sure, why not? :)
ReplyDeleteNo journal, but I say thank you at least a dozen times during the day.
ReplyDeleteAlex - I would think that covers it. :)
ReplyDeleteI did this for a while, just listing one good thing a day, and I found it very inspiring. For some unknown reason, I stopped doing it! Thanks for this reminder, it's something I need to get back to doing.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week ahead, Madeline. :)
Julie - it's whatever works for you, whenever it works for you, you know? I hope you have a great week, too! :)
ReplyDeletei used to be a thank you miser until my new husband told me i needed to send his mom a card for the poinsetta she got us to help decorate our first xmas...i realized i felt it, but needed to also express my appreciation & let them know! now i probably overdo it, but i love getting & giving so i express it a lot!
ReplyDeleteps, thanks for the post & quote!! goes well with our blog hop!
Tara - what a great example! I wonder if a lot of people feel gratitude but don't show it or don't know how to show it. I've learned that there's many, many ways to say thank you - words, cards, a nice email, a gesture, remembering something important to someone and asking about it, etc.
ReplyDelete