I recently made the connection that gratitude and practicing gratitude are two entirely different things. I feel very grateful for the blessings in my life, but on the other hand I know I’m not putting my gratitude into practice very often. It’s one thing to know I’m grateful, but it’s another thing to claim what those things are and bring them to my awareness on a daily basis. For a lot of people, this can mean the difference in feeling apathetic about ones life or feeling happy, grateful, and blessed.
As I mentioned in my Goals for 2012 post, I was struggling with more internal negativity than usual. Shortly after writing that post, I realized that my goal of reducing negativity wasn’t the best goal because I didn’t say how I was going to overcome it. Great goals always have a plan, right? I decided to change my goal up slightly. Instead of saying that I was going to reduce negativity, I now say that I’m going to reduce negativity by incorporating a daily gratitude practice in my life. My goal now has a plan!
When I told Eric about my plan, he was eager to join me. Initially, my plan was to write down 5 things that I’m grateful for each day, but after telling Eric about it, he suggested that we do it together. Instead of writing it down, we would just talk about 5 positive things from our day with each other. It’s now a daily gratitude conversation. Not only does this keep us accountable (it’s like having a workout buddy!), but it allows us to share the goods things that went on that we otherwise may not have known about.
I’ve tried in the past to keep a daily gratitude log, but I always found that I could never stick with it. Having someone as my gratitude buddy will help me commit to this practice each day. We’ve been telling each other 5 things we are grateful for before bed and I’ve been blown away by what a difference it makes in our outlook. Not only do I enjoy hearing about things that have made him happy in his day, but I love to share things with him. I like to relate it to gift giving; is it better to receive a nice gift or is it better to watch someone open a gift you gave them? Sharing joy, increases the joy in our own hearts.
As an added bonus, it’s a great way to tell your partner something that they did to make you happy. How often do we do things for each other that go unrecognized? It’s the perfect time to say “I acknowledge what you did and that makes me feel grateful”. Of course, this can be done any time of the day, but sometimes all we need is a quiet moment to reflect on things.
For all of you who have a hard time sticking with a daily gratitude practice, my challenge for you is to find a gratitude buddy. It can be your partner, mom, sibling, roomie, best friend….anyone you love and trust. Pledge to share 5 things you are grateful for each day. Some days will be easier than others to come up with the list, but that is the point. If you don’t live with the person, you can call them on the phone, Skype, or even just commit to emailing each other your list each night before bed. Or maybe once a week works better for you. You come up with what will be realistic for your life!
Sketchie is thankful for boxes. :)
Since we started this daily gratitude practice, I’ve felt significantly happier and more positive than I have in a while. I totally underestimated how much of a difference it would make and now I’m a believer of the positivity daily gratitude can create. I find myself thinking about good things throughout the day because I know that I will have to come up with 5 things before bed. In turn, my positivity is increased all day long.
In my mind, practicing gratitude is simply bringing all of those daily experiences that we all have to the forefront of our minds. Gratitude does not negate the bad things that happen to us, but it’s a conscious choice to bring our attention to the positives in each day.
I’d love for you to join us with this challenge!
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For other Daily Glow posts, see:
Graduation Fears
The Silly Things We Say
Do What You Can…Today
What’s Your 6-Word Love Story?
Without Self-Love, I Have Nothing.
Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
Kicking the Pop Habit: Eric 1 Year Later
Weekend Inspiration
How to Reframe and Negative Thought with a Thought Record
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I love this idea! I was talking with my mom last night about how discussing what we’re grateful for in front of the kids would be a good lesson for them. I think I’ve found a new dinner time ritual. :)
Love this! It’s amazing how much better I feel on the days I stop to think about what I’m grateful for. It really does make a difference!
What a wonderful concept. You and Eric sharing your 5 things each night reminds me of my childhood – almost every single night growing up, my Dad made my family go around the table and had each family member say what the best part of his or her day was. Not only did it put things into perspective, but it made us feel more fortunate and kept us in the know about each other’s lives. Beautiful! I think it is SO important to be actively in tune with your energy and emotions.
(And crap. I meant to leave my link for my blog but left it for my email in that last comment. I am grateful that I re-read comments AFTER you post them. Awesome.)
i started this year with a similar goal and started a blog where i post something i’m thankful for every day! here it is if you’re interested: www.kategivesthanks.wordpress.com !
i love the gratitude buddy idea!!
I am SO In for this! I have to be honest…I have been struggling with depression and anxiety lately..stress from starting at a new college and trying to please everyone around me..I have been feeling VERY down on myself. My mom tells me I always put myself down..isn’t it sad that I don’t even notice that? Yet I compliment others, but not myself…weird.
I will take you up on this challenge. I’m going to find a gf to do it with it…I need some girl power in my life now :)
LOVE this post Angela! You are so right – practicing gratitude is key to our feeling all that we have been blessed with – and even bringing more of that to us on a daily basis. I too have had journals for gratitude which come and go. The other night we decided to practice gratitude as a family at dinner and I really want to do that each night. You have inspired me to make that happen!
I also want to offer a suggestion for you to take or leave. When you set your goal of ‘reducing negativity”, it is framed in the negative – thereby keeping the focus on ‘negativity’. If you reframe the goal to say “I am positive’ – you will create that (‘I am’ are the most powerful words in the universe so whatever you say after them, you create). Hope you don’t mind my piping in like that :-)
I absolutely love that first picture! This is a great exercise to do, especially in college where stress is plentiful!
Wonderful!I had three resolutions this year, all focused on well-being– a weekly family hike or bike ride, preparing more vegan meals for the family (which is how I found your wonderful blog), and practicing gratitude. For me, that has taken form of a gratitude journal, and asking my kids to tell me verbally one thing they’re grateful for on the drive home from school. I hope we can all keep it up. I’ve just followed you on Twitter, hope to see you there! (I’m @spiceboxtravels).
I love this idea and starting doing it myself.
Ive just been writing them down before I go to bed and it really does change your attitude and demeanor. It’s so nice to have such peaceful thoughts before drifting off to sleep!
Thanks for posting. Stay posi! :)
I’m seriously grateful for having happened on your blog the end of last year! You’re my Vegan Oprah
Angela,
Please please please.. discover an easy way to make homemade vegan soy-free yogurt.
I am on my 7th attempt and 12 hours into the process, it looks like another failure. :(
I love this idea! I try to list things I’m grateful for when I remember, but its not constant therefore not as effective. I love the idea of doing it with somebody. My husband for a while was doing five things he was grateful for each day before bed, but it was to himself and his stopped. I think we’ll do it together now and see how that goes. :-)
The impact of practicing gratitude is far-reaching. It not only displaces negativity but increases the flow of good things into your life. The idea and its history are presented clearly in Rhonda Byrne’s books, the first of which is called ‘The Secret’. I think you are onto something good and thank you for sharing it.
New to your site, and found this gem of an idea. Love it! Did you maintain it throughout 2012?
for the most part – yes!