Look around. Better still, look within for a moment. How long would it take you to identify just three things for which you feel grateful? Family, friends, your health, sunshine, the right to be educated, freedom of speech, a home, the flowers in your garden, cake, music, a doctor to call if you become unwell… the list is potentially endless if we look through the positive filter of choosing to see things to be grateful for.
The practicing of gratitude has strong connections to increased feelings of happiness and wellbeing. When we pause to notice what we have, and position ourselves to feel grateful, our body releases chemicals that boost our mood and lift the spirits. We smile, we may even say “thank you”, and this becomes a positive connection with the world we inhabit and the people we share the journey with. It is a swift way to reach for and hold a personalised feeling of joy without needing to do anything but observe our lives.
For many of us, this may not be our usual perspective. We may habitually notice what went ‘wrong’: what got in the way of a good day, the exam question that we missed out, that it rained when we hoped for sunshine… but we need the rain to make the grass green and the flowers grow, don’t we? Like anything, changing a mindset is a process of forming a different habit. If we consider a habit as a settled or regular practice, then gratitude can become a habit that brings positive outcomes; we just need to get into a rhythm of doing it.
So, try it – take time in your day to stop and identify something that you are grateful for. Connect this to a daily habit that you already have like brushing your teeth at night or charging your phone.
You could:
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Take an empty jar and each day/ at the weekend, write something you are grateful for on a slip of paper and put it in the jar. It will make a beautiful, reflective read on New Year’s Eve.
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Keep a notepad by your bed, write something you are grateful for each day before you sleep.
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Say it out loud. Tell someone you are grateful for them and what they add to your life. Start family mealtimes with a check in to share what you are grateful for (my children call this: “What rocked, what sucked? so they do get to have a grumble too).
Of course, we can’t feel happy all the time, but we can take time to feel grateful and that is very much in our hands.
Below: Year 7 Springboard Lesson – Gratitude notes.
