I wasn’t happy during school, or even university for that matter. I used to say that it was better to expect the worst, that way I wouldn’t be disappointed. Yep, I wasn’t a happy chappy (or even a happy chicky).
Then one day, I was at home watching Oprah (as you do when you’re a university student) and I saw something that changed me. She was talking about what she called a Gratitude Journal, where every day she would write at least three things she was grateful for. Some days it was a simple as being grateful for breathing in and out all day. I really related to that, and so I started keeping my own gratitude journal.
It was hard at first, thinking of things to be grateful for. Some days I was grateful just for chocolate, seeing the sun, and even breathing out and in all day long.
But you know what, after a while it wasn’t so hard any more, I could list 5 or 7 or 9 things I was grateful for in the same day. And after a while longer, I didn’t need to write in my Gratitude Journal at all. I could look around me and see the good side to everything.
I went from a glass half empty person to a glass half full, and I’ve never felt better. I’m happy now.
If you’ve never tried it, you really should. Sure it sounds silly, but it really works.
- Get a special book to write it, or just use your diary. Even a gratitude blog would be very cool!
- Make sure you write at least three things every single day. It doesn’t have to be much, you could be grateful that the bus was on time.
- Tell other people how it works for you.
I have to say, this is the thing that started to turn around who I was. If I’d missed watching Oprah that day, I could still be sad now. (Hey Paul, are you reading this, I’ve got a great excuse to watch Oprah now^_^)
What are you grateful for today?
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11 chic comments:
I'm grateful for all my wonderful friends - both off and online :)
Great idea Icy! I would like 2Bar to have at go.
I'm grateful today for;
7pm which is the kids bedtime!
For my daughter who dressed up as Cinderella today for Bookweek at school. I enjoy her joy of life.
Spending time with my son melting marshmallows on Nice biscuits then scoffing them down!
Wow that's a brilliant way to do feel happier.
I am grateful for the project I'm on, for being some of the best clients to work for. It makes my days so much more pleasant.
I do something similar and it really is great!
I'm grateful for:
* a holiday to Singapore in late Oct to see my and Paul's best freinds (who happen to be married to each other).
* Learning lot of intersting things about VMWare, even if I'm taking almost as many backward steps as forward.
* Having such cool people to comment on my blog, THANKS!!
A wonderful husband who supports through everthing, great friends and family, dogs Ralph and Junior.
Today I'm grateful for:
* Lunch for someone's birthday at work, very yummy.
* Playing with my blog ^_^
* Getting to leave early, yay for Fridays!
I am grateful for:
1. Madame2Bar. Either clothed or naked.
2. Clarity of mind.
3. My children, who can still hug me no matter what happens.
I'm also grateful for:
1. My blog, where I can rant and rave in relative piece.
2. Other blogs, where I can comment and meet new people. (Hello, new people!)
3. Tomorrow.
And, since I'm on a roll:
3 things I am NOT grateful for:
1. 10 zillion unread things in my Google Reader.
2. My left arm and wrist that still hurt
3. Migraines
Not to say that I haven't learned to live with them and get by while still smiling, but I'd rather not have these issues.
2BarRiff, you are on a role with your first comment, but with the second, you need to turn it around (you're sounding just like my husband).
Try
1. 10 zillion new and interesting things to read in Google,
2. My left arm and wrist which are slowly getting better (I hope) or which could have been a lot worse.
3. Migraines, but at least I don't have a brain tumor (hey, that's a bit lame I know, but practice makes perfect ^_^)
Today I'm grateful for
* My (err our) new laptop that just arrived, yay!!!
* Going to yoga
* Getting our second peice of baby gear.
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