A Year of Being Grateful

What I learned from keeping a gratitude journal

 

Last year, I made some promises to myself.  I decided that I didn’t necessarily like a lot of aspects of my life.  As an Emotional Health Coach, part of what drives me to help others is knowing that I am not alone in my journey to improvement.  I see others struggle with some of the same things that I have struggled with, or what currently challenges me.  Along the way, I have had to develop some new ideas and habits to help me improve myself as a person.  And probably one of the biggest was deciding to be thankful.

 

Too often I hear people complain about their lives, what they have, and those that they love.  And I find myself doing it as well.  But last year one of the promises that I made to myself was to be thankful.  Even during incredible stress, I have strived to be thankful.  And it turned out to be one of the biggest lessons of my life. 

 

Throughout last year, I kept a gratitude journal.  And what it taught me was that it is important to recognize the wonderful things in your life.  Even if things are not exactly as you wish them to be, you most likely have much to be grateful for.  When I reflect upon the year that has past, I realize that my attitude about things in my life has contributed a great deal to my problems.  Changing my attitude has helped me to change my outlook.  And writing in my gratitude journal has made me clearly see that not a day has gone by that I did not have something to feel blessed about. 

 

This year, I am going to continue a gratitude journal.  In fact, it has become one of the favorite parts of my day.  Being thankful is something that is easy to do, yet we often overlook the power behind it.  Today, I encourage you to find things to be grateful for, write them down, and see if it doesn’t affect your life in a positive way.