I’ve posted about Gratitude before, suggesting a Gratitude Journal, extolling the many benefits of being purposely thankful. So you would think that I would be following my own advice and consistently keeping a Gratitude Journal, yes? Except, I’m human. After four straight, great months of thankfulness journalling, I was pretty sure I had the being thankful thing down and could move on to something bigger and better.
Guess what. In order to keep receiving the benefits of gratitude you have to keep being grateful. And as much as I thought I’d got that habit down in my four months of deliberate practice, well, I seemed to have slipped a little. But the good news, this is an easy practice to get right back into, and the benefits of doing so are immediate!
I’ve restarted my practice of daily writing down at least 10 things I’m grateful for. This is such a powerful way to shift your mood. And I’ve discovered a new power to gratitude — it can help you get past the activation barrier for things you don’t want to do! You know, that task that’s actually not that hard but you’ve built it into an insurmountable mountain in your mind through sheer dread and procrastination?
Try a gratitude practice instead! Find as many possible reasons to be thankful that you get to do this task! Like that big pile of dishes in the sink. I’m so grateful that I have a sink and dishes and ample access to water. I’m so grateful for the delicious, healthy meals that were made and eaten off those dishes. I’m grateful that I’ve found a low environmental impact dish soap that smells great, too! Wow, I totally WANT to do my dishes now! Well, okay, that’s an exaggeration, but it doesn’t seem like such a dreadful task now! 😉
The next time you’re bemoaning the travails of the required tasks before you, consider trying this gratitude practice instead! Hey, I wonder if this would help me get out of bed in the morning….
Yes, I did do my dishes after writing this post and it got done quickly and easily! 😉