18th January – gratitude

Be thankful

A daily gratitude practice at the end of the day really helps me to reflect on the day and be mindful of the positive things that happened during my day.

Our brains are hard-wired for survival, we are pre-programmed to be alert and on the look-out for threats – this was how we as a species have survived and evolved through the last 100,000 years.

However, it does mean that we automatically tend to focus more on the negatives, and conversely we discount the positives as less important, so we are less likely to remember good things. In fact, we tend to remember 6 negative things for every 1 positive thing.

But, like anything, if we practice things, we get better at it. The more we train our brain to focus on the positives, the more likely it is that we will find them and notice them. So, practice it, everyday. My favourite practice is “5-finger-gratitude”. Think of one thing for each finger, so five things from your day, that you were grateful for that day – it doesn’t have to be big things, just small everyday things that were good throughout your day. I like to do this at the end of the day as it prompts me to find the positives (even if there didn’t seem to be that many at the time!) and end the day in a good way.

Today, my five-fingers of things that I am grateful for are (in no particular order!):
1. The ice melting, so I could get outside for my exercise
2. The teachers at my kids’ school how are teaching and taking care of my kids during lockdown
3. My coffee machine which has a timer so there is hot coffee waiting for me in the morning when I wake up
4. My cat keeping me company whilst I type.
5. A text message from a friend just to keep in touch and say hello.

What are you grateful for today?