Of course, at first you will have to remind yourself constantly to focus on the positives. But, after a while, it will become second nature.

The easiest and most powerful way to add a sense of gratitude to your life is to invest in a journal. (You can buy your own, or simply use a spiral notebook.) You will develop the habit of using 5 minutes every evening to reflect on your blessings.

As I said before, this may not come easy at first. When you start mentally reviewing your day you may instinctively focus on the negative parts. You may only remember the spilled cup of coffee, the fight with your son and the traffic jam on the way home from work. But think! Think deeper. There were small blessings in your day. No question about it.

If you look at the last page of this course, you will notice that I have compiled a list of things that I am grateful for from my own gratitude journal. You will notice that most of my items are small pleasures. I often feel grateful for the quick kiss from my daughter when she leaves for school.

After three weeks of consciously noticing the blessings that surround you, your life will change. You will not look at the world the same anymore. You will suddenly begin to focus on the small parts of your life that you appreciate. You will smile more. You will have a lighter heart. It's an amazing process that you must try for yourself. You will not believe the transformation in your life.

Gratitude is not something that just magically appears into our lives. It is something that needs to be practiced a bit each day. Only then will gratitude begin to appear in our hearts.

About 10 years ago, my mom bought me a journal for my birthday. When I opened it up, it was a gratitude journal that had 5 lines for every day of the year. I was supposed to write 5 things that I was grateful for every day. I had not yet read research on the power of a grateful heart, but I was willing to give it a try.

Like most people I plowed through my life without much concern for all the constant blessings that surrounded me. But, I didn't seem to have much of a problem noticing all of the rough edges in my life. I noticed the pile of bills that needed to be paid, the car that needed to get into the shop, and the laundry that never seemed to get done. There was never a lack of problems for me to focus on. Now, don't get me wrong, there were times that I was grateful: the birth of my children, a wonderful new job, a special night with a friend...but, these experiences were far and few between. They only happened every few months. So aside from my special events, I really took little notice of the other blessings in my life.

I remember the first time that I sat down to write in my gratitude journal. I sat and sat and tried to think of some big event that had happened to me that day. Nothing came to mind. Then I started worrying that I couldn't think of anything to write down. I couldn't even think of one thing. How was I going to think of five?

Page 2 of 3 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 3 | Next