The Transformative Power Of Gratitude

Here’s the thing. Negative thinking, for most of us, is a habit we have created ourselves due to life’s experiences. Why do we experience negative thoughts that are often based off irrational fear? It is our mind and body functioning in a way to make us avoid things that might be dangerous, it’s our internal threat detector. The good news is, cultivating gratitude into your life is a cost free tool you are able to use to reduce anxiety and stress levels in your life.

Now, I know that in times of stress and anxiety the last thing you may feel like doing is pulling out your journal and practicing gratitude. So, I am going to share a few simple tools that will make the gratitude journaling process much easier and more enjoyable. The goal here is to form a positive relationship with gratitude journaling and to remove the “complications” you may associate with this practice.

How to use gratitude to shift negative thoughts

When you are in a worried state and your mind is consumed by negative thoughts and overwhelming or anxious feelings, positive thinking doesn’t seem to come naturally. See, the idea of “positive thinking” tends to focus on things that have not yet happened, but we want them to. Gratefulness on the other hand is all about appreciating the now. It allows you to replace those negative thoughts to the real and exisiting things in your life that make you whole.

As we discussed, negative thinking can easily become a habit but so can grateful thinking. Allowing grateful thoughts to flow in a time of worriness is a hack that will ultimately shift irrational fear into appreciating the wholeness that exists right now.

The 3 minute gratitude practice

Okay, now you are ready to grab your journal, a note pad or your notes app on your device and spend 3 minutes of your day to ground yourself with gratitude. I hope that after this practice you feel mentally lighter, less anxious and most importantly more grateful.

First, I want you to start with 3 things you are grateful for today. They do not have to be the big things in life, hone in on the everyday things. “I am grateful I could buy my coffee this morning” I am grateful for the breakfast I put in my body”, “I am grateful I have hot water”.

The power of gratitude journaling is that you are teaching your mind to think in a new way. Think of as many new things as possible, soon enough you will realise there are infinite things to be grateful for for in the present moment and it will start flowing out of you.

This practice is empowering, healing and mindful. It brings you back to where your mind needs to be, the now.

You can leave it there, but one more thing I love to do when I am feeling overwhelmed and particularly negative about myself is write down three things I am grateful for about myself. “I am grateful I moved my body today”, “I am grateful my body is healthy and well, “I am grateful for my emotions and that I can feel things deeply”. You can get vulnerable because you are the only one reading this. It’s important to appreciate these things about yourself, we can’t always expect others to do it for us.

Gratitude is all about shifting our focus into the present moment, appreciating the things in front of us. After this 3 minute gratitude practice you will start to feel more confident in your ability to control your mind, and that is a very special thing.