Last week we talked about self-gratitude, with Looking Back with Gratitude.
This week I’d like to suggest an exercise I heard about from my friend and colleague Colleen Stanley.
Each day, when your alarm goes off – before your feet hit the floor and you’re off running – list three things you’re grateful for in your world.
It doesn’t have to be monumental or groundbreaking. It needs to be your own.
Mine for today is:
- I am grateful that I have one of the best office views EVER.
- I am grateful for the hard frosts that make the grass crunchy when I walk outside first thing in the morning with the dog while it’s still dark.
- I am grateful for COFFEE and a pot that starts brewing so I can wake up to the smell.
On days you’re having difficulty thinking of things, here are a few that you can steal:
- That you have a bed to lie in.
- You have a roof over your head.
- You woke up.
- You have a reason to need an alarm and time to get up today.
- Make one up about your pets… your family… your friends… your joy.
It may seem crazy, yet I love having “backup gratitude” for those days when I’m not feeling it.
One thing I added to Colleen’s exercise for myself is getting out of bed and stretching my arms wide to greet the day.
If you’ve been around me long enough you know that there are two things I believe we can control: our attitude and how we spend our time. Give this a try, it may just change your daily attitude for the better.
After a week of gratitude practice, let me know what has changed for you.
With gratitude,
Lynn
PS: I know the exercise was probably created by someone else. As Colleen shared it with me – she gets the credit.