One of the least talked about aspects of creating a gratitude practice in our lives is that it can be incredibly empowering.
Before I got serious about creating a gratitude practice for myself I used to worry that it would take away my edge, cause me to ignore my challenges, and gloss over injustices in the world.
While toxic positivity is definitely a thing, it’s still very different from gratitude.
Gratitude is acknowledging what’s good in your life and the world around you. It has nothing to do with ignoring challenges or injustices too.
In reality, the two exist side by side. We all have things we can be grateful for. We all know there are things that can be challenging and unfair in the world too.
The importance of gratitude is that all too often we ignore the positive aspects of our lives in favor of the negative, which can send us into a spiral of negativity and an overall negative outlook on life. When this happens, would it really be so surprising that we might get frustrated, disheartened, and lose hope? That doesn’t help anything.
Gratitude helps us remember what’s good in the world and what’s worth fighting for. It can be a reminder of just how good life could be and why that deserves acknowledgement.
It can be empowering to see our own lives and sense of well being improve from a gratitude practice too.
Even when things feel low, gratitude can be helpful to gain perspective and understand what’s wonderful and amazing about life. And all it takes is a couple extra moments a day to consider it.
Do you have a gratitude practice in your life? How does it go? How does it help you?
If you’re curious to learn more about gratitude, I’m hosting a mini workshop this Thursday, Dec. 2, at 1 p.m. PST on the challenges, practices, and benefits of cultivating gratitude in our lives. I’d love for you to join! A link to sign up is right here.
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Storytelling is a fascinating aspect of how we perceive the world and exist as humans. If you’d like to learn more, download the Storytelling Primer below and start learning more about storytelling today.
For a long time I knew there was a different version of me that I wanted to be. That person would be more open, expressive, curious, and excited for life… but I didn’t know how to get there.