Hi I am Namrata, Founder of Vishisht Lifestyle. I am so glad I am getting a chance to have you all read my work. Today I will be talking about what Gratitude means, how it helped me and how you can include it in your daily life.
Before I get into that, here’s a little backstory of how I got into my Gratitude, self-help and self-discovery journey. Around the first COVID-19 outbreak, being locked up in my apartment for six months hit me bad. I started feeling very lonely as there was no human contact, and I was far away from my family. That`s when I started reading books and listening to podcasts on self-help. I learnt so much about practicing Gratitude every day. Much of what I talk about here is what I learned from authors and motivational speakers - Jay Shetty, Louise Hay, Mitesh Khatri and Bre Brown. So let’s get into it.
Introduction
Gratitude means to feel thankful for what we have, experiences we come across, gifts we receive, and achievements we earn. Practicing gratitude creates a positive cycle in our lives and helps us find more reasons to be thankful. Its believed that life is not what happens to us but what happens for us. According to Jay Shetty, “If we cling to the negativity of people around, we become that negativity.” It’s much better to focus on our positives and things that make us special and unique. The more we surround ourselves with positivity, the more positive life becomes. Practicing gratitude is one way that helps stay positive and mindfully every single day.
How it helped me
I became calmer
I became productive
I feel at peace
I feel more grounded
I feel centered throughout the day
I sleep better at night
I feel healthier
I feel more positive
I feel happy
I found more reasons to feel grateful for
Where to start
Beginners may find it tough to find things to feel grateful especially when times are rough. In such situations, a good starting point would be to feel thankful for:
Being alive
Seeing a new day
Having a functioning body
Having a roof over our heads
Having food on the table
Having family or friends
Having access to education
Having nature around
Having trees that give us shade and oxygen
Having beautiful sky
Having oceans, beaches and mountains
There are many things to feel grateful for if we pause and look around. So many things need to work out perfectly for us to be even born. Life indeed is a gift.
How to practice
There are several ways to practice Gratitude and include it in our daily lives. We can practice by simply closing our eyes and thinking about three things for which we feel grateful. We can type stuff we are thankful for in the notes app on our mobile phones. We can maintain a proper Gratitude journal where we can record things for which we feel grateful. I strongly recommend keeping a gratitude journal as it helps to look back on old entries whenever we are having a bad day.
Gratitude Routine
I have been following this daily gratitude routine for close to 1 year. I wake up every morning, and while lying down and opening my eyes, I say thanks for having another wonderful day. I say thanks for the gift of life. I say thanks for the comfortable bed and the roof over my head.
Throughout the day, whenever I am working, I sometimes take a pause and record anything I feel grateful for on my notes app.
Before going to bed, I take out my Gratitude Journal, mention the date and write down things that went well on that particular day. I try and write at least three things for which I feel thankful.
Seeing things with the feeling of gratefulness and focussing on what we have rather than what we lost changes perspective. My wish, prayer and meditation are that many people read this and bring positive changes in their life starting today. I pray that you find many things to feel grateful about in life.
All the Best, and Thank you!
p.s.
Helpful Resources
- Books on Gratitude
3. The Magic
- Videos