You are invited to post five things you are thankful for daily. Anyone can post. Grab a friend and hold each other accountable. Encourage your kids to post their gratitude. Cultivating the practice of gratitude has eight well-documented benefits:
- Gratitude improves mental and emotional health
- Gratitude improves physical health
- Gratitude enhances empathy and reduces aggression
- Gratitude helps you sleep better
- Gratitude opens the door to deeper, more diverse relationships
- Gratitude strengthens self-compassion
- Gratitude cultivates your ability to focus on the present
Journal Your Gratitude
Post five things you are thankful for in the forum below. Focus on little things (a photo that makes you smile), things you take for granted (e.g., air conditioning), a phone call from someone special, a fond memory, the skills to take on a challenging task, using skills to cope with a difficult situation, something in nature, a kindness or something else.
Three Easy Steps
Here are the instructions. Try it once. If you like it, come back again and again.
- Select the current month
- Click reply and enter five things you are grateful for.
- Click Submit
You do not need to register. It’s that simple! That’s it! Now give it a try. If you like it keep coming back.
September 2019
I am grateful this day after Labor Day for ....
~ the many women & men who fought and sometimes died for the 40 hour work week, child labor laws, workplace safety, minimum wage, health insurance, pensions, family leave, social security, Medicare and so much more
~ a long weekend with my aging parents
~ visiting with cousins, siblings, niece and great niece & nephew
~ reconciling with a brother after a misunderstanding that hurt both of us
~ brother's cancer surgery went well
~ first long trip after surgery went well enough
~ wedding plans for a nephew and his fiance
~ getting glimpses of the peace that surpasses all understanding
~ all is well
shine
sandra
Grateful this Sunday evening for ...
~ celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary today
~ finding the love of my life at age 60
~ little rituals that enrich our marriage
~ a friend responded positively to a difficult request
~ a beautiful afternoon in the bluffs along the Mississippi River
~ river towns
~ all is well
shine,
sandra
Thankful this Sunday afternoon for ...
~ nearing the end of a long day at the ER with our combative, confused (today) friend with dementia
~ the only upside to the ER visit is she may now qualify to use her long-term care insurance
~ getting up while it's still dark and watching the sky lighten
~ coffee, PB&J for breakfast (nostalgia trip)
~ ready for a nap & have an hour free (how rare is that?)
~ getting some long-delayed odds & ends done this morning
~ hearing birds outside the back door
~ all is well
Why Journal Your Gratitude
A Harvard study of 15,000 people found our minds are on mindless autopilot almost 60 percent of the day. A Texas Tech study found that when our minds are on autopilot 60-70 percent of our thoughts are negative. And that’s in the general population. People who are depressed or anxious think negative thoughts more than the general population. This is why developing the habit of noticing positives is so important to healing.
Good news! We Can Train Our Minds
We can train our minds to notice the positives in our lives. We train our minds by simply noticing the positives. We can speed our progress by journaling them and periodically looking back to celebrate progress. Practicing in a community increases our motivation and speeds learning to notice both the wanted and unwanted in our lives even more.