Newsletter Archive #3: Gratitude Changes Everything

Practical Ways to Practice Gratitude

I've written nearly half a million words in newsletters throughout the years. I'm currently reviewing and revising each piece before publishing them here as free posts.

Let’s talk about gratitude.

Nothing used to make me madder than my dad telling me to count my blessings when I was unhappy or angry or just being generally teenagery. It would probably still make me mad. None of us like to be reminded that we have pretty good lives when we are invested in feeling sorry for ourselves, but I’ve come to realize my dad was right.

Taking a moment to recognize just how many things are going right can radically shift how we feel about the world and our place in it.

Gratitude is one of the keys to a better life. I’ve done two different videos about it I  wrote a long blog post about it. I do podcast episodes about it. It matters that much. Our perspective determines the quality of our lives, and a perspective of gratitude improves them in a way nothing else can.

As a quick exercise to change our perspective, take a moment and allow yourself to have gratitude for these things:

·       The fact that you exist through no effort on your part

·       Your body and all it does for you

·       5 Things in your immediate vicinity that are useful to you

·       The number of people who have helped you in some way, no matter how small, over the last week

·       The fact that something exists at all. There being something instead of nothing is bizarre. We can always appreciate this.

Personally, I would argue that not being able to name something in each of these categories is a failure of imagination at the very least and of gratitude in a general sense. Put some thought into it if you cannot come up with something immediately. It’s there, I promise.

Along with this exercise, here are a few journal prompts to help keep this present throughout the week:

What are the easiest things to be grateful for in my life? How often do I take them for granted?

What are some things I can be grateful for that aren’t always immediately noticeable?

What are some things that I didn’t want that have turned out to be good things in the long run?

What went right today?

Is there ever a time where there is truly nothing to be grateful for?

As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read, listen and watch the things I put out into the world.

Until next time, take care.

James