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Sometimes when things aren’t going well, or when your mood is in low gear, it can be really hard to get unstuck. As I’ve talked about a lot in this blog, feeling low or stressed is harmful for both your emotional and physical health.
So what can you do to jump-start your mood? One of the simplest and quickest things you can do is practice gratitude.
I was talking with a (somewhat skeptical) friend of mine and she asked me if “practicing gratitude” was like “practicing yoga”—something that meant she had to go to a class or some such. “I don’t have time for that kind of thing” she said, “I’ve got work to do.”
Luckily, gratitude is really simple. You just need to think about what you have in your life that you appreciate; focusing on the good things you do have instead of what you don’t have.
This takes just a couple of minutes every day. Just stop and say out loud three things you are grateful for before going to bed. They don’t have to be big things—gratitude for a day of good weather, or that the truck repair was quick and not expensive—just three positive things in the day.
Some people write them down in a journal, which means that on a really bad day they can re-read their whole gratitude list to focus on what’s good in life. Other people I know make the “say three things” list part of what they do together with their children as they tuck them into bed. However it works for you, fold the “say three things” practice into your day.
There’s strong evidence that shows regularly practicing gratitude can significantly benefit your health. Gratitude helps you sleep better, builds up willpower so you don’t overeat, increases your patience, decreases depression, and improves your relationships.
So take a minute every day and practice gratitude—it is such an easy thing to do to help manage stress. Here are my three for today: 1) UGA football squeaked out a win yesterday; 2) I visited with my daughter over the phone tonight; and 3) I get to talk with all of you and build a community committed to thriving on the farm.
What are your three today?
If you want to learn more about gratitude and its benefits, check out this What is Gratitude set of articles from Michigan State University Extension. They have lots of great information and ideas.